Johnny Depp’s team delivered closing arguments on Friday in the blockbuster defamation trial that has raged on for six weeks. Depp’s all-star attorney Camille Vasquez began by labelling Amber Heard an ‘abuser’.
‘There is an abuser in this courtroom but it’s not Depp. There’s a victim of abuse in this court but it’s not Heard,’ Vaquez said. ‘Heard is in fact the abuser and Depp is the abused.’
Vasquez noted expert accounts that diagnosed Heard with Borderline Personality Disorder and called the actress a ‘deeply, troubled person’ who is ‘desperate for attention and approval.’
It is six years ago to the day that Amber Heard filed a restraining order against Depp, which Vasquez said ‘ruined’ the actor’s life.
‘On May 27th 2016 Miss Heard walked into a courthouse in Los Angeles, California to get a no notice ex parte restraining order against Mr. Depp and in doing so ruined his life by falsely telling the world she was a survivor of domestic violence against Mr. Depp.
‘Today on May 27 2022, exactly six years later, we asked you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr. Depp is not the abuser Miss Heard said he is and hold Miss Heard accountable for her lies.’
‘What’s at stake is this man’s good name, what’s at stake is a man’s life that he lost when he was accused of heinous crimes and the life he could live when he’s finally vindicated,’ Vasquez said. ‘Six years ago today Miss Heard filed a false report of domestic violence against her husband of 15 months, Johnny Depp. It was a setup, she tipped off the paparazzi so they would be waiting.
‘They knew where she would pause’ and show off her bruise, Vasquez said.
She said: ‘The photos capture what they wanted her to see – the image of a battered woman. The dark mark on her face appeared six days after seeing Depp. It was a lie, she knew it, Depp knew it and multiple witnesses who saw her that week knew it. The world only saw what she wanted them to see.’ The court was shown the cover of People Magazine that displayed Heard’s bruised face. ‘Two years later when promoting the biggest role of her career – until this trial – Miss Heard presented herself as a public figure representing domestic violence,’ she said.
Vasquez said Heard’s allegations are ‘wild over the top and implausible and you can’t pick and choose which of these to believe and disregard. You believe all of it, or none of it.’
‘Either she’s a victim of truly horrific abuse or a woman who is willing to say absolutely anything. It is disturbing to think Miss Heard would make up the horrific tales of abuse she testified to in this courtroom.’
Abuse is a reality for ‘far too many women but the overwhelming evidence and weight of that evidence shows it’s not her story, it’s not Miss Heard’s story’, Vasquez said.
She said: ‘It was an act of profound cruelty, not just to Mr. Depp but to true survivors of domestic violence.
‘It was false, it was defamatory and it caused irreparable harm.’ Before closing arguments began Judge Penney Azcarate told the jury that their names would be sealed for a year due to the ‘high profile nature’ of the trial. At the start of the trial she made no such ruling. Vasquez said ‘most importantly you heard from Miss Heard herself’ including multiple audio recordings where she admits to being physically violent to Depp.
The jury heard a recording of Heard telling Depp: ‘I didn’t punch you, I hit you.’
Vasquez said, ‘Take a minute to think about what you heard there. Imagine that was Mr. Depp saying that to Miss Heard. This is the real miss Heard, in the audio recordings.
‘What you didn’t hear in a single audio recording was Mr. Depp ever admitting to hitting, punching or kicking Miss Heard. You didn’t hear it, it didn’t exist. It didn’t happen.’
In 2016 when Heard found out that Depp wanted to end the relationship she ‘went on the attack,’ Vasquez said.
She sent Depp a list of financial demands and when they were not met she landed ‘a blow more damaging’ than anything physical by accusing him of abuse. Vasquez said, ‘She didn’t just want a divorce, she wanted to ruin him.’
According to Vasquez, Heard has told ‘lies upon lies’ including saying in media interviews that she gave away all of her $7million divorce settlement to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
That was a ‘blatant lie’ and she had only herself given under $1million from to the ACLU and $250,000 to the Children’s Hospital.
Vasquez said, ‘When you catch Miss Heard in a lie she covers it up with more lies.’
Next Vasquez turned to the ‘giant lie at the heart of this case’ which was ‘Miss Heard’s claim he was an abusive monster and she’s a public figure representing domestic abuse.’
She said, ‘We told you this would be a performance, the role of a lifetime as a heroic survivor of brutal abuse.’
‘Miss Heard went all in. She spun a story of shocking, overwhelming, brutal abuse. She came into this courtroom prepared to give the performance of her life and she gave it.
‘Miss Heard’s acting coach said Miss Heard has difficulty crying when she’s acting. You saw it, sobbing without tears while spinning elaborate, fantastic accounts of abuse.
‘It was a performance. She told you what she thinks you need to hear to convict this man as a domestic abuser and a rapist. She wants you to believe she was abused countless times over the entire course of their relationship. The evidence does not bear that out’.
Vasquez walked the jury through a number of the incidents in which Heard claims she was beaten up. They included the December 2015 attack where she claims Depp headbutted her, leaving her with two black eyes, a broken nose and chunks of hair missing.
The jury were shown a photo of Heard appearing on the James Corden TV show the next day smiling and larking around for the camera.
Vasquez said: ‘Here is what Miss looked like on the James Corden show the next day.’
Turning to the incident in Australia where Heard claims that Depp violently raped her with a bottle, Vasquez said that ‘there was a monster in that house but it wasn’t Mr. Depp, it was Miss Heard.’ She said: ‘All the evidence shows it was Miss Heard who attacked and grievously wounded Depp, throwing a bottle at him and severing his finger.’ Depp’s attorney Benjamin Chew continued the closing statements and said that with the op-ed Heard was ‘trading on her accusations against Mr. Depp’ because she had the movie Aquaman to promote. She was ‘once again casting Mr. Depp as the villain in her drama’, Chew said.
He said,’ This case has never been about money nor is it about punishing Miss Heard. It’s about Depp’s reputation and freeing him from the prison he’s lived in for the past six years.’
Chew called the claims ‘despicably false’.
He said: ‘While Depp’s name will be forever tarnished by these horrendous and false allegations this case is about telling you the truth of what happened
‘It’s about restoring his lost reputation. It’s about showing Mr. Depp’s children that the truth is worth fighting for.
‘And it’s about restoring Mr. Depp’s name and standing in the community to the fullest extent you can ‘He’s been carrying these outrageous stories on his back for six years. He’s told the unvarnished truth, even truth that’s pretty embarrassing
You’ve seen the evidence in this case – that evidence shows overwhelming Heard’s attempt to portray herself as a heroic survivor and Depp as an abuser are utterly false
‘We implore you to give him his name back’.
‘Before Amber Heard no woman ever claimed that Mr Depp raised a hand to her in his 58 years and no other woman since Miss Heard made that false claim.’ ‘This is MeToo without any MeToo.’