’s friend Gina Deuters was ejected from court during his trial against , after admitting that she had been watching clips of the trial online.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 58, after she penned an op-ed in the Washington Post, with the headline: ‘I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change’.
She discussed her experiences of domestic abuse in the 2018 article, but did not mention her former partner by name.
Despite not being named, Depp’s lawyers have said that this ‘falsely implies’ – the actor is seeking $50million (£39m) in damages.
Deuters, who is married to one of Depp’s staff, gave testimony at Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia, answering questions about the actor’s use of drugs and alcohol.
She said that, on occasion, she had seen him use marijuana and cocaine and drink alcohol, and testified that she had never seen him be angry or violent following the use of substances or alcohol.
During Deuters’ testimony, Heard’s legal team conferred with Judge Penney Azcarate, who is presiding over the trial.
Judge Azcarate asked: ‘Have you been watching the trial this past week?’
Deuters answered: ‘I’ve seen clips of it online, yes.’
Judge Azcarate then told Deuters that she was excused and to leave the court, and said she would instruct the jury to strike her testimony.
Instead, video evidence from Dr David Kipper, who treated Depp for addiction, was played.
Earlier in the trial, a couple’s therapist told the court that the pair
Therapist Laurel Anderson said that Depp told her that his former wife ‘gave as good as she got’ during their fights.
A friend of Depp’s, Isaac Baruch, also gave evidence at the US trial and was asked about texts he exchanged with Depp in October 2016
Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft asked Baruch: ‘Do you recall Mr Depp ever telling you that he, in base terms, hoped that Amber’s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f**king trunk of a Honda Civic?’
Baruch replied: ‘Yeah, I’m seeing it here so obviously yeah it was said. It was written.’
Depp originally filed the lawsuit in March 2019, however it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the actors live in California, the case is being brought in Virginia because The Washington Post’s online editions are published through servers located in Fairfax County.
Lawyers for Heard, who married the Edward Scissorhands actor in 2015, before they called time on their marriage the following year, have argued that that, although her article is protected by the first amendment of the US constitution, there is also evidence that Depp abused her physically on multiple occasions.
His attorneys said that allegations of abuse are false and the actress had been ‘preparing to give the performance of a lifetime’ during the proceedings.
