Amber Heard’s lawyer accused Johnny Depp of “laughing and making snide remarks” in court as the jury was shown a video which the actor himself previously said showed him “assaulting cabinets”.
Attorney Ben Rottenborn replayed the video - filmed by Ms Heard in 2016 - during closing arguments in the couple’s defamation trial on Friday.
Mr Rottenborn sought to refute testimony from a former TMZ employee that the video, which shows Mr Depp storming around a kitchen slamming cabinets, was sent to the outlet directly by Ms Heard in an attempt to smear him following their divorce.
The defence lawyer noted that Mr Depp’s attorneys have asserted that Ms Heard was seen “laughing” and “smirking” at the end of the video.
Ms Heard did no such thing, Mr Rottenborn said, adding: “Mr Depp in this courtroom right now is laughing and making snide remarks as that video is being played, but it’s not a laughing matter.”
Mr Depp, seated only a few feet to the right of Mr Rottenborn, appeared taken aback by the remarks.
The video in question was first presented before the jury during Mr Depp’s testimony last month. The actor said at the time that he poured himself “a large glass of wine” before the footage was filmed.
“I did assault a couple of cabinets but didn’t assault Ms Heard,” he said.
“I did not try to intimidate Ms Heard ... If she was intimidated, why was she filming? If she was scared to death, why didn’t she leave?”
Mr Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she penned for The Washington Post where she described herself as a “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is not named in the article, which is titled “I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change”.
However Mr Depp claims that it falsely implies that he is a domestic abuser – something that he strongly denies – and that it has left him struggling to land roles in Hollywood. He is suing for $50m.
Ms Heard is countersuing for $100m, accusing Mr Depp of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.
