Johnny Depp’s lawyers have revealed they were “concerned” that he might lose his temper during the Amber Heard trial.
The high-profile legal case between the former husband and wife reached the trial stage in 2022. Depp sued Heard for defamation over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed where she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse, without naming Depp. Heard then countersued for defamation over statements made by Depp’s lawyer.
The jury found that Depp was defamed and he was awarded $10million (£8million) in compensatory damages and $5million (£4million) in punitive damages. Heard was awarded $2million after the jury found that Depp had defamed her through his attorney. However, the jury found that Heard’s statements about her marriage were “false” and that she acted with “actual malice”.
Now, two of Depp’s lawyers, Benjamin Chew and Jessica Meyers, have reflected on the trial in the TV documentary Raw: Celebrity Under Oath, which aired on A&E on December 26.
Amber Heard in court during ‘Johnny vs Amber: The U.S. Trial’. CREDIT: Discovery
Remembering their preparations for Depp’s cross-examination, Chew said “the one thing that we’re concerned about is whether he might lose his temper. The other side is gonna do everything possible to get Johnny to show anger.”
“One of the things that lawyers try to do on cross-examination is to maintain control of the witness,” he added (via People). “That’s something that Johnny simply did not allow [Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn] to do.”
Chew also explained that he believes Depp’s sense of humour on the stand was helpful to their case. “Johnny’s use of humour really undermined whatever serious point Amber’s counsel was trying to make,” he said. “We wanted to humanise Johnny before the jury so they could understand why hitting the woman he loved was something that he’s just not capable of.”
Depp is now set to make his Hollywood comeback, recently landing his first major casting since the trial ended. He is being lined up to star in Day Drinker, where he will play a mysterious figure who meets Penélope Cruz’s cruise ship bartender, only for the two to find themselves embroiled in a criminal underworld.
The film will be directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, (500) Days Of Summer), and will see Depp and Cruz reunited, after previously starring in Blow, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Murder On The Orient Express together.
Heard, meanwhile, has spoken out in support of Blake Lively amid the furore over the It Ends With Us star accusing her co-star and director Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni has hired the same crisis PR team that Depp used, and Heard has commented: “Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on.’”
“I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive.”
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