Amber Heard’s defence rests in Johnny Depp defamation trial

A new witness for Johnny Depp has been called to the stand at the eleventh hour and testified that he saw him “cowering” during a fight with Amber Heard.

Johnny Depp has started calling rebuttal witnesses – which is set to include himself and his former supermodel girlfriend Kate Moss – to testify at his defamation trial.

Heard’s team had initially suggested they would call Depp as a witness, but ultimately opted against it, before resting its case on Tuesday after six weeks of testimony riding on graphic claims and counterclaims of domestic violence.

Depp’s lawyers responded by asking that Heard’s countersuit against the Pirates of the Caribbean star be thrown out but the judge hearing the case in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Heard’s lawyer, J. Benjamin Rottenborn opposed the motion to strike by saying the UK trial found that Depp was a “wife-beater.”

Judge Penney Azcarate denied the motion to have the case thrown out.

She said enough evidence has been presented for the case to continue and for both suit and countersuit to eventually go to the seven-person jury.

Actor Johnny Depp stands in the courtroom during a break at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 24, 2022. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP.

Among a string of witnesses called to the stand by Depp’s team to testify for the actor on Tuesday was Morgan Night, who owned Hicksville Trailer Palace, a luxury trailer park in the California desert where Depp and Heard were staying with friends, in June 2013.

“He was kind of cowering and seemed almost afraid,” he said about an incident where he alleged he saw Heard yelling at Depp on the trip.

“It was really odd to see because he was older than he, obviously.”

Night, a new witness brought on by Depp’s legal team, testified that he did not see Depp yelling at Heard the night of their argument.

Heard previously testified that Depp became jealous of a woman who was under the influence of illicit substances and showing affection towards Heard while they were staying at the site. The couple went back to their trailer, where an argument ensued, she testified. Depp then grabbed Heard and ripped at her clothing as well as damaging property within the trailer, Heard alleged.

Depp denied assaulting Heard and accused her of instigating an argument that night.

Night went to inspect the couple’s trailer after being informed about damage inside.

“I observed there was a light sconce by the bathroom, in the bedroom had been broken off the wall and a couple pieces were on the floor,” Night told the court.

Aside from the light fixture, Night said he didn’t observe any other damage in the trailer. He charged a total of US$62 for a new light fixture to Depp’s assistant.

"He was kind of cowering and seemed almost afraid..."
Morgan Night describes fight between #AmberHeard and #JohnnyDepp at Hicksville. pic.twitter.com/izs94tQqf5

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) May 24, 2022

Depp filed the suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”

The 58-year-old Depp, during his four days on the witness stand, denied ever physically assaulting Heard and claimed she was the one who was frequently violent.

Heard, 36, who had a starring role in Aquaman, did not name Depp in the article, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $US50m ($A72m) in damages.

The Texas-born Heard countersued for $US100m ($A144m), accusing him of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.

US actress Amber Heard’s legal team rested its case in the County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 24, 2022. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP.

The counterclaim alleges Depp’s then-lawyer, Adam Waldman, defamed Heard when he called her abuse allegations a hoax.

On Tuesday, Depp’s rebuttal started with Warner Bros. executive Walter Hamada taking the stand. He testified virtually about Heard’s contract for the Aquaman franchise, saying it was not affected by alleged defamatory remarks from Depp, as Heard’s legal team alleged.

Waldman’s statements form the basis of the counterclaim for defamation filed by Heard, who earned $1 million for “Aquaman” and $2 million for “Aquaman 2.”

Hamada said it was not the practice of Warner Brothers to renegotiate contracts although he acknowledged that the studio did so for “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa.

Hamada said there had been “conversations” about recasting Heard’s role in “Aquaman 2” but that was because of a perceived lack of “chemistry” between her and co-star Momoa.

“The reality is it’s not uncommon on movies for two leads to not have chemistry,” he said. “You know it when you see it.”

SUPERMODEL KATE MOSS TO TESTIFY FOR DEPP

Moss, 48, who dated Johnny Depp from 1994 until 1997, is set to appear at the actor’s defamation trial against his ex-wife on Wednesday.

American actor Johnny Depp and British model Kate Moss dated for several years in the 1990s. Picture: Remy de la Mauviniere.

The famously-private model, who rarely discusses her personal life, will be testifying in support of Depp and is expected to shut down Heard’s claim that he once pushed Moss down a flight of stairs. The “Aquaman” actress said her sister was near a staircase “in the line of fire … trying to get Johnny to stop” a physical assault which reminded her of a rumoured incident between Moss and Depp.

“(Whitney’s) back was to the staircase, and Johnny swings at her,” Heard testified. “I don’t hesitate, I don’t wait — I just, in my head, instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs.”

That reference provided an opening to Depp’s lawyers to call Moss as a witness to address the allegation.

On Monday, a Hollywood expert called by Heard’s team, Kathryn Arnold, said Heard’s career was “on the precipice of a meteoric rise” following Aquaman but it has been stymied by a “lot of negative publicity.” Arnold estimated that Heard has suffered between $45 and $50 million in lost film and TV roles and endorsements.

Judge Penney Azcarate listens during the trial on May 24, 2022. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP.

Depp’s lawyers also put experts on the stand who testified that he has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $US22.5m ($A32m) payday for a sixth instalment of Pirates. Depp filed the defamation complaint in the United States after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against The Sun newspaper for calling him a “wife-beater.”

Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard met in 2009 on the set of The Rum Diary and were married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalised two years later.

The judge has scheduled closing arguments in the case for May 27, after which it will go to the jury.