7 highlights from Amber Heard, Johnny Depp defamation trial
The high-profile defamation trial between ex-Hollywood couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has been transpiring for over a fortnight. So far, the former spouses have leveled charges of assault, violence, and abuse against each other. They were briefly married between 2015-17. As the trial resumed on Monday following an extended break, these were the top highlights. Trigger warning: Description of domestic violence and assault.
On Day 16 of the trial, the Aquaman actress acknowledged that she didn't fulfill her pledge of donating the $7M divorce settlement amount. She had promised to split the massive amount between the American Civil Liberties Union and a kids' hospital in California. She confessed that despite her desire "to fully honor" the promise, she couldn't do it because "Johnny sued me."
The 36-year-old actor has also dropped a bombshell by mentioning that the Pirates of the Caribbean star used a tampon applicator to snort cocaine. Depp had earlier confessed to being a cocaine addict. Responding to a photo that demonstrated four lines of cocaine besides an applicator on a table, Heard also testified that her sister, Whitney, had taught Depp this "technique."
During his testimony, Depp had talked about finding "human fecal matter" on his side of the bed in 2016. He had suggested Heard had left the excreta there, blaming the dogs for it. As expected, Heard commented on the issue. Claiming her ex-husband was "too obsessed with dog poop," Heard said Depp was fixated on the feces and believed that it was human excreta.
Heard's involvement in the 2018 film Aquaman and its upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, has long been the subject of debate with many netizens wanting her off the job. On Monday, Heard revealed that studio Warner Bros. apparently "didn't want to include" her in the sequel due to her very public altercation with Depp. Now, she has a "pared down" role there.
In 2018, Heard had penned an op-ed for the Washington Post that detailed her experience as a domestic abuse victim. However, the article didn't name Depp. When questioned about this essay, Heard testified that her claims were accurate and "every word is true." She mentioned the article wasn't about Depp, but rather about what happened to her "after I escaped my marriage."
Calling this highly publicized scuffle with her The Rum Diary co-star "deeply humiliating," Heard said she just wanted to move on with her life. "I just wanted him to leave me alone...and he won't let me [move on] by making statements like this," she said. Noting "I have a baby. I want to move on," Heard added, "I want Johnny to move on too."
In an audio clip played in the court, Depp was heard screaming at Heard. The ex-couple was in the middle of an argument, when the 58-year-old shouted, "You're ain't nobody's mom! You don't exist! (sic)" He can be heard asking her to "acknowledge" his statements before making further demands. This clip soon went viral on social media with the hashtag #IStandWithAmberHeard trending on Twitter.
