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

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 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 claims 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 how Heard’s abuse described affecting 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:

Before the trial kicked off, Depp and Heard each published a list of witnesses their teams may wish to call upon.

The lists feature a number of very well-known names, including James Franco, Elon Musk, Paul Bettany – and the actors themselves.

Clémence Michallon takes a look at who could be called to testify and why:

Over the first three days of testimony, the court listened to a string of witnesses describing Depp and Heard’s fraught relationship.

If you’re just joining The Independent’s coverage of the trial opposing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, here’s what you need to know:

Depp filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Heard in March 2019, alleging that she defamed him in an op-ed she wrote in 2018 for The Washington Post.

The op-ed, which ran in December of that year, is titled: “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”

Depp isn’t mentioned by name in the op-ed, but his legal team has argued that it contains a “clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser”, which it says is “categorically and demonstrably false”.

Clémence Michaelon explains:

There will be no heard today in Fairfax County’s district courthouse, with the trial set to resume for a fourth day on Monday.

In announcing the hiatus on Thursday afternoon, Judge Penney Azcarate gave an extensive reminder to the jury that they cannot research, read, or speak about the trial in any way over their three-day weekend.

She also reminded Depp and Heard not to give interviews or post on social media regarding the trial.