Washington, Europe Brief News – After 6 weeks of dramatic testimony, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s trial to witness its closing arguments.
The closing arguments began Friday in the civil libel trial between actors Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.
The case will likely go to the jury later in the day, the final stage in what has been so far six weeks of courtroom drama that peeled back the curtain on the stars’ troubled marriage.
Depp is suing Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia for $50 million 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. Heard is countersuing for $100 million, claiming Depp’s attorney defamed her by calling her abuse allegations a hoax.
Depp’s lawyers asked the jury “to give Mr. Depp his life back” by finding Heard guilty of libel.
Heard “ruined his life by falsely telling the world she was survivor of domestic abuse at the hands of Mr. Depp,” lawyer Camille Vasquez told the jury in closing arguments.
Heard Defends Himself
Depp hoped the trial would help restore his image and resurrect his career, though it has turned into a six-week spectacle of a vicious marriage that has left both actors tarred, with broadcast cameras in the courtroom capturing every twist as fans weighed in on social media and lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats.
Testimony concluded Thursday after Heard returned to the stand as a rebuttal witness called by her attorneys.
Heard said she is “harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day” thanks to Depp and his attorney Adam Waldman’s statements.
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.
Depp’s legal team rested its case earlier Thursday after calling its own rebuttal witnesses, including Depp himself.
Depp testified Wednesday, calling Heard’s accusations “insane.”
Both actors also testified extensively earlier in the trial.
