Actress Amber Heard returned to the stand on Monday to be cross-examined by Johnny Depp’s lawyers, and she had something to say ahead of time. A spokesperson for Heard issued a public statement saying that whichever way the testimony goes, they believe the objective facts are still on Heard’s side.
“There’s an old saying by trial lawyers: When the facts are on your side, argue the facts; when the facts are not on your side, pound away on the podium,” reads the statement, which was published by PEOPLE. “Today, we expect Depp’s attorneys will instead pound away on the victim. We fear it will be equal parts shameful and desperate, and the overwhelming evidence – the truth – is not on Depp’s side. The one thing we suspect Depp’s attorneys will avoid is the central issue of this trial: Does Amber or any woman have the First Amendment Right of Freedom of Speech.”
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The statement emphasizes the fact that this trial is not a re-litigation of the abuse allegations that both Heard and Depp have leveled against each other. In fact, Depp and Heard decided not to press charges against each other at the time of their divorce, which they settled amicably out of court. Instead, this is a lawsuit filed by Depp against Heard for an article she wrote in The Washington Post in 2018, which does not name Depp specifically.
Depp’s lawsuit argues that Heard’s essay about her alleged experience of domestic violence was obviously about him, and that it did lasting damage to his career and reputation. He filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages back in 2019, but the trial has been delayed until now due to the pandemic. Of course, in order to prove that Heard’s essay was defamatory, Depp’s lawyers must convince the court that it was untrue to some extent. Therefore, fans are not entirely wrong in treating it as a trial to decide whether one or both of the actors was guilty of abuse during their marriage.
Depp’s attorneys issued a statement after Heard’s testimony earlier this month essentially accusing her of lying on the stand. It read: “As Mr. Depp’s counsel correctly predicted in their opening statements last month, Ms. Heard did indeed deliver ‘the performance of her life’ in her direct examination. While Ms. Heard’s stories have continued to grow new and convenient details, Mr. Depp’s recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the six painful years since her first allegations were made.”
“His truth – the truth – is the same no matter the environment in which it is has been presented,” it continued. “The upcoming cross examination from Mr. Depp’s team will be most telling, and will certainly highlight the many fallacies Ms. Heard has now attempted to pass off as fact throughout her convoluted testimony.”
