Johnny Depp libel trial: ‘A wealth of proof’ supports Amber Heard’s claims, lawyers say
There is a “wealth of evidence” supporting Amber Heard’s accusations of domestic violence versus Johnny Depp, lawyers have actually argued at the High Court – declaring the star’s memory is “so severely impaired by drug use” he might not know of the level of his “terrifying behaviour”.
Depp, 57, is taking legal action against the The Sun’s publisher News Group Papers (NGN) and its managing editor, Dan Wootton, over a 2018 post which identified him a “wife beater”, and after 3 weeks the trial is now waning.
NGN’s legal team made their final speeches and submissions on Monday; lawyers for the Pirates Of The Caribbean star – who strenuously rejects all accusations of violence – will get to do the exact same on Tuesday, with a judgment on the case anticipated to come at a later date.
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Proof recommends the 57- year-old star is “a hopeless addict who repeatedly lost his self-control and all ability to restrain his anger” with Heard, the defence team declared.
Sasha Wass QC, for NGN, informed Mr Justice Nicol, the judge in the event, that proof of Depp’s “drug and alcohol-fuelled lifestyle provides a backdrop to the events” in concern.
“Firstly, it demonstrates that the claimant was subject to irrational mood swings and abnormal behavioural patterns, which would not have been present when Mr Depp was clean and sober, and Mr Depp has a name for this metamorphosed entity, namely ‘the monster’,” she stated.
“The other aspect which is important in terms of substance abuse is Mr Depp’s recollection of his own disgraceful conduct, which is so severely impaired by drug misuse that he may not even have been aware of the extent of his violence and terrifying behaviour which, on more than one of these pleaded incidents, put Ms Heard in fear of her life.”
Ms Wass informed the court it would be “trite” to recommend that an individual who stays with a violent partner “cannot be a victim” and stated that “the days are long past when the courts in this country required corroboration before accepting the unsupported testimony of a female complainant”.
Statement from an individual who makes a problem of domestic violence is “sufficient to prove the case”, the lawyer stated, “provided that the complainant – Ms Heard in this case – gives credible and reliable evidence”.
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In this specific case, there is a “wealth of evidence” – consisting of text and e-mails in addition to medical proof – supporting 34- year-old Heard’s claims, Ms Wass argued.
Throughout the three-week trial, the court has actually heard proof from both Depp and Heard, in addition to other witnesses including her sibling, Whitney Henriquez, and some of her pals, in addition to members of Depp’s personnel past and present.
NGN is protecting its post as true, “namely that Mr Depp did indeed beat his wife”, the lawyer informed the court.
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It is depending on 14 accusations made by Heard, who looked like a witness for the publishers, all of which the star rejects.
“For the defence of truth to be substantiated, the defendants need to prove on a balance of probabilities that Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on at least one occasion,” Ms Wass stated.
“During the last two weeks, the defendants have established that many more than one incident of wife-beating took place over the course of the relationship between the claimant and Amber Heard.”
Ms Wass went through information of the accusations once again in court on Monday, including what Heard has actually referred to as a “three-day hostage situation” in Australia in 2015, the so-called “Boston plane incident”, and her 30 th birthday party in April 2016.
Heard has actually implicated Depp of physical and spoken abuse from early in 2013 till their separation in May 2016, consisting of yelling, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, in addition to”extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour” She claims he threatened to eliminate her “many times” which she was “terrified” of “the monster” he would often end up being.
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She claims “one of the worst and most violent nights” of their relationship took location in December 2015, when she states Depp assaulted her the day prior to she was because of record a look on James Corden’s The Late Late Show.
Throughout the trial, the court heard proof from a stylist who dealt with Heard for the show, who stated she saw no hurts, and likewise a makeup artist who stated she did, and needed to cover them up.
Depp claims she has actually made all the accusations up, implicating his ex-wife of “building a dossier very early on” in their relationship to align herself with the #MeToo motion.
He informed the court no other female had actually ever implicated him of striking them, and witness declarations sent by 2 of his ex-partners, Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, supported this.
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Other well-known names to be drawn into case consist of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and James Franco, and Space X and Tesla creator Elon Musk, with Heard stating Depp was envious and implicated her of having affairs.
Depp called DiCaprio, who she auditioned with when, “pumpkin head”, Heard stated in her witness declaration.
The court likewise heard information of messages exchanged in between Depp and star Paul Bettany and of his relationships with other stars consisting of artist Marilyn Manson and The Rolling Stones guitar player Keith Richards.
In her closing speech, Ms Wass stated Depp had “aspiration to be the Southern gentleman with the beautiful younger wife”.
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She stated he glamorised substance abuse which “there was a clash of generations and a clash of cultures” when he got together with Heard. “He was not expecting her to continue acting with younger attractive co-stars,” the lawyer stated.
Ms Wass concluded by stating that Depp has “done what he wants for most of his adult life” and was not ready to alter for Heard, and informed the court she thinks the star to be “a wife beater” – the essence of this libel case.
The trial has actually been the greatest English libel case of the 21 st Century – however even when a judgment is made, it does not end here.
Depp is likewise taking legal action against Heard in different libel procedures in the United States over a December 2018 column in the Washington Post, which did not point out the star by name however stated the starlet gotten “the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out”.
That case is because of be heard in Virginia next year.
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