SECOND UPDATE: Johnny Depp’s lawyer closed their latest arguments by focusing in part on Amber Heard’s $ 100 million counterclaim.
Camille Vazquez told the jury that in Depp’s defamation trial, Hurd must “prove that her allegations of abuse are not fraud.”
Hurd’s counterclaim focuses on statements by Adam Waldman, who said in statements to the Daily Mail that Hurd’s allegations of abuse were falsified.
Vazquez said there was “clear evidence that Waldman believed Hurd had committed fraud.” Depp’s lawyer also tried to undermine Hurd’s argument that Waldman’s statements had damaged her reputation, arguing that her negative media coverage had nothing to do with the remarks.
She also challenged Hurd’s claims for damages, noting the testimony of the CEO of Warner Bros. Walter Hamada, who said that the actress’ salary was not reduced for Aquaman 2, although her role was reduced.
“After all, what you have is Miss Hurd’s word – do you believe her?” Said Vazquez.
Vazquez also challenged Hurd’s lawyer Ben Rothenborn, saying the jury simply had to believe in a domestic violence case to dismiss Depp’s defamation lawsuit.
“Either she is telling the truth, including in her most extreme statements, or she is lying,” she said. Vazquez claims that in his publication in the Washington Post, Hurd claims that Depp raped physically and sexually, not just emotionally.
She also referred to Depp’s text messages, some of which used graphic, violent language for Hurd. Her legal team picked these up several times during the trial. In a message to Paul Bethany Depp wrote: “Let’s drown her before we burn her !!! I’ll fuck her burnt body afterwards to make sure she’s dead.
Vazquez claims the reports reflect Depp’s “unique writing style” modeled on Hunter C. Thompson.
Acknowledging that the style is “everyone’s cup of tea”, Vazquez said: “Using bad language … does not make you a bully.”
UPDATE: Johnny Depp’s lawyer told the jury that Amber Heard’s allegations of domestic violence were meaningless, given that the actor had not been accused of physical violence by another woman.
“Before Amber Heard, no woman had ever claimed that Mr. Depp had raised his hand against her in his 58 years,” lawyer Benjamin Chu told the jury, noting that no woman after Hurd has filed charges. .
“This is MeToo without any MeToo.”
He said Depp supported the MeToo movement, but said the movement was for “true survivors of violence”.
“Mr. Depp was canceled because Miss Hurd falsely accused him of domestic violence,” Chu said.
In his argument, Chu also said that Depp was “not a saint.” “He has his flaws, which he admits to them, but he is not a bully,” he said.
Depp admitted that he was addicted to drugs, but Chu said that “there is a big difference between having substance abuse problems and being a physical abuser.”
Earlier in the closing speech of Depp’s team, another of Depp’s lawyers, Camille Vazquez, said that it was the actor, not Amber Heard, who was a victim of “constant verbal, emotional and physical violence.”
“There is a victim of domestic violence in this courtroom, and this is not Miss Hurd,” Vazquez told the jury.
Vazquez noted that Friday marked six years since Hurd went to court to receive a restraining order for domestic violence against Depp, following a dispute in their penthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
But Vazquez called the courtroom scene a “tweak”, claiming Hurd had organized a press release to ensure photographers would be there to capture her bruised face. She claims Depp hit her with a phone. But Vazquez suggested that Hurd had staged her injuries and that “the world has seen only what she wanted to see.”
“Exactly six years later, we ask you to bring Mr. Depp back to life,” Vazquez said.
When Hurd filed for divorce the same month six years ago, Vazquez said she didn’t just want their divorce dissolved, “She wanted to ruin it.
Vazquez played audio clips of Hurd during an argument with Depp, in which he is heard laughing and seemingly mocking her husband.
Vazquez said “Miss Hurd is the one who repeatedly admits to violence,” she said, referring to an audio recording in which Hurd spoke of defeating Depp. Unlike them, Vazquez said, Depp never admitted to physical violence against Hurd.
Depp sued Hurd for $ 50 million in December 2018, published in the Washington Post, in which she wrote that “two years ago I became a public figure representing domestic violence and felt the full force of our culture’s anger at women who speak “Hurd has filed a $ 100 million counterclaim for allegations that she fabricated allegations of abuse.
Before the oral argument began, Judge Penny Azkarate instructed the jury on the sentencing process, reflecting the high bar that each country has to prove its case. In Depp’s case, the jury must take into account Hurd’s three statements in the Washington Post, and in any case whether his country has proven seven elements. These include whether the statements refer to Depp, whether they are defamatory, whether they are false and whether they show real malice.
Hurd faces a similar burden of proof, and the jury must decide whether her lawyers have proven five different elements. They will look at three different statements, including those made by Adam Waldman, who allege that Hurd’s allegations of abuse are fraudulent. They also need to determine if Waldman acted as Depp’s agent.
Depp and Hurd were each in the closing courtroom.
Chu said the Washington Post publication was apparently for Depp. and that Hurd “trades his allegations of ill-treatment” against him for his new role as ACLU ambassador for domestic violence. He said the impact of the operation had clearly affected Depp’s reputation, citing USA Today’s coverage of the essay, which cites Hurd’s earlier allegations against him.
Vazquez chose Hurd as a manipulative figure and cites testimonies about the emotional and mental state of the actress. She called Hurd a “deeply anxious man” who craved attention.
Vazquez even suggested that when Hurd was on the witness stand, she falsified some of her most emotional moments, claiming that even when the actress was crying, there were no tears. Vazquez cites the testimony of an acting coach who said Hurd had difficulty simulating such outbursts.
“It was a show,” Vazquez said of Hurd’s testimony.
Vazquez noted that there were no medical records of Hurd’s allegations of physical violence.
Vazquez went through what she described as inconsistencies in Hurd’s allegations, going through her specific allegations of abuse. She showed the jury photos of Hurd looking happy and cheerful, taken on December 15, 2015, when she appeared on The Late Late Show with James Cordon. Hurd claims that shortly before this appearance, she was physically abused by Depp, who hit her and pulled a lock from her hair. [the Corden photos] in line with the brutal assault and serious injuries Miss Hurd testified about? Vazquez asked the jury.
She also showed side-by-side photos of Hurd taken on May 21, 2016. That was the night Depp and Hurd had an argument that eventually led to the end of their marriage. One of the photos shows Hurd with a flushed face, which she believes is due to Depp hitting her with a phone. The other was not red. Vazquez disputed Hurd’s claim that these were two separate photos – the difference being that the light was on in one – noting that they were “taken at the same time and have the same file”.
“These photos should not be believed,” she said.
Vazquez said what Hurd’s country showed was a “mountain of unproven claims”.
“Either she is a victim of really terrible violence, or she is a woman who is ready to say absolutely anything,” she said.
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