Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial live: Actor returns to stand after Kate Moss testifies about relationship
Depp says it is ‘insane’ to hear ‘heinous’ accusations of sexual violence from Heard
WARNING: This live blog contains allegations of physical and sexual violence that some readers may find distressing.
Amber Heard’s legal team has rested their defence case in the defamation trial brought against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp. Testimony from rebuttal witnesses for Depp is underway, with the actor himself returning to the stand.
Heard is being sued by Depp for $50m for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t name him, he claims her allegations impacted his ability to work. She is pursuing a counterclaim of $100m, of which a motion to dismiss was denied by Judge Penney Azcarate.
Supermodel and Depp-ex Kate Moss testified that during her relationship with the actor in the 1990s he did not push her down the stairs as had been rumoured and mentioned by Heard in testimony.
Rebuttal witnesses countered the testimony of experts put forward in Heard’s defence concerning her alleged loss of earnings and the mental health of both her and Depp. The court heard differing accounts of alleged violent incidents and a former friend of Heard’s sister said she believed it was “something very wrong” to support claims against Depp.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday.
Depp claims he called Warner Bros about Heard’s Aquaman role to ‘curb their worries’
The actor returned to the witness stand on Wednesday (25 May) to give more testimony in his multi-million dollar defamation trial against ex-wife Heard. The Pirates of the Caribbean star was called back for his own team’s rebuttal.
Asked by his legal team whether he recalls Heard testifying that he “did not assist her in getting her role in Aquaman”, Depp replied: “It’s not exactly true.”
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:45
Court breaks for the afternoon recess.
The trial resumes at 4pm.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:41
Mr Neumeister says that he looked at many different versions of a photo of Heard with a bruised arm.
In an example, he shows different file sizes indicate that similar photo have all been through some kind of transformation.
He goes on to say that the photos have been through an editing program as evidenced by their metadata.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:37
New Witness: Norbert (Bryan) Neumeister, metadata expert.
A new rebuttal witness for Depp’s team takes the stand.
Norbert (Bryan) Neumeister is a metadata expert and has been asked to testify about the metadata of the photos involved in the case to see if they have been altered in any way.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:26
Depp denies involvement in Waldman statements calling Heard abuse claims a ‘hoax’
Johnny Depp has returned to the witness stand to give more testimony in his multi-million dollar defamation trial against Amber Heard.
Mr Depp was called back for his own team’s rebuttal on Wednesday (25 May) and his direct testimony began with questions about his former attorney Adam Waldman.
Mr Waldman’s statements – calling Ms Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse against Mr Depp a “hoax” and an “ambush” – are at the centre of Ms Heard’s $100m countersuit against Mr Depp.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:15
On cross-examination, Elaine Bredehoft accuses Mr Tremaine of perhaps wanting his 15 minutes of fame. He denies this and appears to accuse her of the same.
Mr Tremaine concedes he does not know who sent the video in to TMZ.
In redirect, Camille Vasquez asks him why he reached out to the Depp legal team. He says he hoped to help with the timeline of the acquisition and publication of the video.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:13
He worked on two other Heard stories, both in August 2016.
In the first, she was to be seen arriving at a law office to give video deposition.
The second was an emailed dropbox link to the video showing Depp slamming cabinets that was secretly filmed by Heard.
On the same date, he received a top that Heard would be arriving at LAX and a camera was dispatched to capture her arrival.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:03
Depp fans delight over his smile during Kate Moss testimony
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 20:00
Mr Tremaine says he first worked on a Heard tip on 27 May 2016 when she was at the courthouse getting the temporary restraining order.
They intended to show her leaving the building at which point she would stop and show the alleged bruise on her face.
The tip came from a news producer who had verified the tip and therefore he sent a camera crew to capture the footage/image.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 19:59
New Witness: Morgan Tremaine, former TMZ employee
Morgan Tremaine, formerly of TMZ, is now testifying.
The celebrity news outlet attempted to stop Mr Tremaine from testifying.
He begins by saying he was a field assignment manager at TMZ in 2016. It was his job to dispatch paparazzi to “hot spots” where celebrities would be, through tips TMZ received.
Tips would often come through individuals directly or indirectly involved with the celebrity in question.
Oliver O’Connell25 May 2022 19:56
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