Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial: Judge refuses to dismiss Heard's counterclaim
The explosive defamation trial between ex-spouses and actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp is inching toward a conclusion on Friday (May 27). Before that, on Tuesday, Judge Penney Azcarate refused Depp's request to dismiss Heard's counterclaim, saying that it wasn't her role to measure the evidence's veracity. What was the counterclaim? Why did Depp want it dismissed? Here are all the highlights from Tuesday.
Heard's counterclaim states that Depp's former attorney, Adam Waldman, defamed the 36-year-old's career by accusing her of perpetrating an "abuse hoax." Ben Rottenborn, who is Heard's attorney, mentioned that Depp is responsible for Waldman's conduct since Waldman was representing Depp. "The counterclaim statements are 100% false. There was no hoax. [Heard] didn't conspire with her friends to create a hoax," he added.
While requesting the counterclaim's dismissal, Depp's attorney Ben Chew argued that the "abuse hoax" allegation was Waldman's opinion, and cannot be treated as defamation. Notably, on May 3, Heard's legal team had made a similar move to dismiss Depp's defamation suit.
Heard's lawyer had insisted that her career was impacted in the aftermath of her allegations against Depp, leading to her part getting pared down in the Aquaman sequel. Head of DC Films Walter Hamada clarified that wasn't the case, noting Heard lacked chemistry with co-lead Jason Momoa to the extent that they considered another actor. "The chemistry wasn't there," testified Hamada on Tuesday.
On Monday, Heard's witness Dr. Richard Moore claimed it was unlikely for Depp to lose his middle fingertip the way he had described in his testimony. Depp's attorneys responded on Tuesday by summoning the actor's surgeon David Kulber. He was asked if the 58-year-old could have grabbed anyone with his "disfigured finger." "He could, but I don't know how successful he would be."
Depp's witness Morgan Night, who used to own Hicksville Trailer Palace in California, also testified. This is the place where Heard alleged she was abused by her ex-husband. Night disputed part of Heard's testimony. He said Depp was "nice," while Heard seemed "annoyed" and "yelled" at her then-husband. He recalled that the "argument was triggering" since Night had been in an abusive relationship before.
On Monday, entertainment expert Kathryn Arnold claimed that had Heard's career not nosedived due to the long-drawn battle with Depp, she could have bagged multiple breakthrough roles. This included a series deal that would have fetched her $1M per episode. Seasoned entertainment lawyer Richard Marks, testifying for Depp, labeled Arnold's statement as "glib," saying that her "assessment is built on nothing and is speculative."
