British model Kate Moss briefly took the stand in the libel battle between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard as his lawyers tried to convince a jury that Heard was the abuser in their relationship.
The 58-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star is suing Heard in Virginia for $50 million ($A70 million) for defaming him when she said she was a victim of domestic violence. Heard, 36, has filed a counterclaim for $100 million ($A141 million), arguing that Depp smeared her when his attorney said her claims were a “hoax.”
Depp’s lawyers called Moss a rebuttal witness on Wednesday after Heard testified about a time she feared Depp might push her sister down a flight of stairs. Heard said she recalled “rumors” that Depp pushed Moss down a flight of stairs and that she slapped Depp to prevent him from harming her sister.
Moss, who was in a relationship with Depp from 1994 to 1998, testified that she slipped on a staircase and injured her back during a vacation the couple took in Jamaica. Depp rushed to help her, carried her to her room, and called for medical attention, she said.
“He never pushed, kicked, or threw me down a flight of stairs,” said Moss, who appeared via video from England.
Closing arguments in the case, which is being heard in Virginia, are scheduled for Friday.
Depp told jurors in previous testimony that he never hit Heard and claimed she was the one who got violent.
The couple met in 2011 while filming “The Rum Diary” and were married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized about two years later.
At the heart of the lawsuit is December 2018 op-ed by Heard that appeared in the Washington Post. The article never mentioned Depp by name, but his attorney told jurors it was clear Heard was referring to him when she said she was “a public figure representing domestic violence.”
Depp, once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, said Heard’s accusations cost him “everything”. A new ‘Pirates’ film was put on hold, and Depp was replaced in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, a spin-off of Harry Potter.
Heard’s attorneys have argued that she was telling the truth and that her opinion protected free speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against The Sun, a British tabloid, which labeled him a ‘woman beater’. A London Supreme Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
Depp’s attorneys have filed the US case in Fairfax County, Virginia, because that’s where the Washington Post is. The newspaper is not a culprit.