The verdict of the trial of Johnny Depp against Amber Heard 14:11
(CNN Spanish) -
The jury of the trial that faced Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard ruled that both are responsible for defamation after hearing, over the course of six weeks, more than 100 hours of testimony about the private life of the couple which were often contradictory.
Johnny Depp accused Heard of defaming him in a 2018 op-ed for
The Washington Post
, in which the "Aquaman" actress described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."
She did not explicitly name Depp in the article, but the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star claims she cost him lucrative roles.
These have been the 10 key moments of the trial.
1. "Yes, I am": Depp claims that he is a victim of domestic violence
Depp remarked during his testimony that he had never "been to the point of hitting Mrs. Heard in any way" nor hit "any woman" in his life.
What's more, he described himself as a victim of domestic violence.
It happened when his lawyer Jessica Meyers played the recording of a conversation between the actor and Heard in 2016. In the recording, she can be heard saying to Depp: "Tell the world, Johnny, tell them: 'I, Johnny Depp, a man, I am also a victim of domestic violence.
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When the recording ended, Depp's lawyer asked him: "What is your response when Miss Heard says 'Tell the world, Johnny, tell them that you, Johnny Depp, a man, are also a victim of domestic violence'".
The actor's response was direct: "I say yes, I am."
2. "Nothing I did made him stop hitting me. Nothing."
When the trial was two weeks old, Amber Heard took the stand to give her version of the events.
The actress accused Depp of having verbally and physically assaulted her, and spoke of the actor's use of drugs and alcohol.
The actress said that "for more than a year, maybe two" of beatings by Depp, she did not respond physically or verbally, but just stared at him, doing nothing after the abuse.
But afterward, the actress added, she began to verbally assault him and threatened Depp that she would call the police if he hit her again.
"He was the love of my life. But he was also this other thing. And the other thing was something horrible," he said in another part of his testimony, in which at times he broke down in tears.
3. The accusations about the severed finger and the message written in blood
Depp testified that, in 2015, he cut his finger on broken glass after Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him.
She sought medical attention, but told other people that she had been injured by hitting a door so as not to "get her into trouble," according to her testimony.
The actress, for her part, alleged that Depp sexually assaulted her with a glass bottle, saying she didn't know if the bottle he used was broken or not.
Heard testified that Depp told her that she would "kill" her during the course of the attack and that she later felt pain in the area, she bled and that she also had cuts on the soles of her feet, among other injuries.
Heard testified that at some point shortly after the fight, she believes Depp used his bloody finger to write and draw all over the mansion they were staying at.
"It was clear he was crazy. He wrote in blood on a pillow," she claimed.
4. The "catastrophic" impact of the article on the career
At the center of the debate was also what was the impact of the opinion piece on Depp's career.
His manager Jack Whigham testified that the actor started losing his job after that article.
Whigham testified that Depp had closed a $22.5 million deal for Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean 6," but that after Heard's article was published, Depp made "zero" studio films.
The article "was catastrophic because it came from a first-person account, it wasn't from a journalist or someone watching, it was from someone saying, 'This happened to me.'"
Elaine Bredehoft, Heard's attorney, sharply questioned Whigham about the "Pirates 6" deal, asking "why is there nothing, no paper, nothing to suggest that Mr. Depp ever had a deal with Disney."
Whigham later explained that for stars like Depp, for movies that are sequels, agreements at a certain stage are usually verbal.
5. Camille Vasquez, unexpected protagonist of the trial
Camille Vasquez, one of Depp's legal representatives, became an unexpected protagonist of the trial during a harsh cross-examination of Heard, in which she pressed her on several points, including her claim that drugs and alcohol turned Depp into a "monster" that became violent with her.
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"Who was the real monster in this relationship, Miss Heard?" Vasquez asked her.
"He's half Johnny. He's not all Johnny," Heard replied.
"The other half of him is wonderful and beautiful and the man I loved."
The lawyer's popularity skyrocketed.
6. Amber Heard's sister
Heard's sister, Whitney Heard Henriquez, testified that she saw the actor grab Heard by the hair and punch her in the face repeatedly when they were married.
Henriquez said that he lived with Heard and Depp from time to time during the course of their relationship and that he thought of Depp as a brother.
And she described the following episode:
"He comes up behind me, hits me in the back. I hear Amber yelling, 'don't hit my fucking sister.' She throws punches at him, she hits him," Henriquez said.
"By that time, Johnny had already grabbed Amber by her hair with one of her hands and repeatedly punching her in the face with the other."
7. The expected testimony of Kate Moss
Kate Moss, who was romantically involved with Depp from 1994 to 1998, took the stand virtually from England after being called by the actor's team as a rebuttal witness in response to testimony from Heard, who said on the stand that she thought of a rumor. that Depp had pushed Moss when she and her sister Whitney Heard Henriquez got into an altercation with Depp near some stairs.
Johnny Depp and Kate Moss, a media relationship from the 90s that now returns to the spotlight
Moss testified under oath that the rumor was not true: that the then couple had traveled to Jamaica and that at one point during the trip there was a storm and Moss fell down some stairs and injured his back.
"He never pushed me or kicked me or threw me down the stairs," Moss said.
8. The lack of "chemistry" between Amber Heard and Jason Momoa
Heard countersued Depp for $100 million, saying his lawyer's statements calling his abuse allegations "hoax" had cost him jobs.
In this framework, the actress said that she believed that her role in "Aquaman 2" was reduced and that she had had to fight even to be in the film, which is in post-production and whose premiere is scheduled for 2023. (Both CNN and Warner Bros. are part of Warner Bros. Discovery).
Her involvement in "Aquaman" was addressed on the stand with testimony from Walter Hamada, president of DC Films and the film's producer, who stated that Heard and her co-star, Joason Momoa, had "no chemistry."
Hamada testified that after the filming of "Aquaman," Heard's role in a possible sequel was discussed.
"I think editorially they were able to make that relationship work in the first movie, but there was a concern that it took a lot of work to get to that point and that it would be better to change the cast, find someone to have better, more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move on that way," Hamada stated.
9. Heard and Depp return to the stand
Before the close of testimony, Heard and Depp returned to the stand.
Heard described how allegedly defamatory statements made by Depp's lawyer, who called his abuse allegations a "hoax," impacted her life.
"I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every day. Even just walking into this room, sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of what I've lived through being used to humiliate me," Heard said.
"People want to kill me and they tell me every day. People want to put my baby in the microwave and they tell me."
Depp again stated that his ex-wife hit him multiple times and that her accusations of violence against him are "appalling".
"Never in my life have I committed sexual assault, physical abuse. All these outrageous and outrageous stories that I did these things, I lived with it for six years and waited to get the truth out," Depp said.
"So this isn't easy for any of us. I know that. Whatever happens, I came here and told the truth. And I spoke about what I've been carrying around for six years."
Amber Heard: I am humiliated and threatened every day 0:55
10. Closing arguments for the jury
Shortly before deliberations began, jurors heard closing arguments from lawyers for Heard and Depp.
Heard's attorney, Ben Rottenborn, told the jury that if Depp couldn't prove he never abused Heard, she would win the case.
"Mr. Depp just can't prove to them that he never abused Amber," Rottenborn said.
"A ruling against Amber here sends the message that no matter what you do as a victim of abuse, you always have to do more. No matter what you document, you always have to document more. No matter who you tell, you always have to tell to more people. No matter how honest you are about your own imperfections and your own shortcomings in a relationship, you have to be perfect for people to believe you. Don't send that message."
Earlier on Friday, Depp's lawyers argued that Heard was the abuser, not Depp.
"What Ms. Heard testified in this courtroom is the story of too many women," said attorney Camille Vasquez.
"But the overwhelming evidence and the weight of that evidence shows that it is not his story. It is not Ms. Heard's story. It was an act of profound cruelty, not only to Mr. Depp, but to the actual survivors of domestic abuse. For Ms. Heard to present herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. It is untrue, defamatory and caused irreparable harm."