During Johnny Depp’s testimony, amid the ongoing defamation lawsuit, Depp has managed to get a few laughs out of the courtroom for his responses to Heard’s lawyer as he repeatedly dealt with hearsay objections.
And now, Depp appeared to laugh as Heard’s lawyer objected to his own question while Ben King, the actor’s house manager, took the stand as a witness.
Scroll on for more…
Now, we all know Johnny Depp has been through a lot these past couple of years…
The Kentucky-born actor, who has been renowned in Hollywood since the 1990s, has been embroiled in a highly publicized domestic abuse scandal with his ex-girlfriend, Amber Heard, for the last 5 years.
At first, this coupling seemed to be at the start of a promising relationship.
After meeting on the set of The Rum Diary in 2011, the actor started dating Texan actress and model, Amber Heard, shortly after calling it quits with his long-term partner, Vanessa Paradis.
They announced their engagement in 2014…
And, not ones to waste any time, they hastily tied the knot just one year later in February 2015.
However, it was here when things started to go a little ship-shaped.
Their honeymoon period was rather short-lived as, just months after their marriage, Depp reportedly suffered a hand injury as a result of “smashing bottles and windows” during a heated argument with his wife.
For the next year, various reports of abuse between the pair continued to surface…
So it came as no shock when Heard filed for divorce in March 2016, just fifteen months after the couple had initially exchanged their “I do”s.
At first, the divorce seemed unsuspicious…
Many news outlets reported that Heard had cited “irreconcilable differences” while filing the divorce petition.
But, only a few months into their separation…
Heard filed a restraining order against Depp, claiming that he had previously assaulted her.
It was a big allegation to make…
So people were confused when Heard retracted her allegations just one day before the hearing was due to be held.
But this didn’t stop the world from turning against Depp.
Heard had alleged that the actor had hit her on several occasions, and even provided video footage of him flinging a glass of wine across the room in a fit of rage.
And, in 2018, the actress penned an article for The Washington Post where she opened up about her experience with domestic abuse and violence.
Though she didn’t explicitly name Depp in her op-ed, she did allude to the time period when, “two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”
There was an outpour of support for Heard…
Who was even made the American Civil Liberties Union’s “Ambassador for Women’s Issues.”
And, despite profusely denying all the allegations against him…
Depp found his career taking a hit as a result of the ongoing scandal.
Fewer and fewer directors were hiring Depp for roles…
And his appearance in J.K Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald, was heavily criticized.
And, in 2018, he was dropped from his iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow.
In a career-shattering announcement just 4 days after Heard’s damning article, Disney announced that the actor would no longer be a part of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Though they didn’t directly cite Heard’s abuse allegations…
It was widely assumed that Disney, who has earned over $4.5 billion at the box office from the Pirates franchise, was trying to distance themselves from the actor and the scandal surrounding him.
But then, there was a sudden change in events.
Depp filed a $50-million defamation case against Heard and presented evidence that he was the one on the receiving end of the abuse, not the other way around.
Shockingly, the actor alleged that he was the victim all along.
Depp’s defamation lawsuit read: “The op-ed [Heard’s article] depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
The lawsuit also stated that all of Heard’s claims were “categorically and demonstrably false”…
And listed down incidents of Heard’s alleged abuse since the start of their marriage, including punching and kicking, as well as staging her attacks.
The allegations are difficult to read.
“She hit, punched, and kicked me. She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls, and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me.” His lawsuit read.
And, to tarnish the actress’ reputation and credibility even further…
Audio obtained by the Daily Mail was released that heard her admitting to attacking Depp.
As per the audio clip, she could also be heard taunting him…
“You are such a baby. Grow the f*** up, Johnny. You poke an animal enough, it is eventually, it doesn’t matter how friendly it is, it’s not cool,” Heard can be heard saying.
The case was grueling…
Depp then went to court for his libel case against The Sun newspaper – whom he is suing over a 2018 article in which he was described as a “wife-beater.”
The pair were in court as part of the 3-week long trial.
While in court, both parties played pretty dirty, revealing compromising photographs of each other which have blown everything out of the water, yet again. And of course with the evidence came more allegations.
Of course, this massive loss was terrible for the actor’s name…
But he isn’t giving up his fight.
Depp and his legal team were determined to prove that the pictures Heard shared in the case were forged…
To make it look like he was repeatedly abusing her, when in fact, according to Depp it was the other way around.
As per Page Six, lawyers working on the case claim that Heard altered photos making her appear to have 2 black eyes…
Alleging she was attacked by him in 2015.
Depp’s lawyer, Benjamin Chew claimed: “Ms. Heard’s counsel has repeatedly used these phony photographs at deposition.”
He also shared that he believes the LA Police Department “disavowed the photographs” that were previously given to the court and “did not depict what they saw.”
Chew revealed that the LAPD “found no injury upon Ms. Heard and no disruption to the penthouses” upon inspection…
“Ms. Heard and her friends then fabricated photos that she used to obtain an ex parte TRO [temporary restraining order] and a $7 million divorce settlement which Ms. Heard falsely testified in London she gave to the ACLU and, more scandalously, to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles; sick children with cancer,” he added.
Chew concluded that someone “doctored those photographs.”
“So, Ms. Heard or someone on her behalf doctored those photographs three years later. When that came up in her testimony in London, Ms. Heard falsely denied it. In short, Your Honour, without forensic imaging Mr Neumeister cannot properly assess or verify Ms. Heard’s data,” Chew added.
Since Chew exposed Heard’s alleged false claims, the court has granted Depp and his lawyers access to her phone records…
They will also be analyzed by Brian Neumeister, who is a tech expert.
And, we’ve seen some huge celebrity names in the defamation case between the two actors.
But, it’s not the first time that some of the names have been a part of the escalating battle.
