Bombshell as star to take stand in Depp case

Depp himself will also be dragged back onto the stand this week in a “risky move” by Heard’s legal team. On Monday, the jury also saw disturbing images of the bloody scene in Australia after a fight between the two including a photo of the tip of Depp’s finger which was severed during the confrontation. Heard is being sued by Depp for $US50million ($A67m) for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she did not name him, he claims her allegations are false and cost him lucrative movie roles.Ms Heard has countersued, asking for $US100 million ($A134m) and claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse” at his hands.Depp spent four days on the witness stand earlier in the trial when he was quizzed about his relationship with Heard and claims he abuse his one-time wife. But it appears Heard’s team wants to have another go at questioning the star. However legal experts have said the move could backfire. “There is a risk that he is going to have more time being likeable on the stand when it’s actually Amber Heard’s time to present her case,” civil lawyer Katherine Lizardo told the New York Post. Supermodel to testifyAnother big name who will take the oath will be supermodel Kate Moss who is now due to appear on Wednesday, reported The Post. Depp’s team will hope putting Moss on the stand will work in their favour. In early May, Depp’s lawyers were seen to be celebrating when Heard suddenly brought up Moss during her testimony.Heard told the court about an alleged fracas in 2015 between Depp and her sister Whitney Henriquez which took place near to a stair case. Heard said she punched Depp because of her concern he could have pushed her sister down the staircase. Heard added that she instantly thought about “Kate Moss and the stairs”. Those five words referenced a rumoured – but never confirmed – incident. In Depp’s UK defamation trial in 2020, Heard also brought up the alleged incident and said she had “heard” that Moss had been pushed down a stair case. Heard bringing up the incident again has given Depp the opportunity to call Moss as a witness. The pair were in a relationship from 1994 – 1997. It was tumultuous at times and Depp had to pay $A14,000 in damages after he trashed a hotel room after a fight with Moss. But she is believed to still be on good terms with the actor and his legal team will be hoping she will put that rumour to rest. Bloody scene shown to courtOn Monday morning, the court heard from a medical expert and a psychiatrist – picked by Heard’s lawyers – who had examined the pair’s relationship, medical records and testimonies. Dr Richard Moore, an orthopaedic surgeon, gave evidence about how Depp severely injured his fingerHow exactly Depp tore a chunk out of his finger during the pair’s trip to Australia in 2015 has been a central question of the case. Heard has claimed that Depp caused the damage to himself when he went into a rage and pulled an antique phone from the wall. But the Pirates of the Caribbean star said the visceral injury was as a result of Heard smashing a vodka bottle into his hand. Dr Moore said he doubted the severe injuries to Depp’s finger could have been caused by a vodka bottle. He said that explanation of the injuries didn’t make sense due to where Depp said his hand was located, that no shards of glass were found in the wound and the fingernail was largely intact.“Based on the injury pattern I can say the described mechanism of injury (the bottle) is inconsistent with medical findings”.Dr Moore’s testimony adds weight to Heard’s insistence that Depp caused injured himself. However, Camille Vasquez, one of Depp’s lawyers, tried to pull apart Dr Moore’s testimony. She said he couldn’t rule out a vodka bottle being the cause as he wasn’t in Australia to treat Depp or examine the injury. But Mr Moore insisted that he could “rule out the injury” as described by Depp. The doctor was then shown images of the bloody scene at Depp and Heard’s Australian residence where the fingertip was sliced off. In one shot a tissue could be seen with Depp’s finger trip lying upon it. In another image of the scene, littered with broken glass and drinks cans, Ms Vasquez said a smashed vodka bottle could clearly be seen. Mr Moore admitted he hadn’t seen the images from the scene and Ms Vasquez suggested he his opinion of the incident may have been different if he had examined the photos. But Heard’s legal team said it wasn’t even clear from the photo that it was a smashed vodka bottle on the floor. Another witness, psychiatrist Dr David Spiegel, said Depp “had consistent behaviours for someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence.”He said that his behaviour suggested someone who abused drugs and alcohol. “We do know he needed his lines fed to him for movies. He actually confessed he did a movie entirely wasted,” said Dr Spiegel.

