This is what I was expecting. I’m surprised it took until Tuesday for the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard legal drama and media shenanigans to really kick off. As we’ve previously discussed, Amber Heard’s deposition was scheduled for last Saturday, the 6th. Amber arrived to the deposition more than an hour late, and according to Amber’s rep, nothing really happened for nine hours. She just sat there while her lawyers and Depp’s lawyers bickered, negotiated and tried to come to some resolution. Suddenly, there’s a slew of new info about the case. Here are several of the stories going around.
The story about Amber’s deposition kept changing. First we heard that Amber sat in a secondary room, refusing to go into the deposition room. Then we heard that she just sat there while the lawyers worked over a potential deal. And now TMZ says that Amber “refused” to even enter the deposition room, and when she was specifically requested to go in for the deposition, she “began crying and carrying on in the adjoining office. Wasser says Amber also refused to turn over documents she had requested.” Now, TMZ’s sources claim, Laura Wasser wants to prevent Amber from testifying and/or get a dismissal of the domestic violence part of the case. People Mag has more quotes from Wasser’s new filing: Amber was “hysterically crying and pacing in her separate conference room, or screaming and yelling at times and laughing at others…she appeared manic and irrational.”
Johnny Depp has so many witnesses. According to TMZ, if and when this thing goes to trial, he’ll have 23 witnesses who will swear up and down that Depp never abused Heard. His witness list includes the two police officers who responded to the 911 call on May 21, 5 concierges in his building, 2 security guards, the housekeeper and Amber’s publicist. Depp’s legal team also claims they have some kind of photo evidence to prove that Depp never abused Amber. Sure.
Amber Heard doesn’t have so many witnesses. She has her friend Raquel Pennington, Raquel’s boyfriend Joshua Drew and iO Tillett Wright, plus a few others. Amber’s legal team will offer medical records of the various times that Amber sought medical treatment for Depp’s abuse.
Johnny just wants it all to end. Sources tell People Magazine, “Johnny would like to see this divorce finalized as soon as possible. He’s concerned with the financial settlement and how she will react going forward.” I don’t get the wording there. He’s concerned that if he pays her “shut up and go away” money, she won’t shut up and go away? I think that truly is his biggest concern.
The hearing has been moved back. With all of the chaos surrounding Amber’s deposition, the judge extended the restraining order and pushed back the hearing for Wednesday, August 17th, two days after the originally scheduled hearing. The judge wants to give both sides a chance to get through the depositions.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
Ya know what? They BOTH are something to wonder at: Depp and Heard.
Yeah. I’ve been fairly supportive of Amber throughout this whole thing, but her recent actions are just odd to me. Her own people admit she was majorly late to her deposition (they tried to spin it that she called ahead she would be late, but nope–late is late) and I haven’t seen any stories from Amber’s people saying she was cooperative and willing to have her depo. I just don’t get it.
Her behaviour (and her legal teams) does leave you to wonder. She has been leaking to the press that she has all these receipts but when you read to documentation its quite scarce plus the refusal to take part in the depo makes you wonder if her claims will stand up to questioning in a court of law.
While I do think this was a toxic relationship where there were behavioural issues on both sides, Amber is shooting herself in the foot with this behaviour. Esp if he claims to have proof that puts her receipts in doubt which could be why she is refusing to take part and is using the drama to try and get a nice settlement.
I can’t blame her. I would be absolutely terrified of what she is going through.
I willing to give Amber the benefit of the doubt, but she and her people have released so many stories. She allowed PEOPLE to run a photo of her bruised face, for goodness sake! My gut reaction is she didn’t want to make statements under oath.
That’s why I said yesterday that I wanted it to be judged. I want to know the indisputable truth on that case.
Yea her behavior at this point is unacceptable. Either do the deposition like you were supposed to months ago or agree to a settlement. The antics do not endear me whatsoever.
I still believe her but I don’t like games in court
They are both shady AF in my view, but I do think we need to keep in mind the power dynamic that is so beneficial to the one with the power: Depp. Who knows how he and his legal team are manipulating the situation. I don’t give her a pass though.
@Tracking, yes, let’s definitely not forget the power dynamic at play here. It’s important to remember, and honestly I think it explains a lot of Amber’s weird behavior. It seems to me like she’s trying to minimize what she says “behind closed doors” so she has more time to talk in court. I’m not at all sure about the “carrying on” story, that could have been a legitimate reaction to something said to her, as could everything else (except being late) that has been spun to make her look crazy. That’s the tactic, right? Make her look crazy and unstable and poor little (grown ass man) Johnny was just a victim here.
As for his boatload of witnesses, I wonder how much that’s all costing him? And I wonder just how much any of them really saw. It’s pretty easy to say you never saw something happen, when you never would see anything happen anyway because it’s not like he’s going to beat her in the hotel lobby.
@goats on the roof, Harvey is that you?
BS and this site helped keep this rumor going by listening to TMZ (ie Wasser) too much. She was supposed to be deposed at 11:00, her people called the day before to to confirm 11:00 and she called that day to say that she would be 30 min late since she was trying to find an entrance not crawling with pap.
Being late doesn’t change the times he hit her though. No perfect victim.
This kind of reaction you’re all having is so frustrating for me. Honestly, please do some research on victim responses for DV and rape. Strong emotional reactions, backing out at the last minute, breaking down, inconsistent stories (based on inconsistent memories which are a side-effect of how a brain forms memories during trauma), running away, not wanting to go through with it are THE MOST COMMON reactions/responses of victims. Most DV cases go nowhere for this reason. This behaviour had absolutely no bearing on the veracity of her claims, it is completely normal behaviour for a victim and let’s not forget she is under insane extra pressure from her powerful ex, his team of lawyers, publicists, etc, his crazy fans, the media, etc etc etc. The pressure would be insane.
@ SKF, you hit the nail on the head. Not that I didn’t wonder why she didn’t go through the deposition, but truly, it is no wonder the possibility that she could have had a hard time going through with it for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Plus as I stated below, imagine your anxiety building for hours waiting to be called to testify in a very intimidating setting, about something traumatic that took you years to walk away from and now the pressure is on you to prove what happened to you.
