In the mud fight between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in a US court, the jury now has the final say. At the end of the defamation process, serious allegations continued to rain down.
Sexual abuse, physical violence, lies, drug excesses:
The lawyers for Johnny Depp (58) and his ex-wife Amber Heard (36) once again made serious allegations in their closing speeches on Friday – and did everything they could to get the seven members of the jury on their side. Shocking cell phone videos, audio recordings of the most horrific insults and photos of bruises were presented in court in Fairfax County, Virginia, and broadcast live via cameras around the world.
Trial observers do not expect a quick verdict
After six weeks of the trial with dozens of testimonies and appearances by Depp and Heard on the witness stand, the jury must now reach a verdict. Judge Penney Azcarate reminded the seven jurors to come to a unanimous conclusion. The committee began deliberations on Friday afternoon – trial observers did not expect a lightning verdict. Due to a public holiday on Monday, the jury will not meet again until Tuesday next week.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star wore a dark suit for the final act of the process, the “Aquaman” actress appeared with a light gray jacket, her blonde hair braided on the side. “There is a victim of domestic violence in this courtroom, but that’s not Ms. Heard,” Depp’s defense attorney Camille Vasquez said in her closing argument. “Ms. Heard is rather the perpetrator and Mr. Depp the abused.”
Who hit whom?
Heard told the court exactly what she felt the jury needed to hear in order to convict Depp of “an abuser and rapist,” Vasquez said. She constantly lied and manipulated alleged injuries in photos so that she could pretend to be a victim. In addition, she admitted in audio recordings that she had become violent in an argument with Depp and had hit him.
Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn, in turn, drew a picture of Depp as an angry, aggressive man who had become a “monster”, especially under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He showed a cell phone video taken by Heard of Depp banging on kitchen cabinets. He read an SMS allegedly written by Depp with shocking insults, such as Heard’s “rotting corpse”. “Those words are a window into the heart and soul of America’s favorite pirate,” Rottenborn scoffed. “This is the real Johnny Depp.”
Heard describes more than a dozen abuse cases
There is “overwhelming evidence of abuse,” emphasized the lawyer. “Mr Depp just can’t prove he didn’t abuse Amber at least once.” The actress had described more than a dozen incidents of alleged violence by Depp on the witness stand. A judgment against Heard is a devastating message for abuse victims around the world, said Rottenborn.
Depp’s lawyer Benjamin Chew, in turn, portrayed the Hollywood star as a respected man whose life and career had been destroyed by Heard’s “malicious lies”.
At the beginning of the trial, Depp said on the witness stand that he wanted to bring “the truth” to light and restore his reputation. The actor admitted that there had been arguments in their relationship. “But I never got to the point of hitting Miss Heard in any way, nor have I ever hit a woman in my life,” Depp said under oath.
Depp accuses Heard of damaging his reputation
In his civil lawsuit, Depp alleges that the actress made false statements in a 2018 op-ed by the Washington Post about domestic violence. This would have damaged his reputation. Depp is demanding $50 million in damages for defamation. Heard counterclaims $100 million. She claims that Depp’s ex-lawyer Adam Waldman damaged her reputation with a smear campaign.
The bitter War of the Roses has been raging for years. In 2016, Heard filed for divorce after just 15 months of marriage. She accused the Hollywood star of domestic violence.
Two years ago, Depp suffered a defeat in London with a lawsuit against the tabloid “Sun”. It was about an article that claimed Depp had physically abused Heard as a woman beater. After a trial with fierce allegations, the High Court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit.
