Amber Heard’s big Johnny Depp backflip in court

Amber Heard’s legal team has today released a surprise statement detailing a key change in plan for their final days of Johnny Depp’s trial.

As Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard enters its final days, all eyes are on whether or not Depp will be asked to take the stand again.

And Heard’s team has now confirmed they will not call the actor back to the stand, in a blistering statement published by several outlets today that branded the actor’s testimony as “irrelevant.”

“Calling Depp back to the stand would be as relevant to us as a bicycle to a fish,” the statement reads.

“Everything Depp has testified up to this point has been irrelevant to the heart of this case, and there’s no reason to believe it would be any different now.”

Depp spent four days on the witness stand earlier in the trial when he was quizzed about his relationship with Heard.

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Legal experts warned that putting Depp back on the stand could do Heard’s case more harm than good. Picture: AFP

Heard’s team had been toying with the idea of having another go at questioning the star, but legal experts warned that putting him back on the stand could backfire for Heard.

“There is a risk that he is going to have more time being likeable on the stand when it’s actually Amber Heard’s time to present her case,” civil lawyer Katherine Lizardo told the New York Post.

Depp’s lawyers changed their mind about putting him on the witness stand when the case resumed in court today. His legal team told NBC News that his testimony “has been irrelevant to the heart of this case”. But he could still be called to the witness box later in the week.

Seattle defamation lawyer Bruce Johnson agreed that Depp’s apparent likability could be a problem for Heard.

“That is a huge risk if he’s a good witness and he’s going to perform well again,” Mr Johnson told The Post.

Halim Dhanidina, a criminal defence lawyer and former California judge, said Depp’s “very unique personality” likely made him appealing to the jury the first time around.

Heard is being sued by her ex-husband for $US50m. Picture: AFP

“He didn’t really strike me as someone who was putting on an act or fabricating,” he said. “The jury is going to want to know whether they can rely on testimony not based on how smart the witness appears, but how sincere they are.”

Depp, 58, is suing his 36-year-old ex-wife for $US50million ($A70 million), accusing her of defaming him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed.

Mr Dhanidina noted that Depp could try to gain the “advantage” if he gets a chance to address the jury again.

“If he has been landing with the jury and if the jury is liking him, then more time in front of the jury is a good thing for him,” he said. “It may be something that [Heard] does out of necessity but that [Depp] himself can benefit from.”

Jurors, however, wouldn’t be given an explanation as to why Depp is back on the stand, which could “confuse” them, Ms Lizardo added.

One legal expert said jurors could be “confused” to see Depp back on the stand. Picture: AFP

“Most of the time when you are doing cross-examination, it sounds hostile,” she said. “A jury might think, ‘OK, he’s back on the stand. Are they badgering him again?’”

Defamation lawyer Mr Johnson also said Heard’s team needs to weigh whether calling Depp again will stretch the jury’s attention, as some jurors have reportedly been spotted dozing off while the trial stretches into its fifth week.

“You are putting on a performance for a jury and you don’t want to drag it on for too long,” Mr Johnson said. “In any long trial, that is a consideration.”

Some of the experts, however, said that Heard’s legal team may try to get the upper hand over Depp if they put him back on the stand.

“I would suspect that they would want to cut [Depp] down to size,” Virginia defamation lawyer Jeremiah Denton told The Post.

“He did reasonably well in his first appearance on the stand, so I guess they feel they have to necessarily attack his credibility – it might be his memory, his truthfulness [or] covering something that hasn’t been covered,” Mr Denton said.