Johnny Depp trial – live: Actor laughs at text about his penis after court hears of search for severed finger & More Top Stories News Today – Upjobsnews

Amber Heard is likely to argue that The Washington Post op-ed over which ex Johnny Depp is suing her is a matter of public interest during their ongoing trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court.

Judge Penney Azcarate ruled in a preliminary hearing in Virginia in March that Ms Heard’s legal team was entitled to use a defence known as an anti-SLAPP Provision, which stands for a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

According to the provision, Heard is free to argue before a jury that she should be protected from a libel lawsuit given that the article in question addressed a matter of public interest and safety.

Depp is suing Heard for $50m for defamation over the 2018 article in which she alluded that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor assaulted her.

The Independent’s Harriet Williamson penned a column last week explaining how this defamation trial has tainted her perception of Depp – whom she “worshipped” as a teenager.

“His image as a free-thinking rebel and non-conformist – choosing quirky independent film roles, refusing to fit the Hollywood mould and getting into confrontations with the police – has, over time, transformed into something that feels much darker and sadder,” she writes.

Before the trial kicked off, Depp and Heard each published a list of witnesses their teams may wish to call upon.

The lists feature a number of very well-known names, including James Franco, Elon Musk, Paul Bettany – and the actors themselves.

Clémence Michallon takes a look at who could be called to testify and why:

Depp is rumoured to be gearing up to testify this week, giving the jury a direct account of the anguish he claims to have suffered at the hands of Heard.

Both Depp and Heard indicated they may take the stand in pre-trial witness lists.

If and when they will testify remains to be seen.

The professional who counseled Depp and Heard through marital issues took centre stage in the courtroom on Thursday as she told the jury how she believed they engaged in “mutual abuse”.

Asked whether Heard had ever reported any physical violence by Depp to her, Dr Laurel Anderson said yes. Asked whether she had seen photos, she said she had but doesn’t remember when. Asked whether “there was violence from Mr Depp toward Amber”, she said: “Yes, you’re right.”

“He had been well controlled for, I don’t know – 20, 30 years, and both were victims of abuse in their homes, but I thought he had been well controlled for decades,” she added. “And then with Ms Heard he was triggered and they engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse.”

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon reports:

Notes from Depp’s former private nurse Debbie Lloyd were shown to the jury on Monday, revealing his fear of “never feeling normal without his drugs”.

In the notes, which began in 2014, Ms Lloyd wrote that Depp started taking opioids after getting dental work done, and he became addicted.

“Patient is fearful of coming off opioids, but knows it’s something he needs to do,” the notes state.

The Independent’s Gustaf Kilander reports:

The court on Monday heard how Dr Kipper treated Depp for a finger injury in Australia in March 2015 – after an incident in which the actor claimed Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.

The physician said he found Depp bleeding profusely and treated his finger wound, but said he was not sure how the injury occurred. The tip of Depp’s finger was later found on the kitchen floor.

Dr Kipper said he spoke to Heard the same day but did not observe any wounds on her. Heard had said that Depp threw her against a ping-pong table and shoved her into a fridge.

Depp denied those allegations and previously said of the altercation: “After the incident where Ms Heard threw the vodka bottle, the second vodka bottle at me, which severed the top of my finger and crushed the bones, that’s when I began what I feel was probably some species of a breakdown, a nervous breakdown or something.”

Under questioning from Depp’s attorneys in a video deposition shown in court on Monday, Dr Kipper said he “never” witnessed abuse between the actor and Heard over the six years that he treated them.

He said neither Depp nor Heard ever reported abuse to him either.

Depp’s lawyers are seeking to make the point that if Depp abused Heard, Dr Kipper would have been aware of it.

Read more about Dr Kipper’s testimony:

Depp and Heard are believed to have started dating in 2012, after Depp split from his longtime partner, French actor Vanessa Paradis.

They got engaged in 2014 before tying the knot a year later.

By May 2016, they were in court seeking a divorce.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon recaps the relationship:

If you’re just joining The Independent’s coverage of the trial opposing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, here’s what you need to know:

Depp filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Heard in March 2019, alleging that she defamed him in an op-ed she wrote in 2018 for The Washington Post.

The op-ed, which ran in December of that year, is titled: “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”

Depp isn’t mentioned by name in the op-ed, but his legal team has argued that it contains a “clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser”, which it says is “categorically and demonstrably false”.

Clémence Michallon explains: