Topline
Amber Heard mentioned supermodel Kate Moss last week during her testimony in ex-husband Johnny Depp’s $50 million defamation trial against her, setting social media ablaze with interest in what could be a key focus when her testimony resumes next week after a recess.
Johnny Depp and Kate Moss.
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Key Facts
Heard discussed a time she hit Depp in the face during a 2015 fight near a staircase, saying she was worried Depp would harm her sister Whitney, who was present for the incident, according to Insider.
Heard said Whitney put herself between Heard and Depp “to get Johnny to stop,” and Whitney was facing away from the staircase.
Heard said she ”instantly [thought]
of Kate Moss and the stairs and I swung at him,” referencing the model whom Depp dated for several years in the 1990s, saying she initiated the blow to prevent Depp from pushing Whitney down the stairs.
Moss has never said Depp abused her, but in a 2020 libel trial between Depp and British newspaper The Sun, Heard said two people told her Depp pushed Moss down a set of stairs, according to the Independent.
When Heard mentioned Moss, Depp’s lawyer gasped and celebrated by punching his first in the hair, and Depp smiled, a moment that’s since gone viral on social media, though it’s not yet clear why Depp’s team was so elated at the reference.
Forbes has reached out to Moss for comment.
What To Watch For
The trial will resume on May 16, and Heard has not yet faced cross-examination from Depp’s lawyers. A spokesperson for Depp last week called Heard’s testimony “the performance of her life” and said cross-examination of her “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,” according to Entertainment Weekly. Heard’s team fired back with a statement of their own, telling Forbes “Mr. Depp’s defamation claim is falling apart so rapidly that his counsel are turning from prosecutor to persecutor,” and his “behavior in this trial has been as pitiful as it was in their marriage.”
Key Background
Depp and Heard divorced in 2016, when Heard claimed he abused her, which he denied. Depp sued Heard over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in which she called herself a “public figure representing domestic violence.” Depp was not named in the piece, but believes the implication he abused Heard cost him his lucrative acting career. Depp also sued The Sun for calling him a “wife beater. He lost in 2020 and a judge said there was “overwhelming evidence” he abused his ex-wife. Heard has countersued Depp for $100 million. When Depp took the stand he claimed Heard was the aggressor in their relationship, and said he never abused her. Depp told several stories from the couple’s tumultuous relationship, including a 2015 fight in which he claimed Heard threw bottles at him, and one broke and severed his finger. Heard also discussed this fight on the stand, saying Depp threw the bottles at her, choked and hit her and used the bottles to sexually abuse her. Depp also testified about an incident in which fecal matter was found in his and Heard’s bed, which he believes was put there by Heard, a situation that’s also garnered attention on social media. Heard said Depp frequently abused her, both physically and emotionally, and spoke of fits of rage that were fueled by his drug and alcohol use.
Further Reading
Amber Heard Accuses Johnny Depp Of Sexual, Physical Abuse On Stand In Defamation Trial (Forbes)
Amber Heard ‘Felt Nothing’ For Elon Musk, Psychologist Testifies During Defamation Trial (Forbes)
Musk Likely Paid Portion Of Amber Heard’s Pledged ACLU Donations, Exec Testifies (Forbes)
Johnny Depp Defamation Trial: Here Are The Key Moments From The Actor’s Testimony (Forbes)
