Fast-talking lawyer Camille Vasquez is taking no prisoners in the final week of the Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard defamation trial.
In a crisp pantsuit and neat stiletto heels, Vasquez, 37, a member of Johnny Depp’s crack legal team, is fast becoming a bona fide star of the final week of the £40m defamation trial between Heard and her ex-husband after a ruthless cross-examination — especially popular with Depp’s legions of TikTok stans(yes, really).
This is, of course, a particularly ghoulish armchair pastime gaining traction on the planet's smartphones, as our social media vulture culture picks over footage from the trial. There's more than a whiff of sexism about the gleeful dismantling of Heard online. Vasquez, though, is a top professional simply doing her job. And, unquestionably, she's smashing it.
Who is Camille Vasquez?
Named among 2022’s Best Lawyers in America by the prestigious The Best Lawyers in America panel, Vasquez graduated from the University of Southern California in 2006. She then continued her studies at Southwestern Law School, from which she graduated in 2010.
She first joined a national law firm in Los Angeles, then became partner at Brown Rudnick, who make up Depp’s legal team.
It’s no surprise Depp chose Vasquez.
Brown Rudnick's site touts her as a media strategist, saying she provides ‘advice on media strategy during times of high pressure and knows how to craft effective tactics to protect reputations.’
What has Camille Vasquez done?
Dragged Amber Heard. In an increasingly heated cross-examination on Day 16 of the trial, the lawyer tore into the Aquaman actress.
First, she set the tone. Vasquez played a recording from when Heard and Depp met at a San Francisco hotel in July 2016, on which he can be heard saying, “You will not see my eyes again.” Vasquez asked, “And he kept that promise, hasn’t he?”
She then ticked off Heard for interrupting — “There’s no question yet, Ms Heard” — and noted brusquely that Heard took a lot of photos of Depp sleeping, but had no photos of him consuming or even possessing cocaine.
How has the internet reacted to Camille Vasquez?
Gleefully. ‘Camille woke up and choose violence,’ one Tiktok user said. ‘Camille was awesome today, wrote another. ‘“[D]on’t speak unless spoken to” kinda vibes,’ one commenter said. ‘Camille Set fire! She slayed,’ another quipped. Clearly, a star is born
Was there a blockbuster moment?
Yes. Vasquez’s bombshell was forcing the actress to admit on the stand that she hasn’t fulfilled her pledge to donate a $7 million divorce payoff from Depp to the American Civil Liberties Union, despite having previously made statements under oath suggesting that she had.
Heard denied marrying Depp for his money and said it was ‘incorrect’ to say she wanted public praise. ‘Unfortunately I haven’t been able to fulfill those obligations,’ Heard said, ‘because I have been sued.’ Heard testified: ‘I use "pledge" and "donation" synonymously.’ ‘I don’t,’ Vasquez replied sharply.
What's the big picture?
Depp is suing his ex-wife over a 2018 Washington Post article in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse, at the height of the #MeToo movement. Depp was not mentioned by name but says the article clearly referred to him. Heard, 36, has countersued for £80m. The trial continues.