@Lady A, Goats on the Roof is a long-time legit poster, not a TMZ shill. I agree with SKF that the distraught behavior attributed to Amber (if it happened) is not unusual for a DV victim, but I can understand how it looks different to others. Another reason this case is a good opportunity to talk about the effects of DV and how it continues to eff up victims’ lives long after the bruises fade.
I think her reluctance is totally normal. I keep thinking about the neurobiology of trauma and how victims/survivors can’t recall things in a linear fashion, their memories are fragmented, and it’s overwhelming to have to recount such excruciating details. Of course this is all compounded by the intense legal defense and smear campaign Depp’s team has orchestrated against her. No wonder she’s not feeling any of this. This is why so many give up in these proceedings, criminal or civil.
I think they are both on something stronger than coffee
MC2 thank you. I figured this was typical spin to make her look unstable.
How do you have pictures of something that you say did not happen? Kinda like here is a photo of not-bigfoot? I need more coffee to understand.
This is ridiculous.
Well that’s me told then.
@Zapp Brannigan – LMAO
Maybe Bigfoot IS blurry. That’s the problem. It’s not the photographer’s fault. There’s a large out of focus monster roaming the countryside.
Humor aside, I think what that means is that he has proof that her injuries were either caused by something else, or that they weren’t actually any injuries.
Shout out to Mitch Hedberg for the blurry Bigfoot joke. Funny man. Gone too soon.
Maybe the photos are injuries Johnny sustained from Hears? I’ll wait and see what it is after the hearing before dismissing it.
I cannot remember where I read it but the photo is being sent to her lawyers or has been sent to her lawyers and will only be revealed to the court on the day. The implication is that the photo is intimate in nature, or at least explosive enough to be kept hidden unless it is absolutely necessary to use it. Is it possible that between 11:30 and 2:00pm when Wasser says she called Heard to come through for her deposition they handed over the photo and their witness lists? The only way I can imagine a photo causing a real stir is if it shows an injury to Depp or an intimate relationship between Heard and one of her key witnesses. Maybe I have been watching too many soap operas?
It’s probably an embarrassing photo or about something that ‘triggered him’ (is- something she doesn’t want public). I am betting it is something super intimate that she doesn’t want public & he is playing dirty.
The evidence list was released through one of Amber’s fan pages on Twitter. I posted the link towards the bottom of the comments (Photocopies of the actual docs so looks legit). Apparently the photo Depp is submitting is of their bed– the only thing I can think of is that this is probably in response to the incident from December (I think?) mentioned in Io’s op-ed about Depp strangling Heard. Didn’t Io write something about him pulling out chunks of her hair and the mattress being bloody?
Zapp, you raise a very good point.
I’ve taken thousands of pictures in my life and LITERALLY none of them show Bigfoot.
The prosecution rests.
Money, money, money…..
+++++++1
#TeamScarf
–TheRealPinky
it’s always good to see women standing up for victims of domestic violence. smh.
#herfacegotintheway #hedidntmeanit
As it’s very good to see people convict someone without being proven guilty. Amber as of now is an alleged DV victim and since the case hasn’t gone to court everyone is entitled their opinion. Im still not convinced about her claims since her behavior is rather questionable but that doesn’t mean I support DV.
i see laura wasser’s strategy is working. mountains of evidence are quickly forgotten if the victim is not well liked by the public.
I agree. In this particular situation, it truly is unproven allegations. I won’t support anyone anything the proof is available for the lawful courts not the public opinion courts.
I don’t think as you put it Wasser’s supposed PR strategy is helping. Maybe in the court of public opinion, but I am not sure how all this info is getting out and who this really benefits. Now he has witnesses that she wasn’t injured, but she has witnesses that she was. We probably are not going to hear from any of them just the gossip stuff. Who knows the truth and the judge since there is no gag order yet probably doesn’t care about the gossip.
My question for her has always been what is the end game here. Does she want him in jail for DV? Does she want a substantial amount of money? Does she want a quick divorce? Does she want him to just go to counseling? I honestly can’t figure her out. Her actions really don’t point to any of them. If she wanted him criminally charged she needed to file a complaint on the day of the attack or at least soon after. She didn’t do that. If she wanted his money she had a better chance being quiet and negotiating her silence for money. She didn’t do that. I honestly don’t understand her. Hopefully, she is not hopelessly in love with him, because that seems to be the only explanation for her behavior. If it is just for the gossip well she has won that, because they are both throwing accusations and stuff on each other, but not sure how that benefits either one. She needs to start thinking about what benefits her more, and just going toward that goal at this point.
@anna Nope. Not Team Depp, Team Scarf. I think Depp is scum. And he agrees with me, which is why he dresses the way he does. But the scarf doesn’t deserve this treatment.
–TheRealPinky
Anna- exactly. Wtf is going around here in two days?! A woman can be late & crying and suddenly we don’t care as much about when she was beaten?!
I can say one thing- Wasser is one hell of an attorney.
No, she can’t be late and crying, I’m so sorry. There is time for tears and there is time to get het sh*t together and go for the jugular. If these reports are correct she’s loosing it and it does her no good to blame s.o. else. Amber is a big girl, if she doesn’t take care for herself noone else will.
Micki, MC2 explained above she was only 30mins late, nothing about crying, and the lateness was due to paps swarming her entry point.
Micki- Yes- she can be late & crying. It does not take away from the abuse….period…or the compassion I have for her.
It sure as hell is a dumb idea to be late (although she was 30 min late & called during that time as she was trying to find an entrance that was free) but doesn’t change the abuse or her case. And her crying. Jesus. Tell me what person wouldn’t cry during this type of thing?! Have you ever been deposed or been sitting around waiting for hours before a deposition about being abused? Crying during legal proceedings does not make your case weak out or change a single thing- it does make a person human.
Wasser calling her “hysterical” because she cried is something that she put out there to defend an abuser and paint the victim as crazy and you picked it right up.
