Thousands of now-unsealed pages from Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial reveal behind-the-scenes moves by both actors’ legal teams that never made it before the jury.
The court documents that were unsealed over the weekend included text messages between Depp and Marilyn Manson, along with an attempt to display Heard’s “brief stint as an exotic dancer,” according to a report.
The previously locked documents also showed several “irrelevant matters” brought by Depp’s lawyers that were excluded from evidence.
The document read: “Mr. Depp inappropriately seeks to introduce evidence of the following Irrelevant Personal Matters: (1) nude pictures of Amber Heard; (2) Amber Heard’s sister Whitney’s reality show video; (3) Whitney and Amber’s past romantic relationships; (4) Amber’s brief stint as an exotic dancer years before she met Mr. Depp and Mr. Depp attempting to frivolously and maliciously suggest or imply that Ms. Heard was at one time an escort.”
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Additionally, “references to and evidence regarding Marilyn Manson” were removed because Depp’s team argued they would “smear Mr. Depp under a guilty by association theory.”
Texts between Depp and Manson reportedly show the two sharing insults about Heard.
Manson allegedly wrote in a 2016 text: “I got an amber 2.0” and also, “Lindsay just puled an amber on me … please delete.”
Depp then responded: “I been reading A LOT of material on that and sociopathic behavior … it is f***ing real my brother!! My ex-[C-word] is goddamn TEXTBOOK!!!” according to the document.
Other text messages between Depp’s former assistant Stephen Deuters and Heard were also deemed inadmissible, despite having been included in Depp’s 2020 libel lawsuit in the United Kingdom.
Deuters allegedly texted Heard in 2014 about an incident in which Depp kicked Heard on a private flight, saying: “If someone was truly honest with [Depp] about how bad it really was, he would be appalled.”
Heard’s legal team also reportedly argued that photo and audio metadata showed evidence presented by Depp was manipulated. Documents indicate Heard’s legal team requested full and complete files but were denied, noting “significant concerns of manipulation, alteration, and deletion.”
Judge Penney Azcarate recently tossed Heard’s bid for a new trial after the Aquaman actress argued juror 15 in the case improperly served, thus tainting the outcome.
Heard plans to continue with an appeal of the Fairfax, Virginia, jury’s verdict that found she defamed Depp in a 2018 op-ed.
The jury also found that Depp defamed Heard regarding a statement made by his former lawyer, Adam Waldman. Heard was subsequently awarded $2 million in damages.
The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Because the trial took place in Virginia, however, the punitive damages Heard must pay are dropped to a maximum of $350,000, reducing Depp’s total to $10,350,000.
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Because of Heard’s appeal, Depp’s attorney, Camille Vasquez, announced they, too, are appealing the $2 million award allotted to Heard.
