In the final day of the Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp defamation trial, the court are currently hearing closing arguments before the jury are set to deliberate on the verdict – expected in the coming days. Taking the stand for the final time, Heard gave an incredibly emotional closing statement detailing the level of abuse she has endured from trolls in response to this trial.
‘I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day,' Heard told the jury through tears. 'Even just walking into this courtroom, sitting here in front of the world. Having the worst parts of my life, things I've lived through, used to humiliate me. People want to kill me. People want to put my baby in the microwave and they tell me that. Johnny promised me that if I ever left him, he'd make me think of him every single day that I live.'
'In the harassment and humiliation, the campaign against me that's echoed every single day on social media. And now in front of cameras in this room. Every single day I have to relive the trauma,’ Heard continued. ‘I receive hundreds of death threats regularly, daily. Thousands since this trial has started. People mocking my testimony ... The most humiliating thing I've ever had to go through. I hope no one ever has to go through something like this.’
According to Sophie Wilkinson, former researcher for the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, Heard has received numerous threats against herself and her baby:
Heard went on to say she has suffered panic attacks in the years since her split from Depp, who denies claims of domestic abuse, and has ‘unspoken rules about how not to touch me, not to surprise me' in order not to trigger such attacks. ‘Johnny has taken enough of my voice. I have the right to tell my story ... I have the right to my voice and my name. He took it long enough,’ she said.
Heard described herself as a domestic abuse survivor in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that Depp’s lawyers claim falsely implied he was her abuser – despite him not being named. Depp thus sued Heard for defamation after experiencing a loss of income. In this current trial, Heard is counter-suing Depp claiming that he defamed her by dubbing her claims ‘fake’ and a ‘sexual violence hoax’. Both Heard and Depp have accused the other of physical violence and both deny claims. In 2020, Depp lost a UK libel case against The Sun after the tabloid dubbed him a ‘wifebeater’, with Judge Mr Justice Nicol ruling that the article was ‘substantially true’.
Closing arguments are expected to continue this afternoon before the jury are adjourned to consult on the trial so far.