MC: Court is like a chess by proxy. Wasser would call Amber whatever suits her because she’s paid to use every opening to discredit her opponent and refute her assertion of DV. Amber’s aim is to reduce these openings and state her hard facts.
I don’t think that courts ever care about moral and ethic or whether s.o. is “human”, only about solid proof.
As trying as this time can be, it is the only time Amber will get to tell her story. My point is not about her crying at all but about her getting a grip -specifically- at this time. Only a couple of weeks ago the universal sympathy was on Amber’s side. Now you read “both teams are shady”. How long will it take till the majority will start picking on her? Do you really think it’s all on Depp’s legal team?
Right on! What a total shit show.
@Boo: no offence, if i were a man I’d hate to date you. “Only 30 min late ” is “only” 15 min too long for me to wait. I’ve – never – done it. And I have never been that late either. And I’m not talking about a normal dating. This is about standart court procedure. You’re simply not late. You may be late for whatever else but not in the case that will define your near future and yout finances for the foreseeable future.
Ah, and “late and crying” is the second sentence of MC2.
“Johnny would like to see this divorce finalized as soon as possible. He’s concerned with the financial settlement and how she will react going forward.” I don’t get the wording there. He’s concerned that if he pays her “shut up and go away” money, she won’t shut up and go away?”
Perhaps he’s concerned that she might take his money and then attempt to make ‘more’ money off his name … by writing a tell-all book, doing interviews about him for pay, writing the source for a Made-for-TV movie about them, or pulling a Katy Perry by using elements about/from their divorce for a documentary or reality based show.
That’s exactly it, he wants to permanently silence her.
Nicole Kidman has never said anything about Tom Cruise. These things are airtight.
It’s widely believed that Nicole Kidman signed an NDA, Amber doesn’t want to do that. And I don’t blame her, why should she?
Why should she sign an NDA, because that is the only way this will be settled quickly. People with that much money will do everything in their power to prevent the world from knowing all of the specifics of their assets. Technically, Amber is only entitled to 1/2 of what Johnny earned while he was married to her. I am sure Wasser can fight to prohibit any previous earnings from being shown if needed. This does leave the possibility for Depp to hide money in previous assets. Now if she goes after him for money for the abuse, she might have some problems. First he has people saying no it didn’t happen, and she didn’t file a police complaint against him. Now she could write a tell all, but again if she can’t prove it he could sue her for slander. Like I previously stated her actions seriously baffle me in many ways. I just don’t understand what she wants, unless she is just looking to publicly humiliate him. Which okay maybe that would be a good thing, but I think she should worry a bit more about herself. Hollywood actresses career are so short, she should get as much as she can for herself.
Both teams act very shady. The story about her crying and yelling is all over the Internet and there’s no official public denial from Amber’s team and the story is still up. If this case goes to court, there will be blood.Also just a tidbit, the medical records are about only one incident, not various. I also read that Vanessa has been added as a witness.
Agree with all your points
“I also read that Vanessa has been added as a witness”. – Uh Oh
Unless Vanessa (and the other witnesses, for that matter) were with them every second of their marriage, her testimony is irrelevant.
@Samtha I think the point of Vanessa is more about talking about his general character and behavior. Character witnesses do play a part since abuse mostly follows some kind of pattern. None of her witnesses actually witnessed assaults either,only the alleged aftermath.
Vanessa is the same as Depp. She just hides her stuff better and keeps her self together. She had to parent their kids. I think it’s shady of Vanessa to do this and get involved.
Just because an abuser didn’t abuse someone in their past, does not mean that they are incapable of abusing someone in their future.
Also I doubt Wasser would risk disbarment by filing something with the court that just straight up did not happen. although I’m sure there was some finessing of her description (I.e. Using words like “Manic” etc)
Right. The Wrap has more details about the court filing and it contains too many details to be considered fabricated. She talks about watching Amber yelling and screaming through the glass doors of her office etc. And sorry about that but Amber is known for throwing tantrums. Mess all around
Also, court officials were present and would be independent witnesses.
Laura Wasser is practically THE attorney you hire if you’re going through a divorce. Her reputation is pretty good so I doubt she made all this up. Especially since she listed it in a court document.
Depp’s lawyer is a pro, the best in the business so there is no way she would put her rep on the line or risk disbarment by being shady. Its Amber who has the shady legal team, am not convinced she’s getting good legal advice.
Yeah, because I mean – good defense lawyers never bend things to make their clients look good. They never choose their wording carefully to paint things in a better light for their case. They never find loopholes. They never play on the jury’s emotions – they ONLY say things EXACTLY as they happened without implying things.
Come on. It’s all about the wording. I could watch someone crying and shouting and say “I saw them crying in the office, and later I saw them shouting, at one point they were laughing at something someone else said” or I could say “They displayed a lot of different emotions – they cycled between sadness and anger and hysteria. They seemed to be behaving manically or unstable” This meeting lasted for HOURS. It’s completely possible that these emotions were split up into longer intervals than it’s being implied.
Very many survivors of DVA have real difficulties with giving testimony about it. If she is crying and ranting she is far from the first to do so. Describing it as crying and carrying on infantalises and diminishes the real difficulty survivors face
Many many people who have survived DVA have zero evidence after really really traumatic goings on. They cover up, take pain killers, blame other things, stay indoors pretend pretend pretend in the hope that the abuser will stop as he always promises to do.
I am surprised that so many of us are expecting Depp to simply accept that he caused this problem and was abusive. A large number of abusers believe that they had good reason to act as they did or were involved in mixed violence or a tumultuous relationship where their partner is exaggerating their claims
We believe that there are many reasons for this not least of which being that they can’t accept the horrors of their actions and need to write a new narrative.
It seems that people want to believe that Depp is not an abuser and any slurring will do. Unless his previous wife lived with his current wife throughout their marriage then she has no role of interest or fact to play in these proceedings
Ronaldinhio, THANK YOU.
Thank you!
I was on D-listed and read through the comments and had to come here for some sanity.
So many points to mention.
