For three weeks, 12 jurors, a gallery of viewers and hordes of online detectives watched virtually every moment of the $ 50 million defamation saga between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Virginia.
Nothing in the trial, which depends on allegations of domestic violence, has been routine. Depp spoke on the stand for four days about his lavish, drug-fueled lifestyle, presenting himself as a victim, although the British judge has already ruled that there is “necessary evidence” that he abused Amber Heard and her. has left in fear for his life. He has also repeatedly indulged in strange behavior in court, from painting in impressionistic art images to the crunching of polar bears to giggles. And Depp fanatics turned to TikTok and Twitter to create harsh memes from Hurd that responded to painful testimony.
But if a lot of attention is focused on Depp and Hurd, supporting circus characters in a lawsuit have threatened to steal the show for themselves.
From a building manager who evaporated and drove during his video, to an expert who caught fire on pastries, witnesses presented by the actor’s legal team helped turn the case into an absurd drama. Depp’s legal team did not comment on the story.
Jurors must determine whether Hurd acted with “real malice” when she wrote a 2018 Washington Post publication – meaning the actress knew what she wrote was untrue – or that she published the song recklessly. disregard for the truth. In the song, which does not name Depp, Hurd identifies as having gone public as a survivor of domestic violence two years earlier. In May 2016, Hurd filed for divorce and received a temporary restraining order against Depp after she appeared in court with a bruised face. In his request, Hurd claims that Depp threw a phone at her, which he denied.
The essence of Depp’s argument is that he never abused Hurd, but she practically denounced him as a bully, sabotaging his career. The problems are grim and the bar for proving his thesis is high – the stakes are in the tens of millions of dollars.
Some of Depp’s witnesses may end up with the task at hand: transforming him into a victim. But just as Depp’s own bizarre antics can ultimately backfire, his group of colorful witnesses can make jurors scratch their heads.
Alejandro Romero
A porter of the Los Angeles apartment building where Depp and Hurd once lived, Romero made it clear from the moment his recorded testimony began that there were better things to do.
In a January 2021 video released in court on Wednesday, Romero can be seen in a car talking about his limited interactions with the famous couple.
“I know that you guys sent me the documents for review, and to be honest, I didn’t want to review them because it’s been so long,” Romero said at the beginning of his testimony.
Romero went on to say he was “so stressed” by the case and didn’t “want to deal with it anymore.”
Winning laughter from the courtroom – and Depp himself – with the recorded testimony, Romero was seen at one point driving around and quoting while insisting to the lawyers of the two celebrities that he had never seen any signs of abusive behavior or signs of injuries on Hurd’s face.
But the way the testimony was given was so unconventional that even Judge Penny Azkarate had to comment, jokingly after the video: “It was the first time.”
“I’ve seen a lot of things, but I’ve just never seen it before,” the judge added, prompting one of Hurd’s lawyers to agree that “this is the strangest testimony.”
Christopher Melcher, a celebrity divorce lawyer who represented Kanye West in his divorce case with Kim Kardashian, believes Romero’s testimony provides a “human moment” in a case that is no longer “out of this world.”
“The trial is a theater and a lot has been written for the jury and the judge,” Melcher told The Daily Beast. “The jurors in this case probably already feel like they can’t relate to some of the problems in the lives of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, but I bet they’re related to the front desk manager, who probably won’t take a break. day for this video recording ”
“This is a working man who does not want to be involved in this case and was honest about it,” added the lawyer, who has no connection with the parties to the case.
Christian Carino
A CAA agent and former fiancée of Lady Gaga, Christian Carino gave jurors a unique insight into the professional and personal lives of Depp and Hurd – including how the actress was related to billionaire Elon Musk after she and Depp separated.
In a two-part testimony, the former agent of both Depp and Hurd said he had never heard of any celebrity accusing the other of abuse. But he said he suggested the couple seek a marriage counselor to “mediate the difficulties they had” during their tumultuous, short-lived union. After they broke up, Carino added, he spoke to Hurd about Tesla’s boss, sending her a message at one point: “You weren’t in love with him and he told me a thousand times that you’re just filling up.
