Yahoo News Amber Heard Issues Statement Before Being Cross-Examined: 'The Truth Is Not on Johnny Depp's Side'
Amber Heard spoke out Monday morning prior to being cross-examined by ex-husband Johnny Depp's lawyers in court.
A spokesperson for Heard said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, "There's an old saying by trial lawyers: When the facts are on your side, argue the facts; when the facts are not on your side, pound away on the podium. Today, we expect Depp's attorneys will instead pound away on the victim."
"We fear it will be equal parts shameful and desperate," the statement continued. "And, the overwhelming evidence — the truth — is not on Depp's side. The one thing we suspect Depp's attorneys will avoid is the central issue of this trial: Does Amber or any woman have the First Amendment Right of Freedom of Speech."
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 58, is suing ex-wife Heard, 36, for defamation over the 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post about surviving domestic violence, though she didn't mention him by name in the article. He originally filed the $50 million lawsuit in 2019 and the trial was delayed due to the pandemic.
Court resumed Monday morning in Fairfax, Virginia, after a pre-planned week-long break. This is Heard's third day on the stand.
A spokesperson for Depp issued a statement after her second day testifying, casting doubt on her credibility and vowing to "highlight the many fallacies" during cross-examination.
"As Mr. Depp's counsel correctly predicted in their opening statements last month, Ms. Heard did indeed deliver 'the performance of her life' in her direct examination," the statement read. "While Ms. Heard's stories have continued to grow new and convenient details, Mr. Depp's recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the six painful years since her first allegations were made. His truth — the truth — is the same no matter the environment in which it is has been presented. The upcoming cross examination from Mr. Depp's team will be most telling, and will certainly highlight the many fallacies Ms. Heard has now attempted to pass off as fact throughout her convoluted testimony."
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Shortly after that, a spokesperson for Heard responded by criticizing Depp's "panicked" legal team and their approach so far.
"As evidenced by the statement just released, Mr. Depp's defamation claim is falling apart so rapidly that his counsel are turning from prosecutor to persecutor," read the statement. "They boast that Mr. Depp's story has not changed. If so, since he lost the domestic violence restraining order and he resoundingly lost the libel case in the U.K., perhaps he should consider a new strategy rather than the recycled approach of attacking the victim, and refusing to take responsibility for his own conduct."
"If Mr. Depp was truly innocent, why has he repeatedly apologized to Ms. Heard and promised to put the 'monster away for good'? One of Ms. Heard's disappointments is Mr. Depp's inability to distinguish fact from fiction — a malady which appears to have spread to his legal team," the statement continued. "That same team is so panicked they are fighting tooth and nail to prevent compelling evidence and photos from being introduced. Small wonder Mr. Depp does not have the fortitude or courage to even look at Ms. Heard at all throughout the proceedings — as he could not in the U.K. trial — and instead he doodles and snickers."
STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty
"Mr. Depp's behavior in this trial has been as pitiful as it was in their marriage. Apparently, they feel they must double-down on their demonstrably losing two-part strategy: distract the jury and demonize the victim."
Depp, who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any woman, has testified that his "goal is the truth" as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets.
Ahead of the trial, Heard said in a statement that "hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world."
Back in November 2020, Depp lost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled.