1. Not one of the witnesses provided can disprove Amber’s claims. None of them were there when it happened. Including Vanessa.
2. Why was the bodyguard not on the list of witnesses? He was supposed to have stood by while she was beaten.
3. Like someone above said, just because she laughed, cried and screamed in a 9 hour period doesn’t mean that she was acting manic.
4. Her lawyers have already disputed this, they say she was never called in to the deposition.
5. Character witnesses do not mean anything in DV cases. My mums neighbour was accused of DV and she was like no way. She has known him from when he was so young. He was the nicest guy, never hear them arguing, can’t believe she is suggesting DV. At court there were multiple videos shown of him, tying her up and beating her!
It really makes me sad the way this case has been handled by the press. You have an obligation to DV victims to show appropriate language. Everyone of her claims are routinely dismissed. Her witnesses are disbelieved, while his are automatically seen as authentic.
If she made this up, then she is one hell of an actress. Unfortunately for me, I’ve watched her in 3 movies and she Is not even close to being a mediocre actress.
YES! Everything you said!
I’m going to be honest and say that as much as I’m #TeamAmber, the stories about this Saturday’s deposition have made me question why she would behave as poorly as his team is claiming. In the end, we have to remind ourselves that there is no perfect victim, and there is plenty of evidence to support her claims that he abused her at least twice.
I would say there is no evidence either way. You are all stating as evidence info you are reading off of websites and other media as fact. It could be true or not, plus none of the witnesses and supposed evidence on either side has been questioned or cross examined. This is why the judge who is the fair person here delayed it for two days for everyone to get their act together and present it. As this is complicated, I would hold my opinion till a fair person, like a judge listens, not lawyers, bloggers, gossip columnist, friends, ex-wives or any of them. Honestly, they all have something to gain here, the judge doesn’t really.
Great points to keep in mind, Ronaldinhio. And @Tana, as for question #2, I think the bodyguard is on the list of witnesses, but as “security”. From TMZ: “2 security guards who were in the unit on May 21, who will testify Johnny did not strike Amber.”
This ^
Honestly I’m still siding with her. I hope when this is all done it affects his career and we now longer have to go through his insufferable films any longer
If people like Sean Penn still have careers how’d this affect his career?
Polanski, Allen, Penn, Brown etc etc etc
It doesn’t matter what men do there can be a reason we explain it away so that we can continue to watch them on a screen
Yeah, me too. I think if it was just a money ploy, she would have given up by now. Sounds like Johnny is going after her, big time. It’s got to be so stressful, going up against a rich celebrity. He’s trying to take her down big time. Her life is going to be forever scarred by this, as there will always be someone who will say she was just in it for the money.
I’m on her side too. However I do believe it will affect her career. She isn’t considered a great talent and Hollywood is as sexist as f**k. And Johnny Depp has a multidecade career and many friends in Hollywood.
See, I’m not sure this will tank her. Her career isn’t stellar now – I don’t imagine it’s going to drop TOO much. People are hearing her name a lot more, too. So who knows.
Unfortunately, I also don’t think this will affect him other than monetarily. Disney knows that the Pirates movies are cash cows. They’re not going to drop him. He’s going to continue to get biiiig projects based on his multitude of fans and previous box office draw. MAYBE how disgusting he’s been looking might play into his career – definitely more so than this case, sadly.
It won’t be because of Johnny Depp.
Despite her physical advantages Amber Heard has been in the business for over a decade and she never had a performance breakthrough.
Her TV shows flopped ( i forget thier names) and her movies tanked. (Except the ones where she is girl No 3)
She is consistently singled out by critics as a poor actress or nothingburger
Contemporaries likes Margot Robbie and Teresa Palmer with hits under their belt have emphasised this.
Depp’s a tool and a fool but Heard’s career was pretty much in the zero zone before he came along. The only reason she got MET Gala invites and magazine covers was due to her Depp association.
Good thing is his career is going that way too – well save for the Pirates franchise; and that’s no guarantee.
To be fair she never really had much of a career to begin with, so I think her career will probably carry on as it did before she met him.
She’s a bad actress. I think the work she got was mostly because of her Depp association. Now those doors are closed to her. Since she doesn’t have a great talent and she’s got scandal attached to her name I don’t think she’ll work much in the future. I think Depps blockbuster days are over but unfortunately I think that has nothing to do with this scandal and more to do with his string of disappointing films. I think POTC will underperform. However I think he will be back to more independent roles and Oscar bait. I expect him to be nominated and have the Hollywood community at large rally around him just like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski.
It won’t. It will, however, probably affect hers: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/04/mgm200304
The bickering is probably about him wanting to foerver gag her with an all encompassing NDA. I wouldn’t sign either. Especially in this situation where she has been so publicly villanised. Depps crisis team will continue manipulating public opinion while she is shunned. Her abuse, her story.
I guess Wasser is a very good attorney. For good attorney it’s not a problem to twist any fact. Probably Heard was in hysteria because she sees how her case falls apart, no matter was there violence or not.
Berk was also there, ready to depose her, along with a video cameray and a court reporter, so it’s difficult to believe that his team didn’t want the deposition. I really have many doubts about her claims now. Didn’t she go on and on on about being more than ready?
Again, good lawyer can depose anyone in many ways depending on which result he wants to get.
I don’t trust what Wasser says. It’s her job to spin things so Depp looks better. Perhaps Amber was upset at having to wait so long. Maybe she was on the phone with someone (thus the laughing and crying/shouting/whatevering).
And of course Amber’s people are going to spin it her way.
It’s impossible to say what really happened without having been there.
@Samtha, who wrote: “I don’t trust what Wasser says. It’s her job to spin things so Depp looks better. Perhaps Amber was upset at having to wait so long. Maybe she was on the phone with someone (thus the laughing and crying/shouting/whatevering). And of course Amber’s people are going to spin it her way. It’s impossible to say what really happened without having been there.”
