Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: Days 5-11

Insights from inside the courtroom.

April 30, 2022, Fairfax County, VA  — The 50-million-dollar defamation lawsuit between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is now underway in Fairfax County, Virginia in Depp vs Heard. Each accused the other side of lies, defamation and abuse. The case stems from a December, 2018 opinion piece that Amber wrote that was published in the Washington Post.

You can find every single document stemming from all of their legal disputes, from their divorce to the defamation case, all compiled and labeled here. You can find the documents from the UK case there as well.

The trial could last at least six weeks, with over 100 witnesses who may testify, and both Depp and Heard may take the stand as well. Depp met Heard during the shooting of the film “The Rum Diaries” in 2009. The former co-stars began dating each other in 2012 and were married three years later.

Around the time of Heard’s blockbuster film Aquaman’s release in May of 2016, police were called to the couple’s Los Angeles home responding to an alleged domestic dispute. The Los Angeles Police Department concluded that there was no evidence of a crime. A few days after that, Amber Heard filed for divorce and a restraining order, having accused Depp of “repeated” domestic violence. Depp’s representatives denied these allegations, but Heard was granted a temporary restraining order.

The bitter feud between the two played out in the public, with each slinging accusations at the other. Before the hearing on the restraining order, the couple ended their divorce, settled for a reported 7 million dollars. Heard dropped the restraining order, and she and Depp released a joint statement claiming that: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

Then in 2018, Heard published the op-ed in the Washington Post, alleging domestic violence, which Depp claimed was defamatory and caused him harm to his career. Heard claimed that Depp repeatedly abused her.

The trial began with opening statements and testimony from Depp’s sister Christi Dembrowski. The next day Christi Dembrowski continued her testimony and we also heard from Isaac Baruch and Brandon Patterson. Linked are my prior two articles on the trial. On the third day we heard from Heard’s former assistant Kate James, from marriage counselor Dr. Laurel Anderson, friend of Depp Ms. Gina Deuters and finally from Depp’s doctor, Dr. Kipper.

The coverage of this trial is oversaturated (as it is being livestreamed) and there are tons of channels and publications that are streaming it and doing daily recaps and play-by-plays. I wanted to provide a unique perspective, so I will only be providing insights from inside the courtroom that you wouldn’t be able to get unless you were there in person. Here are my insights for days 5-11:

I will be back in court next week to provide more coverage of the trial. I am looking forward to watching Amber Heard on the stand! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on my YouTube channel. If you have any questions, let me know and I will try to respond.