Johnny Depp v Amber Heard news summary | 19 May 2022
Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial: 19 May
WATCH: recorded courtroom footage from the Depp - Heard trial on 19 May
After a week-long break, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been back in court since Monday to continue the trial.
The case relates to accusation made publicly by Heard regarding their marriage, in a op-ed in the Washington Post, that led Depp to sue for $50 million in damages and has denied ever being physically violent. Heard is counter-suing for $100 million.
You can watch proceedings from 19 May in this video coverage.
CONTENT WARNING: This live feed comes direct from inside the courtroom, where strong language and references to content including sex, violence and drug abuse is possible. Discretion is advised.
AS USA's William Allen takes a look back over Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's relationship, from their first meeting in 2009, to marriage, divorce and lawsuits.
Yesterday jurors were shown love notes written by Heard to Depp in 2015. The notes describe Depp as a friend who Heard had fallen in love with.
Heard wrote: “True love isn’t just about the madness of passion or instead picking the safety of peace. No it’s about having both. Falling madly in love with your friend.”
She continued: “You are the last thing in the whole world who deserves it, [the] last person I ever meant to hurt. I love you, Steve. I am so forever yours. XX Slim.”
But why 'Steve'?
Both Depp and Heard may have been hoping for a swift end to the very public airing of their dirty laundry, but both still have nearly two weeks left to convince the jury of their argument.
The trial was scheduled to end on Thursday May 19. However, with significant evidence yet to be considered extra time has been given to ensure the jury is in full appreciation of the information they have been given.
Depp lawyers aim to discredit Heard
Tuesday of this week saw attorneys for Johnny Depp attempt to discredit Amber Heard's abuse claims in the former couple's defamation trial on Tuesday, introducing a knife she gave as a gift to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star and affectionate notes she wrote to him.
At the start of the day's proceedings, lawyer Camille Vasquez asked jurors to examine the knife Heard bought for Depp in 2012. Heard, best known for her role in "Aquaman," had testified that Depp had already become violent toward her by that time.
"This is the knife you gave to the man who would get drunk and violent toward you?" the lawyer asked. "This is the knife I gave him as a present, yes," she said, adding that she did not think he would stab her with it.
Depp, 58, is suing Heard for $50 million, saying she defamed him when she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse. Heard, 36, has countersued for $100 million, arguing that Depp smeared her by calling her a liar.
Depp has testified that he never hit Heard and argued that she was the abuser in their relationship. He said she threw a vodka bottle at him in early 2015, severing the top of his right middle finger.
Heard said she did not cause the finger injury and said she only hit him to defend herself or her sister.
On Tuesday, Depp's attorney read entries from a journal that Heard said the couple kept to share love notes.
"True love isn't about just the madness of passion or instead picking the safety of peace. No, it's about both," Heard wrote in May 2015, two months after Depp's finger injury.
"I still, perhaps more than ever, want to rip you apart, devour you and savor the taste," she added.
In another excerpt after their July 2015 honeymoon aboard the Orient Express train, Heard said she "couldn't imagine a more gorgeous honeymoon," and added, "I love you more and more every passing day."
Heard had told jurors on Monday that Depp assaulted her and wrapped a T-shirt around her neck during the trip. A month later, Heard wrote that Depp was "my cornerstone, my heart, my all."
"You are my life. I hate it when we fight. I hate having hurt you. I love you more than anything," she wrote.
Asked about entries, Heard said she tried to "nurture as much peace as she possibly could," and that "when things were good they were really good."
The actors wed in February 2015 and their divorce was finalized about two years later.
Closing arguments are scheduled for May 27.
The defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has caught the viewing public's imagination but has been criticized as a media distraction that does not allow for a greater conversation over the complexity surrounding domestic violence.
After a week-long break, both sides returned to the court room on Monday for the final few days of the trial.
One of Depp’s lawyers, Camile Vasquez, has taken center stage this week as his team began their cross-examination of Amber Heard.Read our full coverage for more on Camile Vasquez and the remaining days of the trial.
As Depp’s legal team reach the conclusion of their cross-examination of Amber Heard, the jury will be given time to deliberate on their verdict.
Representing Heard is attorney Ben Rottenborn, who conducted a detailed questioning of Depp and many other witnesses during the first half of the trial. Here's what we know about the Virginia-born lawyer who is taking centre stage in Heard's defence.
Depp-Heard: some of the key points from the trial
The jury in Virginia is expected to be done hearing this case by late May. Here are some of the key moments in the trial so far:
-- Depp testified that he never hit Heard or any other woman. He said she was the one who became abusive and "bullied" him with "demeaning name calling." "It seemed like pure hatred for me," Depp said. "If I stayed to argue, eventually, I was sure it was going to escalate into violence, and oftentimes it did."
-- During an argument in Australia in early 2015, Depp said Heard threw a vodka bottle that severed the top of his right middle finger. The actor said he went into shock and wrote messages to Heard on the wall using blood from the finger. Heard offered a different account, sobbing as she told the jury that Depp sexually assaulted her that night by inserting a liquor bottle in her vagina. "I was scared," she said. "I had just married him."
-- A few months later, Heard said, Depp broke her nose and ripped out chunks of her hair during another violent encounter.
-- Heard's attorneys introduced photos that they said showed injuries after various arguments, including scars on her arm that were visible as she posed on a red carpet, and redness and swelling around an eye that she said was struck by a phone thrown by Depp. Attorneys for Depp showed images from public appearances that they said were taken around the time of their fights and appeared to show no injuries.
-- Depp testified that feces were found in the couple's bed in 2016. One of his security guards said Heard told him it was "a horrible practical joke gone wrong." Heard denied any involvement and suggested one of the couple's dogs was responsible.
-- Heard said Depp first became physically abusive when he slapped her after she laughed at a tattoo that said "Wino Forever." The tattoo previously said "Winona Forever," referring to Depp's former girlfriend, Winona Ryder.
-- Jurors heard an audio clip of Depp threatening to cut himself with a knife during one of their last in-person encounters. "That's psychologically, emotionally where I was," Depp said. "At the end, I was broken ... I thought the only answer is here, take my blood, that's all I've got left."
-- Heard's lawyers introduced text messages in which Depp called Heard a "filthy whore" and said he wanted her dead. Writing to actor Paul Bettany in 2013, Depp said: "Let's drown her before we burn her" and "I will fuck her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead."
Johnny Depp - Amber Heard trial: welcome
You can follow the latest from the courtroom in Halifax as the trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp continues into another day after last week's break in proceedings.
The case emerges from a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post, authored by Heard, which is at the centre of Depp's defamation lawsuit. She alleged that Depp was physical violent with her during the course of their marriage, something that he vehemently denies.
Heard wrote: "I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out."
Although the article did not include Depp's name, it was widely assumed that he was the target of portions of the writing.