In the official documents Wasser filed and submitted to the Judge, Amber was asked to come in the room with Depp’s attorneys to be deposed at 2 pm and again at (I think) 5:30 pm and Amber refused both times. There was a Court Reporter and a Videographer present throughout the entire 10-hours as well. I doubt Wasser would make this up or ‘spin’ events a Court Reporter and a Videographer present (whom the Judge could question in order to verify events as they unfolded).
Still the judge believed Amber’s lawyers version. Because instead of dismiss the case or to stop her from testify, he gave another date for the deposition, called Johnny to deposition too and reschedule the court hearing and extended the TRO
She may have been crying at the phone, or laughing other times, she may be emotional or even taking some meds (she listed her psychologist between hers witness, she must be under treatment) but still is hard to believe that his lawyers couldn’t get to depose her in 10 hours!!
And if she really refused, why didn’t she leave before? why Laura Wasser doesn’t mention what they do between 11:30 and 2:00 PM when she said she wanted to deposed her? and After between 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM when she wanted to depose her again? and between that time and 9:00 PM? She didn’t mention it because they were talking of a settlement like Amber’s lawyers said…
Of course a judge wouldn’t believe she was 10 hours there always refusing to enter the deposition
@MMM, who wrote: “Still the judge believed Amber’s lawyers version. Because instead of dismiss the case or to stop her from testify, he gave another date for the deposition, called Johnny to deposition too and reschedule the court hearing and extended the TRO”
No, the Judge has ‘ordered’ Amber to attend the deposition, and he ordered it on a weekday instead of the weekend. This means that if she fails to show or refuses to enter the room set up for her deposition when asked, Wasser can report her so the Judge can hold her in contempt. And Depp was always scheduled to be deposed after Amber.
Again @MMM, who wrote: “And if she really refused, why didn’t she leave before? why Laura Wasser doesn’t mention what they do between 11:30 and 2:00 PM when she said she wanted to deposed her? and After between 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM when she wanted to depose her again? and between that time and 9:00 PM?”
Amber’s lawyers (if they are worth their weight in salt) wouldn’t let her walk out on a court ordered deposition … and they were probably trying to calm her down and get her to sit for the deposition. What probably happened (as we’re both supposing)? There was a first round of settlement talks, no agreement was reached, so Depp’s attorneys asked Amber to sit for the deposition. She freaked out, there was another round of negotiations, no agreement was reached, and Depp’s attorney’s asked Amber to sit for the deposition as second time and she freaked out again. There may have been another attempt to negotiate afterwards, but Wasser probably threw up her hands and said ‘enough.’
I’ve seen first-hand how lawyers can take facts and put a certain spin on them to make their client look better/the opposing client look worse. It’s what a good lawyer does.
That said, thanks for the additional details! Is the full filing online somewhere? I’d love to read it. 🙂
I still find this whole situation outrageous. The fact that scarfy’s team is pulling so many conditions not making their priority to settle this whole mess as soon as possible means they think and probably know that a man acussed of domestic violence can walk away unharmed carrer wise. I personally would like to see that drunk mess who thinks he still can do more that drunk sparrow and that he is still some cutting edge rock star to just go away already.
Maybe she should’ve filed a police report and had him arrested then?
Well in a perfect world all women brutalized by men who “love” them would file a police report the first time they are beaten. However, that almost never happens. Women don’t want to “ruin” their man’s life with an arrest, and they want to believe the woman beater when he tearfully apologizes that it will never happen again. By the time the woman is fed up, she is often in danger of being killed by the woman beater for speaking out or for trying to leave.
If only we believed and supported beaten women more often, maybe we could do a better job at keeping them from being murdered by the man who has been beating them.
Thank you Ariel.
@ariel 👏👏👏👏👏👏 well spoken!
Thank you, Ariel. So, so true.
@Ariel, who wrote: “Well in a perfect world all women brutalized by men who “love” them would file a police report the first time they are beaten”
Agreed, but Amber has stated that this isn’t the first time. Even if the police officers who responded to the 911 call didn’t see any evidence of abuse, they would have filed a report if Amber had requested them to do so. If she had, this all would have been handled in the Court system from the start instead of in the Press. I really think that would have been better for Amber.
It’s probably coming down to money and an NDA. Who cares how many witnesses each side has?! That has nothing to do with anything.
The court?
He really needs to stop with the eyeliner. He looks like he’s ready to do the walk of shame all the time.
I love how everyone is saying Amber’s team has been leaking info from the beginning but ignoring TMZ is on team Johnny takedown from the beginning, including the tantrum, manic comment. If you saw her through glass but didn’t hear the convo, you have no idea what the discussion was. Also, did we all forget Johnny missed 2 court dates. She came an hour late to hers, he missed 2. Lastly, let the courts figure this out. But in the court of public opinion, the women always lose. Always. Not one situation like this has the man come out with a tainted career. Amber’s career is new, and even if she is found being honest, she’ll still lose. Johnny worrying about money as well is BS. Hes worth 400+M, and hes worried about 10-20M after no prenup. Hes getting off easy and stop trying to paint only one side as devious… clearly Johnny has dirt in his past and trying to bring all your exes to clean up your rep makes you look conniving.
He didn’t miss 2 court dates, the court hearing has been postponed 2 times.
he had them pushed back twice and missed once while he was on vacation in the caribean. For someone in a hurry to settle things you don’t keep delaying hearings.
AND TMZ doing your dirty work then publicly announcing how you’d like Amber to stop talking to the press is full on ironic horseshit.
Depp did not have them pushed back. They were pushed back by the judge (not Depp) so that both parties could be deposed before the hearing. Amber needs to be deposed before Johnny can be deposed because he is the respondent. He will be deposed after her but until she sits for a deposition, they won’t depose him.
And him being out of the country has nothing to do with the hearings being moved because he has not missed a single thing that he was scheduled to attend.
#TeamAmber but also #TeamFacts
@Dana, who wrote: “I love how everyone is saying Amber’s team has been leaking info from the beginning but ignoring TMZ is on team Johnny takedown from the beginning, including the tantrum, manic comment.”
TMZ pulled their information about Amber’s behavior at the deposition from the official documents Wasser filed in Court. “People’ magazine has claimed they did so as well. The filed documents are public record.
