Kate Moss to Testify in Johnny Depp, Amber Heard Defamation Trial

Actress Kate Moss will testify in Johnny Depp's lawsuit against Amber Heard on Wednesday. Sources close to Depp told reporters from PEOPLE that Moss will take the stand via video chat to speak under oath about her previous relationship with Depp. The decision to call this witness follows Heard's remark about "Kate Moss and stairs" in her own testimony.

Depp and Moss dated from 1994 to 1997 — one of the most tumultuous times in Depp's life. The actor was arrested early on in their relationship for destroying a New York City hotel room they were staying in. Depp's later remarks about his history of alcoholism and drug abuse indicate that this was a part of the period where he was regularly over-indulging and getting into trouble. According to Heard, these binges often included rage and violence from Depp, and she had heard that she was not the first woman to experience this. During his previous defamation trial in the U.K. in 2020, Heard testified about a rumor she had heard about Depp pushing Moss down the stairs.

"I remembered information I had heard [that] he pushed a former girlfriend – I believe it was Kate Moss – down the stairs," Heard said at the time. "I had heard this rumor from two people and it was fresh in my mind."

To date, Moss has never responded publicly to this testimony or addressed this long-standing rumor. She has also never accused Depp of violence and has spoken fondly of him over the years since their breakup. Still, Depp lost that lawsuit against the British tabloid when the court ruled that it was "substantially true" that he was a "wife-beater."

Moss and her representatives have not commented on the news that she will speak in court on Wednesday. The fact that sources close to Depp leaked the story indicates that Moss will testify on Depp's behalf. Additionally, Depp's lawyers could reportedly be seen pumping their fists in celebration after Heard mentioned Moss on the stand. Presumably, this means that they were excited for a chance to have her speak to the court.

Depp and Heard have both accused each other of physical abuse and have both denied each other's allegations. Depp is suing Heard for an op-ed she wrote in 2018 making veiled accusations against him to the public. He claims that this article has cost him prominent jobs, including his roles in the Fantastic Beasts and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises. To meet the legal definition of defamation, Depp's lawyers must prove that Heard's article was false, which they were unable to do in the U.K.

The trial is set to continue through Friday, May 27, at which point the jury will begin deliberation. At the time of this writing, there's no telling which way the opinion might go.