Amber Heard’s attorneys made a last-ditch attempt to have the case dropped, but the court denied their plea.
Amber Heard’s attorneys requested Judge Penney Azcarate to dismiss the lawsuit before it began, claiming Johnny Depp had not demonstrated his accusations.
Judge Azcarate dismissed the motion concerning two assertions in a Washington Post op-ed because there was a “scintilla” of proof that a jury may deem disparaging.
Since the necessary proof had not yet been presented, the court postponed judgement on a third assertion in the op-ed. The request sparked heated exchanges in court, with both sides arguing vehemently.
According to Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rotternborn, if the court believes that Depp mistreated Heard ‘even once, she wins – it’s that easy.’ According to Rottenborn, the proof that Depp mistreated Heard physically and verbally was ‘overpowering and indisputable.’
Rottenborn contended that Depp’s defamation claim should be dismissed since he failed to prove ‘falsity of statement’ during his case in chief.
Depp’s lawyer, Benjamin Chew, responded angrily, saying that Depp has ‘came out with several reliable witnesses, documentation, and legitimate audio recordings of Miss Heard herself.’
The evidence met all of the required components and even went the ‘additional mile of demonstrating Miss Heard physically mistreated him.’
‘She’s the abuser in this courtroom!’ Chew said, raising his voice.
Heard’s lawyer Rottenborn stated that if the lawsuit goes forward, the op-ed’s headline should be removed because Heard did not author it. The web version’s title says, ‘I came out against sexual violence – and suffered our culture’s fury.’ This must alter.’Rottenborn also stated that Depp had failed to demonstrate that Heard behaved with “actual malice” in writing the piece, a requirement for a defamation action.
Rottenborn informed the court that it was a “gatekeeper of the First Amendment” and that the lawsuit should be dismissed.
The ‘most persuasive and nasty’ proof, according to Depp’s lawyer Chew, came from emails sent by the ACLU to the Washington Post selling the concept for the post.
One ACLU executive informed a Washington Post editor in the email that it was authored by Heard, who ‘as you may remember was beaten up during her brief marriage to Johnny Depp.’
Chew said that the ACLU ‘aided her (Heard) to lie about it’ after the fact, and labeled the civil rights organization a “co-conspirator with Miss Heard” who had a “truly disgusting role” in the matter. According to the lawyer, Heard ordered the ACLU to “add it back in, make it more hot,” presumably in reference to Depp.
Without it, the story would have appeared in Teen Vogue because ‘nobody was intrigued in what she had to say until she was defaming Mr. Depp,’ according to Chew.
Chew chastised Heard for failing to pay half of her $7 million divorce settlement to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Chew stated that it was “one thing for her to stiff the ACLU,” although it was one more for her to refuse to pay the hospital with “ill and dying children.”
According to Chew, “everyone and his granny” knew Heard was alluding to her restraining order against Depp in the op-ed. He described it as a simple trick to acquire $7 million from the divorce settlement that she “pocketed” rather than donating to charity as she had planned.
‘Witness after witness has claimed that Miss Heard, far from being a figure symbolizing domestic violence, is truth be told a recidivist culprit of abusive behavior at home on Mr. Depp and others’ Chew added.
Rottenborn responded by saying that Chew crafted that speech for the crowd of people outside the courtroom. She’s not the abuser,’ he added of Heard. She and her witnesses will present even more proof of the abuse she received at the hands of Mr. Depp.’
As Johnny Depp’s team rested its case, Amber Heard’s personal nurse took the witness on Tuesday. The court heard from Erin Falati, also known as Erin Boerum, Amber Heard’s previous nurse, who appeared through video deposition. She talked through her notes on her handling of Heard, beginning with their first encounter in August 2014, under questioning from one of Depp’s lawyers.According to the notes, Heard has a history of drug misuse, including an addiction to cocaine and vodka. Heard doesn’t smoke however reports she drinks 1-3 glasses of red wine a day. The note indicated that family history of substance misuse, both mother and father have abused and been dependent on stimulants.The note further stated that the client confesses to a history of anxiety, eating disorders, ADHD, bipolar disorder, codependence difficulties, and occasional sleeplessness. The client identifies as bisexual and was previously married to a female partner.
Heard has been ‘experiencing greater agitation recently and has had multiple outbursts of fury and hatred,’ according to the notes. Her mood has been erratic.’
‘Emotional lability is when feelings spin like a pendulum, you see somebody upset and swiftly transition to great happiness, it’s like a pendulum,’ Falati explained.
