Amber Heard Has Own Setback in Court During Johnny Depp Defamation Trial

Amber Heard‘s close friend, journalist Eve Barlow, was thrown out of the courtroom on Thursday in a dramatic episode of the defamation trial with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. Barlow, a former deputy editor for NME and a New York Magazine contributor, has been nearly inseparable from Heard during the trial. Sources told Page Six Barlow acted as a member of Heard’s legal team.

Barlow reportedly told Heard’s legal team that they should show Judge Penney S. Azvarate that Depp-friendly witness Gina Deuters was compromised, sources told Page Six. Barlow wanted Heard’s legal team to show a social media post from Deuters, claiming it was about the current trial. In reality, the clip dated back to Depp’s 2021 trial against The Sun in London. Deuters admitted to the court that she did see clips of the trial online before she testified. Azvarate then tossed Deuters’ testimony from the record.

Depp’s lawyers responded by asking the judge to permanently bar Barlow from attending the trial. She was seen tweeting and texting from the front row, a spot usually reserved for legal counsel. Azvarate agreed.

“Amber had her closest journalist friend sit front and center – with her legal team – at the trial, live-tweeting, texting, and posting information,” a source told Page Six. “Eve Barlow seems to think she’s part of Amber’s legal team. Depp’s lawyers finally had enough and had her barred from the courtroom.”

Azcarate was also unhappy with Barlow for texting and tweeting during the trial. “She was tweeting live from my courtroom… and I know the deputies took her out because she was texting,” the judge said, according to transcripts. “That’s against the court order. Ms. Barlow is not coming back into the courtroom during this trial.” Barlow has not responded to Page Six‘s request for comment. Heard’s representative has not commented yet.

Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard for the 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote about being a domestic violence survivor. The actor’s team claims Heard falsely accused him of domestic violence to boost her career and get a big divorce settlement. They also said the op-ed caused harm to Depp’s career since Disney dropped him from future Pirates of the Caribbean movies just days after the op-ed was published.

Heard insisted she told the truth and filed a $100 million countersuit. On Wednesday, Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft shared texts between Depp and Depp’s friend Isaac Baruch from October 2016, in which Depp wrote about Heard’s “rotting corpse.” In one text, Depp hoped Heard’s corpse is “decomposing in the f—ing trunk of a Honda Civic.” Baruch confirmed the message was real. Bredehoft asked Baruch if he knew Depp “committed domestic violence” against Heard. “I never saw or witnessed whatever type of claim that is being said. Ever,” Baruch replied. 

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.