FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) – Jurors of Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard on Tuesday heard a snippet of testimony contradicting one of Heard’s key witnesses, but much of the context was removed.
Jennifer Howell, who once hired Heard’s sister Whitney Henriquez, testified briefly in the six-week civil trial on Tuesday in a registered statement.
Depp is suing Heard for defamation at Fairfax County Circuit Court for an opinion piece he wrote in December 2018 in The Washington Post describing himself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though he never mentioned his name.
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Depp has denied ever hitting Heard and says she was the aggressor in the relationship. Heard has testified about more than a dozen separate cases of physical abuse he claims to have suffered at the hands of Depp.
Howell stated that he sent an email in 2020 to Henriquez asking him to tell the truth.
The jurors, however, did not see the letter, nor did Howell explain how he thought Henriquez was false. The edited statement was played in court for less than 15 minutes: Howell appeared to leave the statement before attorneys completed their interrogation.
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In a court document, Howell goes into much more detail. She makes a four-page statement in which she says Henriquez confided in her that Heard was the aggressor in the fight and Henriquez allegedly said he thought Heard would “kill Johnny.”
Howell also says in the statement that Henriquez told her and other people at work that Heard cut Depp’s finger in a fight the couple had in Australia. The cut finger has been a point of contention throughout the trial. Depp says his finger was cut when Heard threw him a bottle of vodka. Heard says Depp did it to himself one night when he was drunk and sexually assaulted her with a bottle of bourbon.
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Henriquez is the only one of Heard’s witnesses who testified at the six-week trial that he personally witnessed Depp physically assault Heard, in a fight where he said each hit the other while he was trapped between both of you.
It is not entirely clear why Howell’s testimony was so limited. Throughout the trial, however, Judge Penney Azcarate has strictly enforced the rules that limit hearing evidence, and Howell’s description of what Henriquez told him would probably be a classic example of hearing, unless Depp could claim some kind of exception to the rule of thumb.
In Howell’s statement, he acknowledged that he was upset when he learned that Heard had promised millions of dollars to the American Civil Liberties Union and a children’s hospital, when Howell thought the money could do better for The Art of Elysium. the non-profit organization she ran. and that he had employed Henriquez.
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The limited nature of Howell’s testimony makes it unclear whether the jurors will establish the connections Depp’s team hopes to establish.
Howell testified as a witness to Depp’s rebuttal after Heard rested his case Tuesday morning without calling Depp in the gallery: Heard’s lawyers had initially suggested they would call Depp as a witness.
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Jurors can still hear more from Depp. His team said he could call him up to the stands on Wednesday.
Both Depp and Heard have already testified extensively about the details of their toxic relationship.
Also Tuesday, celebrity news site TMZ filed an emergency motion to block the testimony of a former employee, Morgan Tremaine.
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TMZ said it is concerned that Tremaine is willing to testify on Wednesday for Depp and breach a promise of confidentiality that the news media provided to a source who gave TMZ information related to the couple’s high-profile divorce.
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Heard has denied reporting to the media that he obtained a temporary restraining order after seeking Depp’s divorce in 2016. Heard alleged that Depp abused her in that application, and Heard she was photographed by the paparazzi coming out of court with an apparent bruise. on his cheek.
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Depp’s lawyers have said he sought publicity on his allegations of abuse for falsely damaging his reputation.
Also Tuesday, Judge Penney Azcarate rejected a motion by Depp’s lawyers to dismiss a $ 100 million counterclaim he filed against Depp. The counterclaim alleges that Depp’s then-lawyer, Adam Waldman, defamed Heard when he described his allegations of abuse as misleading.
Azcarate said the bar to launch a claim before going to the jury is very high and said there is enough evidence to allow it to move forward. She had already ruled that Depp could be held responsible for the statements made by her lawyer, a principle that Depp’s team is discussing.
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