Two of the celebrities involved, have in fact been accused of being tangled up in an affair with Heard in the past…
While she was with Depp.
The celebrities called to testify, who were accused of affairs with the Aquaman actress, are James Franco and Elon Musk.
Both celebrity figures will be testifying for Amber Heard.
But, they’re not the only huge Hollywood names in the lawsuit.
There are many more who have been dragged into the defamation case, too.
Paul Bettany will be a witness for Depp.
And, according to Cinemablend, Heard’s legal team will use Bettany’s texts with Depp against them, displaying violent language targeted at Heard.
Heard’s exhibit list includes names we’re all familiar with…
There will be text messages and email conversations between Heard, Jason Momoa, and James Wan, as per the news outlet.
There are also emails logged from author JK Rowling and guitarist Jack White.
Who else is involved?
Ellen Barkin, an American actress, will be on Heard’s witness list, and she has spoken up about Heard’s allegations in the past.
“Amber Heard was never enough of a victim,” she wrote.
“And we never will be… Unless we’re dead,” she continued.
Depp is suing Heard for defamation, claiming that his reputation has been tarnished because of the things she has said during their battle.
And Heard is countersuing him, which is why so many big names have been dragged into the case, as well.
Now, since the case began, a lot of people have taken to the stand…
And on April 19th, it was Depp’s turn.
Depp took to the stand where he discussed standing up for his children and denied striking Heard in any way.
And people rallied in support of the actor.
Depp took to the stand at Fairfax County courthouse where he described Heard’s claims as “heinous and disturbing,” LADbible reports.
He said that her allegations were “criminal acts against me that were not based in any species of truth.”
Depp went on to deny striking Heard and any woman in his life.
“Never did I myself reach the point of striking Miss Heard in anyway, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life,” he told the court. “Since I knew there was no truth to it whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up, not only for myself in that instance, but stand up for my children.”
Depp then further detailed the effect that the allegations had on his children.
“I thought it was diabolical that my children would have to go to school and have their friends or people in the school approach them with the infamous People Magazine cover with Miss Heard with a dark bruise on her face,” he said.
Describing himself as a “very private person,” the actor said that for him “to come up here and sit before you all and spill the truth is quite exposing, and it’s unfortunate that it’s not only exposing for myself, it’s exposing for my family, it’s exposing for Miss Heard, it never had to go in this direction.”
He also added that his goal is “the truth” and that he isn’t embarrassed because “I know I’m doing the right thing.”
Depp has since returned to the stand where he has revealed more about his time spent with his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
There have been admissions about his severed finger, audio recordings of fights, and text messages revealing horrific desires.
Despite the horrendous allegations, Depp has managed to get a few laughs out of the courtroom due to his responses to Heard’s lawyer.
Depp seems to have taken a charm offensive during his testimony, cracking jokes and making comments at the expense of Heard’s lawyer.
In a montage clip uploaded to TikTok, Depp responds to questions asked in a pretty sarcastic tone.
One statement made by the lawyer was: “you were drinking pretty heavily,” to which Depp responds: “were you there?”
The lawyer also accused Depp multiple times of hearsay, which is evidence used to prove something at trial from a witness who is not in court.
One fan jokingly wrote in response to the clip:
“Someone sneezes Johnny: ‘bless you’
Ambers lawyer: HEARSAY”
In one question, the lawyer also asked Depp: “you would sometimes drink whiskey in the mornings too right?”
He jokingly replied: “Isn’t happy hour any time?” which resulted in laughs from the courtroom.
Another comment that got the court giggling was when the lawyer asked Johnny: “you can’t say that you carried c*caine in the box?”
“No, but it looks like it would fit some c*caine,” Depp responded.
His light-hearted approach to answering questions clearly sits well with the jury.
And he continues to make the courtroom feel at ease as Heard’s lawyer continues with his hearsay objections.
But, this time, Rottenborn objected to his own question while house manager, Ben King, was on the stand as a witness…
And it certainly made Depp laugh.
As Depp’s former house manager took the stand, he recalled the evening that Depp’s finger was severed.
As Rottenborn asked: “You didn’t know what could cause damage to Mr. Depp’s hand while you were there on March 8, correct?”… King was about to answer, starting by saying “Dr. Kipper had told me he had sustained an injury on one of his…”
But, just like that, he was interrupted.
“Objection hearsay,” Rottenborn said about his own question.
And as the judge responded confusedly saying “But, you asked the question?” Depp appeared to laugh with his attorney.
It was more than likely a very awkward moment for Rottenborn.
But, social media users loved it, taking to TikTok to share the moment.
And some TikTok users even compared the moment to the famous Liar Liar movie Jim Carrey stars in where he objects to his own argument, as well as the arguments of other lawyers because it’s “damaging” to his case.
Many have also taken to Twitter to talk about Rottenborn, as well…
“If you want to know how the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial is going, all you need to know is that Amber’s lawyer objected to a question he asked,” one person wrote.
Another talked of the moment Heard’s lawyer made Depp listen to a tape where he expressed that he would cut himself if Heard didn’t.
“Amber Heard’s lawyers just made Johnny Depp listen to a recording of himself expressing the desire to self-harm. This was the point she drove him to, and he’s reliving it all now. He deserved so much better. Hold him in your heart today, with all those who’ve suffered abuse,” one Twitter user wrote.
Others mentioned the moment Rottenborn said that Heard didn’t assault Depp by throwing something at him…
“I love how Rottenness said that Amber throwing objects at Johnny Depp is not assault, and Sean Bett said Actually, it is. And Rottenbottom had nothing to say. Where did Amber Heard get her lawyers? The discount rack?” they wrote.
So, it’s clear that both Depp and social media users are finding Heard’s lawyer to be humorous…
The trial continues.