Depp retakes witness stand in libel suit against Heard

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Johnny Depp was back on the witness stand Wednesday in his libel suit against ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp testified as a rebuttal witness - he already testified for four consecutive days earlier in the six-week trial.

On Wednesday, he disputed a claim made by Heard that Depp had nothing to do with getting her a role in the superhero blockbuster “Aquaman.” When Heard testified, she was clearly offended by a question from Depp’s lawyers insinuating Depp got her the role.

Depp, though, said that after Heard auditioned for the role, he talked to the studio on her behalf.

“Ultimately she did get the job, so hopefully, I suppose, I had curbed their worries to some degree,” he said.

Depp also said he had been completely unaware of statements made by a former lawyer, Adam Waldman, calling Heard’s claims of abuse a hoax. Those statements by Waldman are the basis of a counterclaim Heard filed against Depp. Heard’s lawyers have said Waldman made those statements in league with Depp, something Depp denies.

Depp is suing Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.

Depp has denied he ever struck Heard, and says she was the abuser in the relationship. Heard has testified about more than a dozen separate instances of physical abuse she says she suffered at Depp’s hands.

Also Wednesday, supermodel Kate Moss, a former girlfriend of Depp, denied that she had ever been pushed or assaulted by Depp during the course of their relationship.

Moss testified as a rebuttal witness.

Heard, in her testimony, made a passing reference to Moss and a rumor that Depp had pushed Moss down a set of stairs when they dated. Heard referenced Moss as she described a fight in which she admitted hitting Depp on a staircase because she said Depp was charging at Heard’s sister, Whitney.

Moss, in testimony provided by video link, said Depp never assaulted her. She said she did once slip down a flight of stairs after a rainstorm at a Jamaican resort, and that Depp came to her aid.

She testified for less than 5 minutes and was not cross-examined.