Johnny Depp's lawyers rest in defamation case, and Amber Heard prepares to take the stand

Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation stemming from the Washington Post op-ed she wrote about domestic violence in 2018

By The A.V. Club | May 3, 2022 | 7:48pm

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Johnny Depp's lawyers rest in defamation case, and Amber Heard prepares to take the stand

Amber Heard Photo: Shawn Thew/ POOL/AFP

After almost two full weeks of testimony, Johnny Depp and his lawyers have rested their $50 million defamation case against Amber Heard. This comes as the judge presiding over the case has denied Heard’s motion to get the case thrown out altogether.

Heard’s lawyers bid to get the entire case dismissed is a move that, according to CNN, is a “common tactic.”

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However, Judge Penny Azcarate partially denied their motion—which, Deadline reports, was expected. Azacarate’s decision was based on two arguments, but it’s been said that she will still consider another argument if Heard’s lawyers provide the court with the necessary, relevant evidence during their presentation.

For the last three weeks, the jury has heard from dozens of witnesses, including Depp himself. Depp took the stand and shared his version of his former relationship with Heard. Depp has accused Heard of escalating arguments to the point of violence, accused her of faking a bruise on her face, and he recounted the day he suffered that now-infamous finger injury.

He also said Heard reminded him of his own allegedly abusive mother, before accusing her of being a person who searches “for weaknesses in people.”

During another point in his four-day testimony, he alleged, “If I stayed to argue, eventually I was sure it was going to escalate into violence. Oftentimes, it did.”

In her op-ed for Washington Post, Heard calls herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse,” but she never names Depp. However, his agent, Jack Whigham, said her piece was still enough to lose Depp a lot of money.

Whigham said that both Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer had a verbal deal in which Depp would be paid $22.5 million for the sixth Pirates Of Caribbean movie. After Heard’s op-ed was published, that deal fell through, and Depp, Whigham claimed, struggled to get work.

Now that Depp’s lawyers have rested, it will soon be Heard’s turn to take the stand. Her legal team kicked off its own presentation with testimony from psychologist Dawn Hughes who is reportedly an expert in “treating victims intimate partner violence.” Per CNN, Hughes has previously testified in the high-profile trials of NXIVM’s Keith Raniere and R. Kelly, both of whom were ultimately convicted.