Heard’s lawyer stated that the actress plans to honor her obligations to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
During closing arguments, Bredehoft claimed she couldn’t pay the full $7 million because of exorbitant legal bills she’d incurred since Depp’s lawsuit.
Earlier in the trial, Heard testified that it was Depp’s lawsuit that prevented her from honoring her promise to contribute her whole $7 million divorce settlement.
However, Heard has claimed several times – including under oath in Depp’s 2020 libel case in the UK – that she had donated the entire settlement to charity.
She finally admitted on the stand while being questioned by Camille Vasquez that she she failed to pay what she had pledged.
Judge Penney Azcarate released jurors and the rest of the courtroom for a one-hour lunch break.
Rebuttal arguments will take place when court resumes this afternoon.
Judge Azcarate ‘personally guarantees’ the jury that the rebuttal arguments will not be longer than a combined 45 minutes.
Court is expected to resume at 2:10 p.m. ET. Depp’s team has 39 minutes to present and Heard’s team has six minutes.
Amber Heard wiped away tears and looked upset while her lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn rattled off the many instances that Heard was allegedly abused.
She rubbed her head before taking a few deep breaths and composing herself.
Amber Heard wipes away tears during her lawyer’s closing argument
Heard’s attorneys argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered as free speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
‘Your key question to answer is ‘does the First Amendment give Ms. Heard the right to write the words she wrote?’ Rottenborn told the jury. ‘You cannot simultaneously uphold the First Amendment and find in favor of Johnny Depp.’
Heard’s lawyer, Rottenborn, played a video in court that had been recorded by Heard, showing Depp slamming kitchen cabinets.
Rottenborn turned to jurors and asked, ‘do you see Miss Heard laughing in that? She’s not laughing in that.’
‘Mr. Depp in this courtroom right now is laughing and making snide remarks as that video is being played, but it’s not a laughing matter,’ he told jurors.’
‘Who does that?’ he asked. ‘Who does that?’
Closing arguments were briefly disrupted Friday morning when an Amber Alert went off, sending emergency alert sounds throughout the courtroom.
Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn paused before the judge encouraged him to continue.
‘People are getting it I guess on their phones that haven’t been silenced,’ Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate said, adding ‘but I think we are okay.’
The alert went off a second time but Rottenborn continued his remarks.
Heard lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn, in his closing argument, reminded jurors of explicit text messages allegedly from Depp to friends or associates.
‘Hopefully that c—t’s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f——g trunk of a Honda civic,’ a text from 2016 read.
In another text, Depp allegedly wrote about have sex with Heard’s ‘burnt corpse.’
‘I have no mercy, no fear and not an ounce of emotion, or what I once thought was love for this gold digging, low level, dime a dozen, mushy, pointless dangling overused flappy fish market,’ Depp wrote in a different text.
Rottenborn pointed to these texts in his closing arguments.
‘These words are a window into the heart and mind of America’s favorite pirate,’ he said. ‘This is the real Johnny Depp.’
Heard’s attorney, Benjamin Rottenborn, begin closing arguments for their side after a 15-minute morning break.
He told the jury ‘if Amber was abused by Mr. Depp even one time, then she wins.’
‘And we’re not just talking about physical abuse,’ he said, adding that it also included ’emotional abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse.’
Rottenborn started his closing arguments, he asked the jury to consider what kind of message Depp’s team is sending to victims of domestic violence.
‘Think about the message that Mr. Depp and his attorneys are sending to Amber, and by extension to every victim of domestic abuse everywhere,’ Rottenborn said. ‘If you didn’t take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you did take pictures, they’re fake. If you didn’t tell your friends, you’re lying. If you did tell your friends, they’re part of the hoax.’
‘If you didn’t seek medical treatment, you weren’t injured,’ Rottenborn continued. ‘If you did seek medical treatment, you’re crazy. If you do everything that you can to help your spouse, the person you love, rid himself of the crushing drug and alcohol abuse that spins him into rage filled monster you’re a nag.’
He add that ‘in Depp’s world, if you leave him, he will do everything he can to start a ‘campaign of global humiliation against you’ and destroy your life.’
‘And that’s what they are trying to get you the jury to be an accomplice to.’
Amber Heard’s attorney Benjamin Rottenborn speaks during closing arguments at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse
Heard speaks with her legal team in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, 27 May 2022. Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a ‘public figure representing domestic abuse.’
Johnny Depp waved at his adoring fans during a morning break Friday.
The actor arrived to court this morning where he smiled at the crowd and gave a thumbs up from his car.
One fan was dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Another fan held a sign that read: ‘This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow’ which is a quote from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
There are also a few fans of Amber Heard.
One man held a sign reading ‘I stand with Amber.’
Johnny Depp leaves for a break during the Depp v. Heard trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 27, 2022
Johnny Depp fans cheer for the actor outside the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on the final day of the defamation trial of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., May 27, 2022
Supporters of actor Johnny Depp wait outside of Fairfax County Courthouse
Supporters of actor Johnny Depp rally outside of Fairfax County Courthouse
Dan Kim, 26, holds a sign in support of Amber Heard amidst throngs of Johnny Depp fans, outside the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on the final day of the defamation trial of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., May 27, 2022
Dan Kim, 26, holds a sign in support of Amber Heard amidst throngs of Johnny Depp fans, outside the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on the final day of the defamation trial
Depp’s attorney, Benjamin Chew, says this case is not about money – but that it’s about fighting for the truth and restoring actor’s tarnished reputation.
‘It has never been about money. Nor is it about punishing Miss Heard. It’s about freeing himself from the prison in which he has lived for the past six years. It’s six years to the day.’
‘This case is about telling you his story and the truth about what really happened. It’s about restoring his reputation. It’s about showing Mr. Depp’s children, Lily-Rose and Jack, that the truth is worth fighting for.’
He told the jury that Depp has never claimed to be perfect , but that did not deserve to have his legacy ‘destroyed by a vicious lie.’
‘The lies have grown and metastasized over time,’ Chew said. ‘And they need to be stopped.’
Chew pointed to the #MeToo movement and firmly stated that no other women came forward.
‘Me Too is an important movement, a movement Mr. Depp supports and believes in,’ Chew said. ‘It’s true survivors of abuse, not Ms. Heard. True victims need protections, and true perpetrators need to face the repercussions.’
#MeToo is a movement from 2017 where many women came forward with allegations of sexual abuse from men in powerful positions.
But no one came forward. Kate Moss testified this week in court that he was never violent toward her.
Chew said Heard was only taking advantage of the #MeToo movement when she wrote the Washington Post op-ed in 2018.
Bu
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn
In the second part of closing arguments for Heard’s team, her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft shot down the other side’s suggestion that her abuse allegations are a ‘hoax.’
‘They have said she has this whole hoax … but what would Amber Heard’s motive be for creating a hoax or creating any of this or making any of this up?’