Johnny Depp trial – live: Witness ejected from court as Amber Heard called ‘scum’ in ex’s texts

Before the defamation trial got underway in Virginia this week, Heard shared a public message about facing her ex-husband in court.

The actress told her Instagram followers: “I’m going to go offline for the next several weeks. As you may know, I’ll be in Virginia where I face my ex-husband Johnny Depp in court.”

She continued: “Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in The Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse. I never named him, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but 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 word.”

The professional who counseled Depp and Heard through marital issues took centre stage in the courtroom on Thursday as she told the jury how she believed they engaged in “mutual abuse”.

Asked whether Heard had ever reported any physical violence by Depp to her, Dr Laurel Anderson said yes. Asked whether she had seen photos, she said she had but doesn’t remember when. Asked whether “there was violence from Mr Depp toward Amber”, she said: “Yes, you’re right.”

“He had been well controlled for, I don’t know – 20, 30 years, and both were victims of abuse in their homes, but I thought he had been well controlled for decades,” she added. “And then with Ms Heard he was triggered and they engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse.”

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon reports:

The art deco building where Heard and Depp made a home together was put before the jury during the second day of testimony on Friday as the property’s general manager took the witness stand.

The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell reports:

The testimony of Depp’s friend, Gina Deuters, was struck from the record after she admitted to watching clips of the trial online prior to taking the stand.

Ms Deuters, who is married to a member of Depp’s staff and is herself a close friend of the actor’s, testified on Thursday about his drug and alcohol use, telling the court she had seen him use weed and cocaine occasionally, and that she had seen him drink alcohol. She said she had never seen Depp be violent or angry after using any substances or drinking alcohol.

Her testimony was halted when Heard’s legal team approached the bench, after which the judge asked Ms Deuters: “Have you been watching the trial this past week?”

She replied: “I’ve seen clips of it online, yes.”

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon explains the ordeal:

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon, who has been covering the defamation trial from the Fairfax County court this week, explains the biggest revelations thus far:

Depp’s lawyers launched their case against Heard by calling her a “compulsive liar” in opening statements on Tuesday.

They sought to poke holes in the timeline of Heard’s allegations in a bid to convince jurors that she made the claims up to further her own acting career.

“In Mr Depp’s 58 years, not a single woman has ever accused him of violence, and nobody in Hollywood or the world had any reason to believe he was an abuser – until Ms Heard publicly accused him,” lawyer Camille Vasquez said.

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi recaps the opening statement:

Depp’s longtime friend, Isaac Baruch, was overcome by emotion during his testimony on Wednesday as he described how Heard’s abuse allegations affected everyone around the couple.

Asked about the end of his friendship with Heard in 2016, he said: “Am I angry anymore? What I am is tired. I want this all to end. For her to go heal, him to go heal.”

He continued: “It’s so many people have been affected by this malicious lie that she started and she created, and it’s gone out the door and around the world, and so I can’t even paint anymore. I’ve stopped painting for the last how many years.

“I’m not angry at anybody. I want the best for her, for her to take her responsibility, heal and move on. Move on, and for Johnny … his family has been completely wrecked by all of this stuff and it’s not … it’s not fair… it’s not right.”

The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell reports:

One of the most jarring moments of the trial thus far came on Wednesday, when the jury was shown a text message in which Depp called Heard a “c*nt” and a “rotting corpse”.

Depp had sent the message to a friend, Isaac Baruch, who was grilled on the witness stand by Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft.

“Do you recall Mr Depp ever telling you that he hoped that Amber Heard’s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f*****g trunk of a Honda Civic?” Ms Bredehoft asked.

Mr Baruch pointed to a monitor on which the message was displayed and said: “Yeah. Well, I say yeah – I’m seeing it here, so obviously, yeah, it was said. It was written.”

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon reports:

Here are some of the scenes inside the courtroom this week: