Editor’s note: Some testimony contains graphic language and descriptions of sexual and physical assault.
The civil trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard resumes Wednesday, in what is the sixth and expected last week of the trial.
Depp is suing Heard for libel for $50 million in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.
CBS News has confirmed Depp’s team is expected to call supermodel Kate Moss, who dated Depp in the 1990s. Earlier, Heard testified that during a 2015 fight she recalled an alleged incident of Depp pushing Moss down a staircase. That opened the door for Depp’s attorneys to call Moss to the stand.
Depp has denied he ever struck Heard, and says she was the abuser in the relationship. Heard has testified about more than a dozen separate instances of physical abuse she says she suffered at Depp’s hands.
Heard’s attorneys rested their defense Tuesday. Judge Penney Azcarate rejected a motion from Depp’s attorneys to toss out a $100 million counterclaim she filed against Depp. The counterclaim alleges Depp’s then-lawyer, Adam Waldman, defamed Heard when he called her abuse allegations a hoax.
Also Tuesday, Walter Hamara, the president of DC Films, testified that Amber Heard lacked chemistry with “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa, and the studio considered replacing her for the blockbuster’s sequel. Depp’s attorneys also called the actor’s hand doctor, Dr. David A. Kulber, to the stand, who questioned whether expert Dr. David Spiegel could accurately assess Depp without ever having spoken to him.
While it had been reported Heard’s attorneys would call Depp as a witness Monday, they did not do so. Depp’s attorneys are planning to recall the star to the stand ahead of closing arguments Friday.
Both Depp and Heard have each testified extensively already about details of their toxic relationship.