Amber, you’d best start playing the part of the perfect victim. Otherwise the court of public opinion is going to turn.
It doesn’t matter that you are going through a divorce, or that your personal life is under intense scrutiny, or that you were most likely abused by the person who was supposed to love and cherish you the most.
Forget about that, and being human, you need to start acting like a pristine madonna.
Acting serious on her own case would be enough, I think.
I think the two of them are over the top and brought out the worst in each other. I still think she’s in it for the dough. And always was.
Im surprised anyone still believes her so blindly. When it first broke I dis but as time has gone on her behavior has become very questionable.
Agreed! Until all the proof is out there from both sides will we really know who’s telling the truth. Until then, we are all entitled to our own opinions!
What “proof” do you expect to get exactly? Witnesses who are bought and paid? There have been photos; recently the ones that were leaked and all those red carpet photos of her bruised.
Why would she be lying about this, really? Depp supporters have turned against her and taken a good portion of the public with them, she’ll be blacklisted by major producers, the world doesn’t care about battered women. There was no prenup, she could have easily “golddug” her way into about 15 mill already. If it was reputation damage to Depp she wanted to inflict, he is an easy target. Drugs, whoring, mid life crisis. Easy. She wouldn’t need to add wife beater to the list. Plus she knows that violent men suffer no consequences. What would be the point?
Depositions can be beastly. There are so many things that are allowed for questioning in a deposition that would never be allowed in court as evidence. Still, it gives the impression that a trial would divulge so much inappropriate material about you that you’d do anything to settle and keep some of your dignity. Hope she listens to her lawyer and that she has a smart and decent lawyer.
It can be so so hard to leave a relationship, even if the one you love has hurt you.
It can be soul sucking and heart wrenching to stay – sometimes, you hide the evidence from others, try to avoid seeing the bruises yourself, and become more and more isolated.
It can be difficult to find witnesses who have seen the abuse, because some abusers are so charming and delightful when they want to be, and the abused person feels like nothing, and cannot be gregarious or happy for show, which can make others think that the abused person’s attitude is the reason for the problems, like if they would just be happy for what they have then everything would be fine.
And then, who wants witnesses when one has been abused? It is hard enough when you can remember it yourself, but when someone else knows what has happened -saw it, heard it – you just feel WORSE. You feel like nothing.
In part because your person has shown other persons how they don’t feel about your person.
I feel for Amber. I have no idea how she is ‘supposed’ to be acting right now. I do have an idea how she might be feeling, though, and my heart and support go out to her at this time.
I really hope she sticks to the truth, tells her story, shows all her evidence, doesn’t cave.
It means nothing to me that she was emotional over the course of nine hours with her hostile ex’s hostile legal team. Many people would be under such circumstances.
Dealing with a powerful man and his entourage is not easy.
@ Jen, I totally agree, and hope she is able to get her truth out there. I can’t imagine what she is going through, and the power she is up against.
Thing is that she wasn’t with his team. She was in another room and REFUSED twice to come in to be deposed. It wasn’t like they were grilling her and she was emotional. She refused to go in and answer any questions at all.
This, as I understand it, was a court ordered deposition, and Wasser has now put on record, in filings, the manner in which AH avoided complying with the order to be deposed. Wasser would not have done so unless she could provide sufficient proof that it was AH’s behaviour responsible for the deposition not having taken place.
AH seems reluctant to be placed under oath. This does not reflect well on the case she has made, mainly in the media thus far. Also it will do her no favours with the judge.
I pity this particular judge.
Agreed. Wasser has been practicing law for 20 years and has a pretty great reputation among high profile (potential) clients. She’s the go-to divorce lawyer for celebrities. Her version of events are in actual court filings. Also, a court reporter and videographer were also present. They can verify what really happened. The entire “she was willing to be deposed but was never called” thing was from her PR team. That didn’t come from court documents. Their job is to spin stories in their clients favor from a public opinion stand point. Wasser’s job is to get this case settled in a court room. Lying in a court document would be risking her reputation and career.
Depp’s bull dogs can threaten to call 100 witnesses, but not until they swear under oath will I believe anything they say. Recall, Ms. Heard’s friend was the only person who actually testified under oath about what she had witnessed while Mr. Depp’s friends either wrote scathing, puerile letters or removed furniture from their apartment while Ms. Heard was out of town.
It was Mr. Depp’s camp that at the very beginning of this breakup threw down the gauntlet by warning people to dismiss what would soon be coming out. Ms. Heard, meanwhile was busily and quietly working with her attorneys in order to get out.
Mr. Depp wants to gag Ms. Heard. He wants to shut her up, and it’s been so easy for him because so many others are doing the work for him. Stay strong, Ms. Heard.
Many (if not all) of his witnesses have already been deposed. Oddly enough Amber, who started this whole proceeding, has yet to do so. He was also within his right to remove his belongings even with the TRO. Neither of them were even present.
Blinds are saying he’s only building witnesses to intimate Amber so she’ll settle easy out of court and for less than if she thought he had no fight/argument. I believe it. This is all a front. He will settle. She may not get the amount she hoped for, but she will get a settlement.
I don’t think her crying (if it’s true) or “carrying on” is any big deal or means that she’s feeling like she’s losing or something must have been shown to her that makes her a liar. Having to give a deposition is humiliating, nerve-wracking, and causes anxiety. If I were in her shoes, I’d have been in the bathroom throwing up.
… and the chances of a blind being accurate?
The blinds on Blind Gossip are very often accurate. Just like when they said Depp and Heard were headed for divorce due to domestic violence and everybody said that blind wasn’t true.
@JenniferJustice, I follow Blind Gossip and I totally missed that. Do you have a link? Is it posted under solved? How sad though, that a blind gossip site knew about the DV before it was known to the rest of the world. This had to have been going on for much too long.
