He said, she said: A look back at the biggest moments of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial
Julia Johnson Jenny Goldsberry
Video Embed
The spring defamation trial between movie star exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard captivated audiences worldwide as viewers tuned in daily to the contentious, dueling testimonies. Vulgar text messages, video footage of the former couple, and photographs were a large focal point of the trial, displaying some of the celebrities’ most vulnerable moments for the world to see.
Ultimately, Heard was found liable by the jury for three instances of defamation against her ex-husband, stemming from a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post, in which she called herself a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp was also found liable for one defamatory statement against the actress.
Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages, while Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. However, the judge reduced the punitive damages to $350,000, as Virginia law caps it at that amount.
Both actors appealed the verdict. Heard announced in late December that she reached a settlement in the case.
Some bombshell moments drew more attention than others over the course of the seven-week trial in Virginia. From expert testimony striking a chord to a makeup company calling out the Aquaman actress, here are the stories from the trial that readers couldn’t get enough of.
7. WATCH: Amber Heard says she is ‘harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day’
Taking the witness stand once again in the final week of the dramatic trial, Heard told the jury, “I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day.”
“Even just walking into this courtroom,” she said. Notably, Depp fans constantly crowded the courthouse, dressing up and making signs for the star, whereas fans supporting Heard were few and far between.
iFrame Object
The actress appeared emotional discussing the harassment, particularly threats she said have been made against her child. “People want to put my baby in the microwave,” she said.
WATCH: NFL PLAYER COVERS $10,000 IN CUSTOMER LAYAWAY BALANCES BEFORE CHRISTMAS
6. WATCH: Amber Heard submits secret home footage as evidence in Depp’s defamation trial
In April, closer to the beginning of the trial, Heard submitted a secret video as evidence. The video showed Depp cursing while slamming kitchen cabinets. He also pours a large glass of what appears to be wine before discovering that Heard had been secretly filming their exchange.
iFrame Object
“Do we have a date for this illegally recorded thing?” Depp asked after seeing the footage in court.
“I did assault a couple of cabinets, but I did not touch Ms. Heard,” he quipped.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor further asked why Heard wouldn’t have left if she was so fearful for her life around him, particularly during the filming of the video.
5. WATCH: Expert says Heard’s ‘world has been silenced’ by Depp controversy
Toward the end of the trial, entertainment industry consultant Kathryn Arnold testified on behalf of Heard. Arnold told the jury that what should have been the actress’s “A Star is Born moment” fell victim to Depp’s “negativity campaign” and, as a result, “her world has been silenced.”
iFrame Object
During her testimony, Arnold compared the actress’s trajectory to Ana de Armas, Zendaya, and Gal Gadot, explaining, “It would have been very reasonable to believe her career would have been on an upward trajectory of those other actors.”
“It’s very likely Ms. Heard should have earned $45 [million] to $50 million over that time period,” she further claimed.
4. Johnny Depp lawyer Camille Vasquez: Amber Heard’s ‘friends don’t show up for her’
A breakout star in the star-studded trial was Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez. The young female lawyer did not mince words when making her arguments to the jury. During closing arguments, Vasquez noted, “You may have noticed no one showed up for Ms. Heard in this courtroom other than her sister.”
“Her close friends don’t show up for her,” she continued.
iFrame Object
Heard’s attorneys rebutted Vasquez’s claim, telling the jury that Heard’s friends did testify, some doing so virtually, and claiming that they corroborated her story.
3. WATCH: Old agent says Depp celebrity ‘dimmed’ as professional behavior worsened
Toward the end of the trial, Tracey Jacobs, who is Depp’s former agent of 30 years, testified to his waning celebrity due to poor behavior. On behalf of Heard, Jacobs said that Depp began showing “unprofessional behavior.”
“Well, initially, crews loved him. But crews don’t love sitting around for hours and hours waiting for the star of the movie to show up,” she explained. “It also got around town … and made people reluctant to use him toward the end.”
iFrame Object
“His star had dimmed,” she said. Jacobs described that toward the end of their business relationship, Depp was showing up late to every gig consistently and even having lines fed to him through earpieces.
2. SEE IT: Depp fans flood Google reviews of Heard’s expert witnesses
Some of Heard’s final witnesses, Dr. David Spiegel and Dr. Richard Moore, became inundated with poor reviews on Google following their testimony.
Spiegel is a psychiatrist who testified that “Mr. Depp has behaviors that are consistent with both someone who has a substance use disorder, as well as consistent behaviors with someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence.” He claimed he was not offering an armchair diagnosis as he had “reviewed a lot of professionals and the evaluations and their treatment course, video depositions, picture deposition, court filings, emails.”
iFrame Object
Moore is an orthopedic surgeon who contradicted Depp’s claim that his finger was injured due to a bottle thrown by Heard. “It’s not consistent with what we see in the described injury pattern or in the clinical photographs,” Moore said.
Almost immediately after their testimonies, their Google ratings plunged as angry Depp fans criticized their expert opinions.
1. ‘Did not launch’ until 2017: Makeup brand rebuts Amber Heard’s lawyer’s claim
The most-read piece of the entire trial had to do with a revelation that was surprisingly made outside of the courtroom. In a Legally Blonde-esque moment, the social media team for makeup company Milani Cosmetics revealed in a TikTok video that the color-correcting compact presented early in the trial by Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, was actually not manufactured or sold until after the time frame of the actress’s abuse allegations.
https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1517566437522563078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1517566437522563078%7Ctwgr%5E0559ce3fdb004935a1a9b964634d07fc9c9bb092%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fwatch-did-not-launch-until-2017-makeup-brand-rebuts-amber-heard-lawyers-claim
Bredehoft had claimed that the specific Milani compact was used by Heard to conceal bruising and other marks sustained from Depp’s abuse.
The company told the Washington Examiner, “Milani Cosmetics can confirm that the palette in question — the Milani Cosmetics Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit — did not launch until December 2017.” The abuse alleged by Heard took place between 2014-2016, per her claims.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Our video was to verify the claim that our eagle-eyed and loyal fanbase made about the product named in the trial. Milani Cosmetics is not taking a formal stance on the trial, evidence or future outcome of the case.”