Johnny Depp Lawyers Rest Case in Defamation Trial Against Amber Heard, Who Fires Back With Nasty Abuse Claims

Johnny Depp's attorneys on Tuesday rested their case in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, who fired back at the actor with sexual abuse claims.

Leading up to Tuesday, CNN reported that the jurors in a Fairfax, Virginia court heard from more than two dozen witnesses called by Depp's legal team, including the actor himself.

Depp's final witness was forensic accountant Mike Spindler, who testified Tuesday about his analysis of the earnings the actor has lost following the 2018 op-ed the actress wrote for the Washington Post.

"I concluded that Mr. Depp suffered lost earnings of approximately $40 million," Spindler noted.

According to Spindler, that included $20.3 million, after agency commissions, from losing his part in the sixth installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and $20.1 million from booking for non-franchise films

Amber Heard's Motion to Dismiss Johnny Depp's Case Rejected by Judge

A few minutes after Johnny Depp's legal team rested its case, Amber Heard's camp started presenting their side. Heard's lawyers presented a motion to strike the actor's case, arguing that the actor did not prove his defamation claim, Deadline reported.

Judge Penny Azcarate has partially denied the motion but said she would continue to consider "one other argument if evidence is introduced" by the actress' camp related to it as they present her case.

Azcarate noted that "if there is a scintilla of evidence that a reasonable juror could weigh, then the matter survives a motion to strike."

According to Azcarate, there was evidence that "jurors could weigh that the statements were about the plaintiff, were published, and "the statement was false."

"And that the defendant made the statement knowing it to be false or that the defendant made it so recklessly as to amount to willful disregard for the truth. The weight of that evidence is up to the fact finders," she said.

The judge added that she would not yet rule on whether a defamation claim should survive in connection with one of Heard's tweets. The actress' legal team had no comment on the ruling.

Psychologist Says Amber Heard Reported Experiencing Sexual Assaults by Johnny Depp

Amber Heard's legal team started Tuesday with testimony from clinical and forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes, who evaluated the actress.

Hughes, who specializes in intimate partner violence, testified that Heard told her that she was subjected to sexual abuse by Johnny Depp. She noted that there were multiple incidents of "sexual violence reported in this relationship," and those occurred when the actor "was drunk or high," Deadline reported.

"He threw her on the bed, ripped off her nightgown, and tried to have sex with her," the psychologist said, adding that when the actor was "not able to perform" during such instances, he would become even further "enraged."

According to Hughes, there were different degrees of physical violence and psychological aggression that Heard and Depp perpetrated on one another.

She said she determined through tests that a "high degree of serious violence" was perpetrated by Depp toward Heard, while there was "violence more on the mild level" by Heard toward Depp.

The psychologist pointed out a particular alleged attack in 2015 while the couple was in Australia, where Depp put a bottle inside Heard's body while shouting, "I will kill you."

Hughes said that Heard told her that at that moment of the alleged assault, all she could think of was she hoped the liquor bottle the actor was penetrating her with "wasn't the broken one."

Based on Heard's report, Hughes noted that the actress was subjected to sexual violence, whereas the actor was subjected to "none." She also said she diagnosed the actress with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it was caused by "the intimate partner violence" by Depp.

The psychologist noted that Heard was not a client but that she conducted an objective evaluation of her in connection with the case. She said she met with the actress for 29 hours starting in September 2019, but she did not meet with Depp.

Hughes will be cross-examined Wednesday morning by Depp's lawyers. Heard is also expected to take the stand later in the day.

Depp and Heard are battling over the 2018 op-ed the actress wrote for the Washington Post, calling herself a domestic violence survivor.

The piece did not mention Depp by name, but the actor claimed he was booted from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise due to the "clear implication" that he was the abuser in his ex-wife's op-ed.

Johnny Depp further alleged that Amber Heard was the actual "perpetrator" of the violent encounters that damaged their relationship. He is asking for $50 million in damages. On the other hand, Heard has filed a $100 million counterclaim against the actor, who she divorced in 2017, for nuisance.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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