Jennifer, they also said Jeremy Renner was married to a man and didn’t have a daughter at all but just borrowed his niece for photo opportunities. Strangely that was forgotten and new blinds were invented in light of his year long custody and divorce battle, and the ongoing legal squabbles with his ex-wife. They make this stuff up you know. You need to look at how many binds about divorce and DV turn out to be incorrect
Perhaps Amber’s lawyer was worried that she would not get a chance to depose Johnny Depp before the hearing so they purposely delayed Amber’s deposition? Maybe Amber was having a hard time dealing with the situation in general? Who wants to go talk to strangers about the abuse that was perpetrated against you? Maybe Depp’s lawyers are “stretching the truth?”
I don’t know. This whole thing is getting even stranger. Once again, who is lying and who is telling the truth?
A reputable A lister ballbreaker of a Hollywood lawyer describes her client’s accuser as manic and crazy in a court document. She made this observation through glass wall without communicating directly in person with the accuser they are describing or indicating that anyone else did, but feels qualified to make this judgement.
And that emotive, manipulatively loaded comment is taken as gospel by the peanut gallery who immediately declare that the accuser is definitely less than truthful, clearly shady etc and don’t stop to see this clusterbomb that’s been placed here.
Honestly, i weep for DV if this is what they have to put up with, especially in Hollywood.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/04/mgm200304
I hope Amber’s team crushes his team and all the details laid out loud and clear to show everyone what victims are put through by lawyers determined to crush their opponents in the court of public opinion.
Here Here!!
This times a billion, LAK.
Preach.
I once really supported Wasser, a high powered successful woman, making her own way. I just can’t anymore. I believe her narrative may win a landmark case, and will influence public opinion on ALL DV cases.
I am so sick of people declaring what is and is not OK behaviour for someone who has experienced DV. Wassers narrative plays right in to that armchair psychology.
So really, just fuck right off Wasser. You’ve sold out womankind and abuse victims every where for the almighty dollar.
Full disclosure. I’m a lawyer (Canadian and no family law). I may be naive but I cannot see any lawyer filing an affidavit that contains facts which are objectively capable of being contradicted (ie she was asked to come in for deposition twice and refused). No one client is worth your credibility with the court and that is destroyed with a false statement. Similarly, I’ve had clients who, for various reasons, could not participate in the court process or required certain accommodations. In those cases, I either reached an agreement with counsel opposite in advance or obtained a court order as to terms in advance. No lawyer worth their salt would expose their client to contempt proceedings by initiating court proceedings and then set their client up for noncompliance. I’m not suggesting DV victims need to behave or react in a certain way to be believed, but if you initiate a court proceedings, you comply strictly with the procedural requirements or you get exemptions in advance. As opposing counsel, absent an advance agreement or order, I have the right to expect compliance with proper procedure and I would not be doing my job if I didn’t take steps on behalf of my client if procedure was not followed. Our system is designed with procedural safeguards for both parties and if California’s is like ours, the person failing Ms Heard is not Ms. Wasser but her own legal counsel.
super late response, but for me it isn’t the actual legal business that concerns me. It is the media strategy.
I’m positive Wasser is playing by the legal rules, the case is too high profile to not be extra careful. Most of the legal proceedings will play out behind closed doors, so we don’t really see the behind the scenes. People who don’t fully understand the legal process (myself and most of the public) will just get the media strategy, which is the part I find repulsive.
I feel the same way about the OJ case. The way Sharpton et al played on racial issues and the bigotry in the police force as a way to get OJ off was despicable.
None of this is strange to me. That black eye didn’t come out of nowhere. Her behavior and appearance (looks bad, skinny, emotional and scattered etc) is in line with someone leaving an abusive situation. Those lawyers Depp has are no joke and his connections and money dwarf hers.
The way Depp has been acting, as well, is textbook. His team villainized Heard immediately starting with the proven lie that she bought herself jewelry the day she filed for divorce.
(Using an old picture.)
They are not to be played with and are master intimidators. Depp has dozens on his payroll and they want to keep getting paid.
Didn’t know Depp controlled the media. Buying jewelry after a divorce is not even close to making someone the villain. People buy shit when they’re upset and divorces tend to be upsetting. You’re reading too much into that particular story.
my opinion is that Johnny is coming at Amber too hard and too vindictively for there to be no truth to the DV. he has not come out and said he didn’t do it and is greatly saddened she would say this. his defence is left to his sketchy friends and paid employees.
Amber is behaving erratically which is fine. she does not have to fit a perfect victim mould or even be likeable. she can be a victim and still be someone who was impressed by Johnny and thought that it would boost her career.
Amber has photos of the bruises which should be enough. her witnesses are people that saw the after effects of the abuse.
i always thought she had a poor public imagine but her behaviour would be explained by abuse.
I agree joanne. To me it’s JD’s behavior since this story broke that seals the deal. He did hurt her, I don’t doubt that, and I want him to speak on it to a court of law. I want this confusing PR war to stop cause this is too damn serious.
Now maybe that makes me an awful person. I’m disappointed in Amber if she refuses to be deposed and weakens the case. I’m sure it’s hard but she has no other choice now after leaking it or this will always be questioned and will also have bad effects on public opinion about DV. She got to get it together for herself first. I think that as a public persona, she also has the moral responsibility to get this judged. She wasn’t outed, her team put this out. It needs closure now.
Really thinking about it, I have to say that if I was supposed to be deposed after filing for a restraining order against my abusive husband, knowing that he had pitbulls for lawyers and having to be put through the ringer while testifying and knowing they were going to antagonize me while doing so and pretty much gaslighting me; then on top of that I arrive and they don’t ask to depose me until hours later, making me sit there letting my anxiety build for hours, I don’t know that I would have been able to keep my composure. Imagine sitting in an hostile place for OVER NINE HOURS. As someone said above, I would have been vomiting non-stop by hour two.
FINALLY some effin empathy.
Agree with you completely.
I so agree!
