In the case of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard, Amber Heard’s losing battle continues. After Johnny Depp’s career and reputation have been in shambles at the hands of Amber Heard, he’s finally seeing justice as Heard’s lies continue to unravel.
Johnny Depp’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Amber Heard
Depp is contending that Heard robbed him of millions of dollars and stripped him of his role in the proposed sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film when she published an op-ed accusing Depp of domestic violence towards her. The infamous legal battle has been underway since April 11th in Fairfax, Va. Depp’s lawyers presented a nurse and a forensic accountant as their final witnesses prior to resting.
Amber Heard’s lawyer made a standard motion to dismiss the suit, claiming that “Depp’s attorneys failed to present enough evidence to prove their case.”
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Judge Penney Azcarate unsurprisingly denied the motion. Now it’s up to the jury to reach a verdict after all the remaining evidence and closing arguments make their way to the courtroom. Now Heard’s attorneys will have the chance to present their defense, including testimony from Heard, who is expected to take the stand on Wednesday.
Depp is suing Heard over her 2018 piece in the Washington Post, titled “Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
Justice For Johnny Depp
Depp aims to expose three defamatory statements in the piece. One statement is the headline, which refers to “sexual violence.” The second is the paragraph in which Heard describes herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse,” and the third is the paragraph in which she references “how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
In a pre-trial demurrer, Amber Heard’s attorneys attempted to throw out the case just like Heard threw out Depp’s livelihood. They argued that the statements refer to the backlash Heard received after first making her allegations in 2016. Judge Bruce D. White dismissed that argument in March 2020, finding that the three statements could be interpreted as asserting that the prior allegations were true.
Ben Rottenborn, Amber Heard’s lawyer, pleaded Tuesday that “Heard cannot be held accountable for the headline because it was written by the Washington Post”. He also pleaded that while there is a dispute about whether Depp hit Heard, there is no dispute about whether he verbally abused her, and discussed that some of that abuse was captured on tape and has been presented to the jury. Consequently, he argued, “the two statements in the body of the piece are not defamatory”.
“If Mr. Depp abused Ms. Heard — physically, emotionally, psychologically — even one time, then she wins,”
– Ben Rottenborn
Ben Chew, Depp’s attorney, argued that the plaintiff’s side had put on substantial evidence to validate the elements of defamation. He mentioned that Depp’s accounting expert had testified that he lost $40 million in film earnings following the publication of the op-ed. He also pointed to Depp’s testimony, and to audio in which Heard herself admitted to “hitting” Depp.
“Ms. Heard physically abused him, She’s the abuser in this courtroom.”
– Ben Chew
Chew also stated that Heard had tweeted out the op-ed the day after it was published, making her responsible for everything in it, including the headline. Rottenborn then argued that the relevant case law holds that tweeting an article is not considered republication for defamation purposes.
Azcarate denied Heard’s motion regarding the two statements in the body of the opinion piece. She held off, however, on issuing a ruling on whether to dismiss the claim relating to the headline, saying she would need further evidence.
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and I barely needed to rely on that to deduce that Amber Heard is a narcissist and a sociopath due to so much evidence that came to light, so yes I stand with Johnny Depp like most of you.
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Source: Variety
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