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After six weeks of an intense legal battle between Johnny Depp, 58, and Amber Heard, 36, the Virginia defamation trial is in its final stages.
Lawyers for both parties have presented their closing arguments and now the jury must announce its verdict. There is no specific date for this yet.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over an op-ed the actress wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she said she was a victim of domestic abuse, though she didn’t name names. The actor denies the allegations.
Heard sued Depp for $100 million after the actor’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, called his allegations a hoax.
During the latest court hearing, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor’s lawyers indicated that the article written by Heard “ruined” his life.
Depp’s defense tried to undermine the actress’ credibility by saying that there were no medical records about the alleged abuse against her and, moreover, that it was the actor who suffered violence during the time the relationship lasted. “He suffered persistent verbal, physical and emotional violence from Heard,” said attorney Camille Vasquez.
Meanwhile, the “Aquaman” actress’ lawyer told the jury that there are some text messages where Depp explicitly says he wanted his ex-wife “dead”. “This is a window into the heart and mind of America’s most beloved pirate,” said Benjamin Rottenborn, attorney for Heard.
The jury’s verdict, made up of seven people, needs to be unanimous. Here we review the most defining moments of this process where some of the graphic details of their relationship came to light.
1. ALLEGED SEXUAL AGGRESSION
In early May, her voice choked with tears, Heard described an act of sexual assault against her. Heard told the jury that Depp inserted a bottle of liquor into her vagina.
The alleged incident took place in March 2015 in Australia, when Depp was filming the fifth part of the saga. “Pirates of the Caribbean”. “I was scared,” Heard said. “I had just married him.”
Depp offered a different account of that night. He said it was Heard who assaulted him, throwing a bottle of vodka at him that cut the tip of the middle finger of his right hand. The actor said he went into shock and used the blood from his wound to write messages to Heard on the wall.
On another occasion, Heard claimed that Depp kicked her in the back in the middle of a flight because he was jealous that she was starring in the movie “The Aderall Diaries”. with actor James Franco.
2. FECAL MATTER IN THE BED
Depp said feces was found on the couple’s bed in 2016. One of his security guards said Heard had said it was “a horrible prank gone wrong”.
Heard denied any involvement in this and suggested that the feces could have been done by one of the couple’s dogs. In the actress’ version, the dog’s accident occurred after she and her friends left home to attend the Coachella festival.
Depp argued that the fecal remains were too big to be from the puppy. As he put it, it was a moment “so bizarre and grotesque, I could only laugh”.
3. PHOTOS
At the first interrogation session in mid-May, Camille Vasquez, Depp’s attorney, presented a series of photos that were taken 24 hours after Depp allegedly beat up his ex-wife.
Heard said these beatings left her with bruises, cuts and a swollen and possibly broken nose.
However, in the photos that were projected during the trial, the actress does not appear to have any sequelae. Heard said she applied ice packs and covered her face with makeup.
That same week, the jury saw other photos produced by Heard herself that show her with reddened regions of her face after a last fight that took place in May 2016 before filing for divorce.
But Vasquez showed two different copies of the same photo and suggested that Heard had manipulated one of them. “You edited these photos,” she declared. Heard denied it: “That’s wrong. I didn’t retouch them.”
4. “LET’S DROWN HER BEFORE WE BURN HER”
In late April, Depp testified to answer questions about a text exchange with British actor Paul Bettany, which took place in 2013 (when Depp and Heard were not yet married).
“Let’s burn it down,” Depp wrote. “Let’s drown her before we burn her.” He then made another lewd suggestion “to make sure she’s dead”.
When asked about the messages, Depp said they were taken “directly” from a humorous Monty Python scene about witches being burned and drowned. “This is a movie we all saw when we were 10, it’s irreverent, abstract humor,” he explained.
Depp said he was “embarrassed” by the messages and that they were an attempt to bring humor to his situation.
5. KATE MOSS DENY DEPP ATTACKED HER
In a brief video call deposition, model Kate Moss, who was in a relationship with Depp between 1994 and 1998, said he never pushed her, and that he once helped her after she fell down a ladder.
His testimony contradicts Heard’s version, who said he had heard rumors that Depp once pushed Moss down the stairs.
“When I left the room, I slipped on the stairs and hurt my back,” Moss said. “And I screamed because I didn’t know what was wrong with me and it was hurting.”
“He ran back to help me and took me to my room and gave me medical attention,” he added. Moss further stated that Depp never pushed or kicked her during their years together.
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