This makes no sense. She waited at their office for 9 hours, in the next office, and was asked to go into the deposition room only twice, and she “refused?” And the 1st deposition request was made 3 hours after her (late) arrivial time, and then not requested again until 3 hours later? And then when she “refused” for the second time, she didn’t leave the building after she “refused” the 2nd time and remained there for 3 more hours? What, did they ask her while she was eating lunch or in the ladies room so she “refused?” Did her attorneys want to continue negotiations instead of starting the deposition so she “refused?” Was she in conference discussing offers with her attorney when they asked her so she “refused” and presented a counter offer instead? Why was Wasser watching her through glass if they were ready to depose her? There has got to be more to this story. I expect we’ll get the next installment when Amber’s attorneys file a response to the court filing, because the version we have is nonsensical.
This! Exactly this! Why did they have her hanging around for hours after they “asked” her to start the deposition?
Also, people are saying that Laura Wasser would not risk being disbarred by lying in a court filing. You know, she wouldn’t be disbarred for stating her interpretation of events. If it was found out she “fibbed,” then chances are the judge would find her in contempt and fine her for it. She’s not going to be disbarred for it. Of course she’s going to file a statement of her own interpretation of events that would benefit her client trying to “explain” why she had Amber there for over NINE hours and NOTHING happened.
In the filing, I think Wasser told the truth, but not the whole truth. And to be fair to attorneys, they aren’t required to mention everything. The ball is in Amber’s legal team’s court now. NINE HOURS! WHY?
I don’t know the practice in California but in my jurisdiction, we would not put without prejudice discussions in an affidavit. I would also not have my client wait around while we were having the discussions unless she opted to either. It is common to agree to negotiate for X hours failing which the proceedings continue. This way the client can leave if they wish and not sit there wondering and stressing.
A deposition is difficult but necessary and wouldn’t her legal team get to meet with johnny for his deposition? From what I understand a deposition is taken to better understand the facts of the case and hopefully reach a settlement without going to court. So, wouldn’t it be in her interest to provide a deposition? Also, does anyone know if Johnny gets to sit in on the deposition? I’m trying to understand her logic and if my abuser got to sit in, i think it would make me uncomfortable. When this all began i always thought Johnny would be the person avoiding testimony. I don’t know, i just figured he has more to hide.
I was initially thinking the same thing. “All she has to do is go in there and say what has transpired, and it will match up with her evidence, etc etc.” But a deposition is also used to intimidate the person being deposed. Amber has the most to lose in this, regardless of how much evidence she has to backup her claims. Truth of the matter is that even if he is found guilty and she is granted a permanent restraining order, Johnny isn’t really going to be affected by it. His career might take a temporary hit, but history has shown us that it’s never a significant blow to them.
So I have to imagine the state that I would be in, knowing that I’m speaking up about something terrible that happened to me, and on top of that knowing that they are going to use every single word I say or don’t say against me to try to prove that I’m not being truthful. They are probably going to antagonize me, my lawyers have warned me against getting emotional but how could I not be. And they are going to try to turn the tables on me to deflect from the issue at hand: that I’m saying that my husband was abusive towards me long before he was even my husband and that I not only stayed, but I married him and how that makes no sense.
Also, Johnny doesn’t have to prove anything; the responsibility all falls on Amber. He won’t be the first abuser to say under oath that he didn’t do anything, whereas the victim’s story is always pulled apart and put under a microscope to find fault in her/him to discount the validity of her statements.
And as per the judge after yesterday’s meeting with the attorneys, neither Johnny or Amber can be present at the other’s deposition. It is usually an option if she were to sign away on the restraining order, but the judge ruled against it, thankfully.
Okay, I can understand an abuse victim being terrified to recount acts of violence they’ve endured. Whether that be in a deposition or a court room. I can’t imagine what that’d be like for anyone. What causes people to question her is leaking photos and stories of how she got her alleged injuries in them to the press. Not the police. She claims things as evidence of abuse dating back to 2014 but she leaks it to magazines instead of to the authorities. That’s where she loses credibility. There will always be victim blaming a-holes. Even with Rihanna where there was no doubt Brown beat her (with or without his admission) there were still people who said she antagonized him. As if that’d make it justifiable. But even Amber’s photos are not that clear cut. The injuries depicted don’t match up with the stories of how she says she got them.
A fanpage of Amber got the list of evidence from Amber’s side and she has listed plenty of security videos from public places, like parking lot, elevators at their home!) and also a list of false articles about Amber that Johnny’s lawyers leaked to the press
And pictures from the incident between them in Australia………………..ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh!
And medical reports from the incidents since back in 2014!!
linky link?
Oh, what website? Where can we find it?
Yes, link, so people can mindlessly accept what a fanpage says are in court documents without actually posting said court documents.
It’s on Amber Heard Russia’s twitter account. And she has links to photos of the ACTUAL court documents.
Link to photos of the court documents: https://twitter.com/AmberHeardRus/status/763488645982609408
A few notes:No mention of the beating video she said she had and no mention of the texts with Stephen Deuters. Looks like both teams have a lot of exhibits. It will be interesting to see how it will go.
The video evidence is listed as video from different security cameras. As for the texts from Stephen Deuters, correct me if I’m wrong, but they might not be admissible in court because they had been leaked. If they were indeed “doctored” as it had been claimed, I’m sure Johnny’s team would have jumped right on that.
There’s no mention of photos related to the December incident which was the worst of all. She chose to release them to People instead of court which is weird. IO Tillet talked about bloody pillow etc how come no photos of that? She has photos from the apartment on May 21St which are gonna be interesting since Police saw nothing. What is also very interesting is that Johnny lists a whole lot of texts between her friends. And that bed photos is said to be something big. We’ll wait and see. Regarding Wassers claims it does seem to appear that Amber really was uncooperative since she still hasn’t brought requested docs and that’s why his exhibit and witness lists are still not complete.
She probably has worse photos than what she has shown. I would think she has photos of bruises on her body, and she doesn’t want them leaked.
@ emilie
I wouldn’t imagine an abused woman wanting ANY photos of injuries leaked. Yet she did and that doesn’t make people wonder.
In other words, victims can (temporarily, we hope) be weakened, freaked out, traumatized people who sometimes cannot get their sh!t together, not for all the tea in China. What a shock! If our justice system isn’t there to protect the weak, then what is the point of it?