Featured Image Credit: Court TV
Topics: Amber Heard, Johnny Depp
Aisha Nozari
Amber Heard's team is now arguing for the case to be dismissed.
Johnny Depp’s $50 million defamation case against ex-wife Heard continued this week in a Virginia courtroom, marking the 12th day of testimony which has come hot on the heels of reports that Heard had fired her PR team over the weekend.
And now, Heard is trying to have the entire case dismissed.
Caroline Patrickis tweeted today (3 May): “BREAKING: Amber Heard is trying to have the case dismissed right now.”
Depp’s attorney, Benjamin Chew, argued that the Huffington Post article penned by Heard back in 2018, which is at the centre of the lawsuit, is enough evidence in itself to keep the case going.
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He also pointed to last week’s finding that the ACLU helped Heard draft the article in which she accused Depp of abuse after being promised a $3.5m donation from her divorce.
Chew said: "This was just a scam for her to get the $7 million in the divorce settlement that she swore she gave to the ACLU and the Children's Hospital and she pocketed it."
Terence Dougherty, ACLU’s general counsel, testified last week that Heard’s promised donation was one of the reasons why the organisation suggested she become an ACLU ambassador.
Dougherty said: “Ms Heard spoke with such clarity and expertise on issues of gender-based violence that [ACLU representatives] decided she would be an appropriate person to ask to become an ACLU ambassador.”
Following this, however, it was announced by Judge Azcarate that the motion to strike was denied, and Heard will be taking the stand as planned.
The court heard last week that at least $500,000 of the donation actually came from an Elon Musk-connected fund.
Elsewhere, it was reported that Heard had fired her PR team due to the ‘onslaught’ of negative publicity brought on by the trial.
The Independent reported over the weekend that Heard had terminated crisis PR firm Precision Strategies’ service and hired Shane Communications.
Earlier this week, Depp’s said the publication of Heard’s op-ed was ‘catastrophic’, telling the court that not only was Depp dropped from the sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but he was also prevented from signing onto further productions in the aftermath.
A forensic accountant predicted that Depp lost a total of $40 million in earnings.
The actor’s agent, Jack Whigham, said: "With respect to Johnny, it was catastrophic because it was coming from a first-person account, it was not from a journalist, not someone observing, it was from someone saying this happened to me."
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