Amber Heard accused of fake crying in ‘performance of her life’ on stand by Johnny Depp’s lawyer during closing arguments

Johnny Depp’s lawyer has accused Amber Heard of faking tears, calling the actor’s testimony the “performance of her life”.

Heard returned to the witness stand on Thursday (26 May) to give more testimony in the highly publicised defamation trial between herself and ex-husband Depp.

In closing statements on Friday (27 May), Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez accused Heard of “sobbing without tears” during her testimony throughout the trial.

Vasquez addressed the jurors: “At the start of this case Mr Chew and I told you that you are going to hear some disturbing and graphic tales of abuse from Ms Heard that were designed to shock you and overwhelm you, which they have.

“We told you that this would be a performance. The role of her lifetime as a heroic survivor of brutal abuse. When Mr Depp brought this case for defamation, Ms Heard went all in.”

Vasquez continued: “She spun a story of shocking, overwhelming, brutal abuse. She came into this courtroom prepared to give the performance of her life and she gave it.”

Depp’s lawyer went on to reference previous testimony provided by Heard’s acting coach Kristina Sexton, citing her claims that Heard has difficulty crying when acting.

While testifying on Wednesday (18 March), Sexton estimated that 80 to 90 per cent of their sessions in the last year of Heard’s marriage to Depp “began with [Heard] crying”.

Sexton said that she could tell Heard’s tears were genuine because “ironically, she has a little difficulty crying acting-wise”.

Vasquez referenced Sexton’s remarks, telling jurors: “You saw it, Ms Heard sobbing without tears while spinning elaborate exaggerated fantastical accounts of abuse. It was a performance.”

Closing arguments are underway, with Depp’s team having finished theirs.

Depp is suing Heard for $50m (£38.2m). He alleges that Heard implied that he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence.

Heard is countersuing for $100m (£80.9m), accusing Depp of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.

In emotional testimony on Thursday (26 May), Heard told jurors: “People want to kill me, and they tell me so every day. People want to kill my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that.”

Heard has a one-year-old daughter, Oonagh Paige Heard. The Aquaman star had the child via surrogate, and has not disclosed the identity of the father.

When returning to the witness stand on Wednesday (25 May), Depp alleged that he called Warner Bros at Heard’s request and helped in securing her role in Aquaman, disputing Heard’s claims that he did not assist.

Viewers also noticed that Depp was smiling at the screen when Kate Moss testified to state that he ““never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs”.

You can follow live updates of the trial here.