Carino also seems to support Depp’s claim that his reputation has been damaged as a result of Hurd’s allegations, citing the loss of the role of the actor in “Pirates of the Caribbean 6” shortly after the 2018 publication (Carino claims he had talks with Disney executives on the subject.) The agent said that by the time he met Hurd through Depp and testified as Depp’s witness, he was no longer friends with any of the celebrities.
“In my opinion, Amber’s accusations would have the most dramatic impact on his off-screen reputation. I’m not talking about any specific accusation, “Carino said.
But the pre-recorded video deposit was at least partially overshadowed by Carino’s decision to sit in a fully mirrored room and drink a variety of drinks during the recording. At one point he seemed to be drinking beer or hard kombucha – and was seen putting his face in his hands. In a second revelation, Carino appeared in front of a large footprint of an animated woman leaning toward the camera in obvious irritation.
Melcher noted that unlike Romero, whose behavior during the postponement process could have been nice, Carino’s behavior could be pretentious.
“He was in this strange background and he was obviously worried and didn’t want to be there. He drank a lot of drinks, “the lawyer said. “He was very contemptuous.”
Gina Doiters
The wife of Depp’s personal assistant, Doiters, was to be an important witness for the actor – until she was expelled from the trial on April 14, shortly after taking testimony.
When she began discussing her friendship with Depp, including how she had never seen the actor act violently after using drugs or drinking, Deuters was quickly stopped when the actress’ legal team requested a sidebar.
“Did you watch the trial last week?” Judge Azkarate asked after meeting with the two lawyers.
“I’ve seen videos of him online, yes,” she replied.
The confession led Deuters to be released from the trial and her testimony to be deleted from the record, as witnesses generally should not consume media coverage of the proceedings. But the jurors weren’t in the room at the crucial moment she was ejected, so I don’t know why Doiters was suddenly removed from the witness stand.
Melcher guessed that a quick exit would be impossible for them to forget.
Although Melcher believes the judge was “acting too fast” in removing Deuters without asking her for details of what she saw in the coverage of the trial, this is definitely a “forthcoming factor for the jury.”
“You can’t just erase something from your memory. This happened very quickly, so the jurors do not know why she was expelled, which may cause some mystery or suspicion, “added Melcher.
Dr. Shannon Curry
A clinical and forensic psychologist testifying on behalf of Johnny Depp, Curry sent shockwaves when she told jurors Tuesday that she believed Amber Heard had borderline personality disorder.
But Dr. Shannon Curry, who has worked in the field for about 15 years and focuses on the couple’s therapy – and was never Hurd’s doctor – blew up the internet entirely when she criticized the actress’ lawyers for asking her about baked goods.
“Can I clarify what happened to stop us talking about muffins?” Curry said during cross-examination.
The outburst came when Hurd’s lawyer asked the doctor if she had told her husband that she assessed Hurd psychologically as part of her work as an expert witness for Depp last December.
Lawyer Eliane Bredehoft began to speculate that Curry was “so excited” to be involved in the case – so much so that she told her husband she would appreciate Hurd, even though the case had to be “very confidential.”
Curry tore Bredehoft to “inaccurate” with the statement.
Get in the muffins.
“You said you brought muffins from your husband and gave them to Mrs. Hurd, didn’t you?” The actress’s lawyer asked.
The question prompted Curry to stop talking about food before explaining how her husband knew she was the only one working with a celebrity client, but not who.
The psychologist added that because she was late in this case, she asked her husband “to go to the bakery near our house and take the muffins for me … he often has to do this because I am often late.”
“I think I made her a comment like ‘My husband got them for us today,’ which means he bought the muffins we enjoy now because of him,” Curry added when she met Hurd.
“Why did your husband get the Amber Heard muffins?” Bredehoft later asked Curry, making her laugh and insist that he wasn’t (consciously) …
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