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May 23, 2022 at 11:08PM
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Depp himself will also be dragged back onto the stand this week in a “risky move” by Heard’s legal team. On Monday, the jury also saw disturbing images of the bloody scene in Australia after a fight between the two including a photo of the tip of Depp’s finger which was severed during the confrontation. Heard is being sued by Depp for $US50million ($A67m) for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she did not name him, he claims her allegations are false and cost him lucrative movie roles.Ms Heard has countersued, asking for $US100 million ($A134m) and claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse” at his hands.Depp spent four days on the witness stand earlier in the trial when he was quizzed about his relationship with Heard and claims he abuse his one-time wife. But it appears Heard’s team wants to have another go at questioning the star. However legal experts have said the move could backfire. “There is a risk that he is going to have more time being likeable on the stand when it’s actually Amber Heard’s time to present her case,” civil lawyer Katherine Lizardo told the New York Post. Supermodel to testifyAnother big name who will take the oath will be supermodel Kate Moss who is now due to appear on Wednesday, reported The Post. Depp’s team will hope putting Moss on the stand will work in their favour. In early May, Depp’s lawyers were seen to be celebrating when Heard suddenly brought up Moss during her testimony.Heard told the court about an alleged fracas in 2015 between Depp and her sister Whitney Henriquez which took place near to a stair case. Heard said she punched Depp because of her concern he could have pushed her sister down the staircase. Heard added that she instantly thought about “Kate Moss and the stairs”. Those five words referenced a rumoured – but never confirmed – incident. In Depp’s UK defamation trial in 2020, Heard also brought up the alleged incident and said she had “heard” that Moss had been pushed down a stair case. Heard bringing up the incident again has given Depp the opportunity to call Moss as a witness. The pair were in a relationship from 1994 – 1997. It was tumultuous at times and Depp had to pay $A14,000 in damages after he trashed a hotel room after a fight with Moss. But she is believed to still be on good terms with the actor and his legal team will be hoping she will put that rumour to rest. Bloody scene shown to courtOn Monday morning, the court heard from a medical expert and a psychiatrist – picked by Heard’s lawyers – who had examined the pair’s relationship, medical records and testimonies. Dr Richard Moore, an orthopaedic surgeon, gave evidence about how Depp severely injured his fingerHow exactly Depp tore a chunk out of his finger during the pair’s trip to Australia in 2015 has been a central question of the case. Heard has claimed that Depp caused the damage to himself when he went into a rage and pulled an antique phone from the wall. But the Pirates of the Caribbean star said the visceral injury was as a result of Heard smashing a vodka bottle into his hand. Dr Moore said he doubted the severe injuries to Depp’s finger could have been caused by a vodka bottle. He said that explanation of the injuries didn’t make sense due to where Depp said his hand was located, that no shards of glass were found in the wound and the fingernail was largely intact.“Based on the injury pattern I can say the described mechanism of injury (the bottle) is inconsistent with medical findings”.Dr Moore’s testimony adds weight to Heard’s insistence that Depp caused injured himself. However, Camille Vasquez, one of Depp’s lawyers, tried to pull apart Dr Moore’s testimony. She said he couldn’t rule out a vodka bottle being the cause as he wasn’t in Australia to treat Depp or examine the injury. But Mr Moore insisted that he could “rule out the injury” as described by Depp. The doctor was then shown images of the bloody scene at Depp and Heard’s Australian residence where the fingertip was sliced off. In one shot a tissue could be seen with Depp’s finger trip lying upon it. In another image of the scene, littered with broken glass and drinks cans, Ms Vasquez said a smashed vodka bottle could clearly be seen. Mr Moore admitted he hadn’t seen the images from the scene and Ms Vasquez suggested he his opinion of the incident may have been different if he had examined the photos. But Heard’s legal team said it wasn’t even clear from the photo that it was a smashed vodka bottle on the floor. Another witness, psychiatrist Dr David Spiegel, said Depp “had consistent behaviours for someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence.”He said that his behaviour suggested someone who abused drugs and alcohol. “We do know he needed his lines fed to him for movies. He actually confessed he did a movie entirely wasted,” said Dr Spiegel.