Witness Vapes While Testifying During Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Defamation Trial

In a rare light-hearted moment from the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial, Judge Penney Azcarate was left speechless by one of Depp’s witnesses on Wednesday. The court was shown the pre-recorded deposition of Alejandro Romero, the front desk attendant at the building where Depp and Heard lived together, who drove and vaped as he spoke. When asked if he recalled seeing Heard on a specific date, he replied that he did not.

“I don’t remember. I don’t even remember what I ate for breakfast,” Romero replied to laughter from the courtroom, including Depp.
He continued vaping throughout his testimony and, at one point, described his investigation of an intruder, believing it to be a dog.
Romero recounted searching the premises after Heard reported hearing a scratching at the door, which she believed an intruder.
“They were talking about someone trying to get into their unit, and in my head, I was saying, ‘you really think someone is trying to get into your unit?’” Romero said. “There’s scratches four inches above the floor on your door. That was a dog trying to get into your unit.”

“They were so afraid – I actually went. They asked me to go inside the unit just to check room by room to make sure that no one was actually there.” Romero searched since it was part of his job, but he did not understand why Heard asked him to do it. He was also upset about the case, saying he had been “so stressed out” and didn’t “want to deal with this anymore.”

“I know you guys sent me the papers to review, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to review them because it’s been so long. I just don’t want to deal with this anymore,” he explained, resulting in a smile and laughter from Depp. Romero described Depp as a usually “calm, happy person” who appeared “agitated” in one security video recording shown in court. The witness drove away as the video concluded before the court broke for lunch. He testified that he had been truthful with his answers, including his statement that he had not noticed any injuries, bruises, or swelling on Heard’s face. 

After the video, Azcarate told the court it was a “good time to take a break for lunch,” Entertainment Tonight reported. Then she removed her glasses and shook her head. Alright…that was a first, I’m sorry,” she said after a long pause. Elaine Bredehoft, Heard’s lawyer, responded, “I will say, your honor, I thought that was the most bizarre of all depositions.” In response, Azcarate said, “Yeah, OK. I haven’t seen that before. I’ve seen a lot of things, but I’ve never seen that before.” 

Heard is being sued for libel by Depp in Virginia Court after she referred to herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.” Thursday marked the 12th day of a trial that will last one month. On April 25, Depp finished his four days on the witness stand. Heard is scheduled to appear later in the proceedings.