Last Updated on 05/17/2022 by てんしょく飯
The cross-examination of Amber Heard in Johnny Depp’s defamation trial finally began.
Depp struggled to hide his smile as he watched the contradictions in Heard’s testimony being brought out one after another by his own lawyer.
After a week’s break, the trial resumed at 9:00 a.m. East Coast time on May 16. The bulk of the day was spent with Heard testifying in response to questions from Heard’s attorneys. In this exchange, perhaps in awareness of the cross-examination that was to follow, there was mention of the cosmetics that Heard had used to cover the bruises on his face that were the result of the violence he had suffered from Depp.
In her opening statement at trial, Heard’s attorney showed the jury a cosmetic containing four color correctors and said, “When I was with Johnny Depp, Amber always had this in her bag. She used to use this. As for how she mixed the different colors, I’m sure she will tell us in her testimony, but she would change the way she mixed them depending on the condition to hide the bruises,” he said. However, a brand called Milani Cosmetics, which realized it was their product after watching live footage of the trial, accused Depp and Heard of having debuted that particular product about a year after their divorce was finalized. Realizing that Depp’s lawyers would not let this go, Heard’s team dared to bring out the same cosmetics again, explaining how Heard had mixed the colors and covered up the bruises, as he had promised in his opening statement. Heard, however, evaded saying that it was not exactly the same product as this one.
Heard also testified that he hid the bruises whenever they were present because the paparazzi would take pictures of them. The procedure for hiding them, she explained, was to first ice them, then apply foundation, concealer, and then the four color correctors in the example. In response to this testimony, people on social media commented, “That order is strange. Normally the color corrector comes first and the foundation comes after, right? The women responded with comments such as, “Isn’t that order strange?
Heard also claimed that she had endured Depp’s domestic violence for so long because she wanted to protect him, and that is why she did not tell the police that it was Depp who was the aggressor when the police came to her house after receiving a domestic violence call (which she said was not her who made the call, but probably one of her friends). Heard. She also claimed that all she was seeking in her divorce from him was her own safety and not money. Depp’s business manager testified that in the divorce, Heard raised the money he was demanding from Depp from $4 million to $7 million, but Heard said, “I never gave them a number. Besides, they offered me a much higher amount, and I agreed to very little more than that. I am not interested in Johnny’s money,” he denied.
Although Heard publicly stated that he would donate that $7 million to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the trial revealed that only a small portion of that money has yet been donated. When asked by his own attorney why, Heard said that he could no longer pay because Depp had filed this lawsuit. He said, “I would like to make a donation, but I can’t anymore. I wish Johnny would stop suing me,” Heard also said.
Contradictions Revealed
But those excuses were not good enough for Depp’s legal team.
During cross-examination, which began just an hour before the end of the day, Heard was asked a series of pointed questions by a female attorney, Camille Vazquez. Vazquez first clearly confirmed with Heard the details of the terrible violence by Depp that Heard had specifically brought up in her testimony. For example, there was one instance in which her nose was crushed by Depp’s violence, and another in which her knee was pressed hard against her back in a hotel closet. Then she asked, “This is a picture of you the day after you were subjected to that violence, isn’t it?” and presented Heard and the jury with photos of her laughing with a normal nose and of her attending a premiere wearing a dress with a wide open back, even though she said she was worried that she might have bruises on her back.
In response, Heard bullishly offered the painful excuse that she was wearing makeup, but her face scrunched up when Velasquez played footage from “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” which has already become a major social media sensation. According to Heard, the night before her appearance on the show, Depp had violated her so badly that Heard’s nose was crushed, her lips were cut and swollen, her face was bruised, her hair fell out from being pulled, and she was covered in blood everywhere. Yet the Heard shown in this television footage is cheerful and excited, showing no signs of violence. While the jury watched the footage, Heard’s face kept looking down.
Vasquez also showed the cover of People magazine, which reported the scandal of Heard’s restraining order against Depp. A photo of Heard’s bruised face graced that cover. When asked if someone who said he wanted to protect Depp would provide such a photo to the media, Heard said, “The person to whom I gave the photo is my lawyer and publicist,” and denied that he was the one who gave it to the magazine. Upon hearing this, Vasquez snickers, “When you are in the middle of a divorce, how could your lawyer and publicist provide these pictures to the media?” He snickered.
You chose not to donate, didn’t you?” And pursuing
Finally, Vasquez successfully demolished Heard’s excuse that the lawsuit against Depp had cost him money and made it impossible for him to donate even if he wanted to.
As evidence, Vasquez brought up a Danish TV show that Heard appeared on in October 2018. In it, Heard said, “I donated all $7 million. I don’t want the money,” she stated unequivocally. Vasquez then stated that the Washington Post article that was the focus of this defamation trial was published in December 2018, that Depp did not file this lawsuit until 2019, and that, as the business manager had also testified earlier, Depp had paid the $7 million to Heard on He also highlighted the fact that it was completed on February 1, 2018, showing written documentation. Vasquez then took a scathing attack, saying, “So, you chose not to make the donation.” Vazquez also pointed out that most of the donations paid so far have come either directly from Depp or from the pocket of Elon Musk, with whom Heard had a one-time relationship. When asked, “Because you wanted to keep as much of the $7 million you received for yourself as possible, right?” When asked, Heard had no answer.
Furthermore, Vasquez noted that Heard also lied under oath in the British trial, saying that he had donated all of the $7 million. Whenever he was told as such that he had not actually donated the money, Heard replied, “No, I promised to donate it. To me, they mean the same thing,” he would run away, and Vasquez would counter with an exasperated look that “I made a promise” and “I donated” are completely different.
During these exchanges, Depp and Depp’s other attorneys were bright-eyed and saying something to each other in hushed tones. The cross-examination ended abruptly because time was up, and the case would be taken over tomorrow, but Depp’s team seemed relaxed as they rose from their seats. The cross-examination had just begun. How far will they push Heard tomorrow?
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