Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial is underway in Fairfax, Virginia.
Depp sued Heard, his ex-wife, for alleged defamation over a 2018 opinion piece she wrote for the Washington Post, in which she described herself as “a public figure who depicts family abuse.” Heard countered by accusing her ex-husband of allegedly organizing a “smear campaign” against her and describing her own lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”
Depp sought $50 million in damages; Heard has asked for $100 million and immunity from Depp’s allegations. The process should take a total of six weeks.
The trial began Monday, April 11, at the Fairfax County Courthouse with jury selection. Seven jurors have been selected along with four alternates who will be present to step in should one or more of the original jurors need to step down. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the first witnesses took the stand, either in person or via video testimony. Witnesses included Depp and Heard’s former marriage counselor, Depp’s sister, some of her friends, and Heard’s former assistant.
Shocking Text Messages
The evidence presented so far includes text messages allegedly sent by Depp through Heard that contain offensive language.
On Wednesday, April 13, Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft asked Depp’s longtime friend Isaac Baruch: “Do you remember if Mr. Depp ever told you that he hoped Amber Heard’s decomposing body would decompose? in the goddamn trunk of a Honda Civic?
Baruch pointed to a monitor showing the message and said, “Yes. Well, I’m saying yes, I’ll watch it here, so obviously, yes, he said to himself. It was written”.
Bredehoft was then asked if Depp referred to Heard as “b***h” in her text messages.
“Well, it’s written there, so yes, I could see it,” said Baruch, also reading from a monitor across from him. He questioned Bredehoft’s specific characterization of Depp’s words, adding, “He’s not saying that, he’s saying, ‘That bitch ruined the cool life we’ve had for a while.'”
The next day, Thursday, April 14, a video testimony was played in the courtroom by Kate James, Amber Heard’s former assistant.
James was asked about a text message Depp allegedly sent to James in August 2016, which according to the transcript provided as evidence read: “Thanks honey… I hate ever touching these scumbags… We’ll be back Tuesday!!! And then… dish!!! I’ll let you know when I get back dolly… Come get some purple and we’ll make her saggy butt nice and pretty again! With love… J.”
During interrogation, it was suggested that “a little purple” is a way of referring to red wine.
When asked if James understood the lyrics to refer to Heard, James initially said it wasn’t her place to speculate.
He was then asked about previous statements he had made during the 2020 trial between Depp and The Sun in the UK, where he was asked if the text was about Heard. At the time, according to a transcript read in Virginia, she replied, “Yes. Yes”.
In his final testimony, shared in videotape on Thursday, James said he was “just trying to help the court at the time, not knowing what the hell was going on.”
When asked if the answer he gave in the UK was truthful or if he was just trying to be helpful, James said: “I’m just trying to be helpful.”
“Mutual Abuse”
On Thursday, April 14, a video statement was released by Heard and Depp’s former marriage counselor, Dr. Played Laurel Anderson. He spoke to the couple about his past sessions.
When asked if Heard had ever reported physical violence by Depp to her, Dr. Anderson yes. When asked if he’d seen photos, he said yes, but can’t remember when. When asked if there was “violence by Mr. Depp towards Amber,” he said, “Yes, you are right.”
“He had been well controlled for I don’t know 20, 30 years and they were both abused in their homes but I thought he had been well controlled for decades,” she added. “And then it was triggered with Ms. Heard and they were both involved in what I saw as mutual abuse.”
Allegations of sexual assault
During opening remarks on Tuesday, April 12, Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, alleged that Depp once sexually assaulted Heard with a bottle of liquor.
Depp shook his head in court when Bredehoft described the alleged incident. His attorney Camille Vasquez challenged the allegations of sexual assault in court. A spokesman called the claims “fictitious” in a statement to The Independent.
Depp’s friend identified as a witness
Gina Deuters, who is married to one of Depp’s associates and is close friends with the actor, testified in person on Thursday, April 14.
Answering questions about Depp’s drug and alcohol use, she told the court that she saw him occasionally use marijuana and cocaine and that she saw him drink alcohol. Deuters said he has never seen Depp become violent or angry after using any substance or drinking alcohol.
At one point during her testimony, Heard’s legal team asked permission to contact Judge Penney Azcarate. The judge consulted with the attorneys and then put the jury on a short break.
Judge Azcarate then asked Deuters, “Have you watched the trial over the past week?”
Deuters replied, “I’ve seen clips online, yes.”
The judge then confirmed that Deuters had seen witness statements, after which she told Deuters that she was excused.
Deuters was then ordered out of court and Judge Azcarate said she would instruct the jury to reject Deuters’ testimony.