Johnny Depp slams Amber Heard’s testimony as a ‘performance,’ she responds
Johnny Depp’s legal team called Amber Heard’s testimony the “performance of her life” Thursday as the exes’ defamation trial continues.
“As Mr. Depp’s counsel correctly predicted in their opening statements last month, Ms. Heard did indeed deliver ‘the performance of her life’ in her direct examination,” a spokesperson for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star said in a statement to Page Six.
The rep also alleged Heard’s stories have “continued to grow new and convenient details,” while their client’s “recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the six painful years since her first allegations were made.
“His truth — the truth — is the same no matter the environment in which it has been presented.”
The spokesperson said the upcoming cross-examination from Depp’s team — which will take place after court resumes on May 16 — will be “most telling and will certainly highlight the many fallacies Ms. Heard has now attempted to pass off as fact throughout her convoluted testimony.”
Heard’s rep — whom she recently hired following a litany of unfavorable headlines when her prior PR team was in charge — told Page Six in response Thursday, “As evidenced by the statement just released, Mr. Depp’s defamation claim is falling apart so rapidly that his counsel are turning from prosecutor to persecutor.
“They boast that Mr. Depp’s story has not changed. If so, since he lost the domestic violence restraining order and he resoundingly lost the libel case in the UK, perhaps he should consider a new strategy rather than the recycled approach of attacking the victim and refusing to take responsibility for his own conduct.”
The actress’ spokesperson then referenced an audio recording that was played for the jury Wednesday, in which Heard, 36, asked Depp, 58, “Is the monster gone? Did you put him away?”
“If Mr. Depp was truly innocent, why has he repeatedly apologized to Ms. Heard and promised to put the ‘monster away for good’?” the rep said.
“One of Ms. Heard’s disappointments is Mr. Depp’s inability to distinguish fact from fiction — a malady which appears to have spread to his legal team. That same team is so panicked, they are fighting tooth and nail to prevent compelling evidence and photos from being introduced.”
Read today’s top stories on Johnny Depp and Amber Heard:
- Amber Heard’s full dating history: Ex-husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends
- Everything Amber Heard has shared about her daughter, Oonagh Paige
- Dakota Johnson notices Johnny Depp’s injured finger in 2015 video
Heard’s publicist then called out how Depp does not have the “fortitude or courage” to look at his ex-wife while she testifies and, instead, he “doodles and snickers.”
“Mr. Depp’s behavior in this trial has been as pitiful as it was in their marriage,” the spokesperson concluded. “Apparently, they feel they must double down on their demonstrably losing two-part strategy: distract the jury and demonize the victim.”
Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that the “Aquaman” star wrote, in which she said she was a victim of sexual violence.
She did not specifically name Depp in the article, but it was written after Heard filed for a restraining order against her ex-husband in 2016 over abuse allegations.
Heard first took the stand Wednesday to share her side of the story, claiming the “Edward Scissorhands” star had beaten and threatened to kill her when he abused drugs and alcohol.
She also accused her ex of having fits of jealousy, particularly over her interactions with her former co-star James Franco, and calling her a “slut.”
Depp is seeking $50 million in damages. Heard has filed a $100 million countersuit.