Falati said in court that she remembered Heard acting like way when she was treating her. Falati wrote in the notes that the client expressed concern to husband and Dr Kipper (Depp’s personal doctor) she is apprehensive about being alone while husband is working (on movie set in London) and conveyed she has trouble coping with feelings of insecurity and envy when not in presence of her husband.In a letter dated August 29, 2014, Falati stated that after dinner, Heard expressed her “confusion” since she believed Depp wanted her to “remove her acting profession” and stay at home. When asked if she ever felt Depp wanted Heard to stop performing, Falati replied that she does not remember recall that being a sentiment.
Heard stated ‘difficulty with jealousy issues and worry about fiance’s celebrity and ability to contact girls frequently,’ according to Falati’s medical records dated September 2, 2014.
Falati said in court that she had seen a “general sense of envy and anxiety concerns sprouting up throughout the years.”
Falati stated in the medical records from September 4, 2014, that Heard grew ‘frustrated’ with the wait staff during dinner due to a misunderstanding.
Heard gently repeated herself, prompting Falati to focus on her adjustments in coping strategy, since Heard’s earlier coping strategies included ‘rage and ranting.’Falati wrote in a note dated March 25, 2015, that Heard was ‘worried about the capacity to believe fiancée following disagreement’ two days earlier. When questioned whether she remembered Heard thinking Depp was ‘cheating on her,’ Falati claimed she didn’t remember anything particular, only a general sense of jealousy.
Another note, dated December 17, 2015, detailed Falati’s observations about Heard in her Los Angeles apartment after a confrontation with Depp. According to the notes, she ‘had apparent bright red blood appearing at the center of bottom lip’ and was ‘actively bleeding.’
According to medical records The clinical notes stated that Heard expressed was from injury supported in a contention among her and her spouse. It also states that her skull is damaged and that she has lost clumps of hair as a result of the incident.
According to the court, Falati attended Heard’s 30th birthday party at the penthouse on April 21, 2016, when Heard grew enraged as Depp arrived late. The evening notes add that Heard looks to laugh and grin while chatting to friends, yet mood changes melancholy and affects flat when she is alone or talking with pal Rocky.Heard added that she couldn’t believe Depp isn’t here yet. He kept claiming he’s on his way, but he didn’t show up. Depp had been in a two-hour crunch meeting with his accountants when he arrived at 10.15 p.m.Heard celebrated her birthday the next day by attending the Coachella music festival with her pals. Falati wrote about visiting Heard at home in a note dated May 11, 2016. ‘Client confesses to illegal drug usage, and indicates she swallowed mushrooms and MDMA concurrently, vomited, and was ‘high for at least 24 hours straight,’ according to the note.
Falatii warned the client that illegal drug usage would not be permitted by medical personnel and that any medications or substances not prescribed by her doctor might interfere with her prescription medication.’The client laughed and also revealed doing illegal drugs (mushrooms and MDMA) at home on March 9 with a high-profile male acquaintance. The client stated that her spouse was unaware of the male visitor, as well as her illicit drug usage.’When asked if Heard had previously discussed her substance abuse, Falati stated that she had when they first met.
According to Mike Spindler, a forensic accountant hired by the Depp team, Depp lost $40 million in revenue as a result of Heard’s assertions.
After agent’s fees were reduced, $20.2 million came from the loss of Pirates of the Caribbean 6, in which Depp would have portrayed Captain Jack Sparrow. Between the publication of the Washington Post op-ed in December 2018 and October 2020, Depp lost another $20 million from other projects in which he did not star. Spindler alleged that this resulted in total losses of $40,317,237.
Nevertheless, after hearing Depp’s testimony last week, millions of fans have gone to his rescue, with a petition demanding for his ex-wife to be removed from the planned sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom garnering three million signatures on Monday.
Supporters of the actor are begging with DC and Warner Bros. to remove the actress from the sequel, Aquaman 2, which is set to be released in March of next year.
Critics say she should face the same punishment as Depp, who was fired from his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the sixth movie of Pirates of the Caribbean following Heard’s op-ed.
Heard is suing for $100 million in retaliation. She has sat back and watched as the actor has made several charges regarding her purported actions throughout their turbulent relationship.
If the petition, which is already gaining traction, garners 4,500,000 signatures, it will become one of the most popular on Charge.org.
It says that Amber Heard has been unmasked as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp. In his complaint, Johnny Depp alleges many incidences of domestic abuse at the hands of his (then) wife Amber Heard, including one event in which she hit him twice in the face and another in which she smashed his finger with a vodka bottle, requiring surgical reattachment.He’ll have a scar for the rest of his life as a result of it.
It continues expressing that men, like women, are victims of domestic abuse. This must be acknowledged, and action done to avoid a known abuser from being honored in the entertainment sector.’Do the right thing. Take Amber Heard out of Aquaman 2.’
The A-list trial in Virginia began on April 11 and is expected to last three weeks.
