Johnny Depp Trial: Amber Heard's reference to Kate Moss may 'blow up in her face,' expert says
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - Amber Heard's surprise reference to Kate Moss on the stand last week, which prompted Johnny Depp's lawyers to erupt in glee, may spectacularly backfire, sources and experts told Fox News Digital.
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Johnny Depp Trial: Amber Heard recalls getting physical with Depp during altercation
Amber Heard's lawyers asked her to describe an incident that happened in Australia where Heard claimed that Depp got jealous and angry while high on the drug MDMA. Heard claimed Depp pushed her and slammed her by her neck against a wall, and at some point during the altercation, she slapped him back.
The "Aquaman" actress told jurors May 5 the only time she had ever "landed a blow" was during a fight with Depp over his alleged infidelity in March 2015, when she thought he was about to push her sister down the stairs.
"I don't hesitate. I don't wait. I instantly think of Kate Moss and the stairs, and I swung at him," Heard blurted, referring to a rumor that Depp had once shoved the supermodel, whom he dated in the 1990s, down a flight of stairs.
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Depp's attorney Ben Chew opened his mouth widely and his eyes lit up in an expression of giddy surprise, as he turned to his team and did a fist pump. Depp, sitting next to Chew, looked down at the plaintiff's table and smiled broadly.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia over a 2018 op-ed she wrote identifying herself as a victim of domestic abuse, which he says ruined his reputation and career.
In a $100-million countersuit, Heard alleges that her ex-husband conspired with his former attorney to defame her by calling her abuse allegations a hoax.
Johnny Depp Trial: Amber Heard breaks down crying while recounting 2015 altercation
Amber Heard's lawyers asked her about an alleged 2015 altercation that happened between Heard and Johnny Depp in Tokyo, Japan. Heard broke down crying while describing the incident where she claims Depp got physical with her.
Manhattan-based civil lawyer Roland Acevedo called the name-dropping of the supermodel an obvious misstep that could "blow up in her face."
"It certainly could open the door to calling in Kate Moss," said Acevedo. "It’s considered a tangential issue that usually courts don’t let you bring in but since the defense opened the door and said he did this, they now may be able to call her to prove it never happened. This could blow up in her face."
The decision on whether Moss can or will testify ultimately rests with Judge Penney Azcarate. A source close to Depp said he and Moss have remained close friends, and his legal team may reach out to her to testify during the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star's rebuttal case.
Depp's team believes Heard's lapse may even allow them to bring in evidence of her prior 2009 arrest for allegedly hitting ex-girlfriend Tasya van Ree at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, but prosecutors declined to move forward with the case, according to Depp's lawsuit.
After her mugshot surfaced, Heard allegedly claimed that she was arrested on a "trumped-up charge" because the cops were misogynistic and homophobic.
Johnny Depp Trial: Recording of Johnny Depp after alleged plane altercation played in court
Amber Heard's lawyers played a recording of Johnny Depp that was allegedly taken by Amber Heard after a fight where she claims Depp hit her in front of people on a plane. Heard claims that the recording was taken while Depp was howling and locked in the plane's bathroom in an effort to help him remember the incident.
The police officer who slapped her in cuffs "was both a woman and a lesbian activist, who publicly said so after she was publicly disparaged by Ms. Heard," Depp's lawyers wrote the suit.
Virginia-based civil lawyer Broderick Dunn said it's possible the domestic violence incident could come in now but called it a stretch. Since Heard brought up Depp's alleged prior bad acts, she may have opened the door to her own, he explained.
Acevedo added that "you can prep a witness until you're blue in the face" and these blunders still happen.
"They may have told her 10 times don’t bring up Kate Moss, but it gets emotional on the stand, and it's not easy to testify," he said.
The trial was on a pre-scheduled break this week but is set to resume on Monday with Heard back in the witness box.