Libel trial hears Heard branded a ‘liar’
Amber Heard declared that she ‘‘did not choose this fight’’ and now places her ‘‘faith in British justice’’ as Johnny Depp’s libel trial against The Sun drew to a close.
Speaking on the steps of the High Court after the final hearing, Heard said she ‘‘would have preferred not to have been in court’’ for the past three weeks as part of a legal dispute between Depp, her ex-husband, and the tabloid newspaper which described him as a ‘‘wife-beater’’.
‘‘It has been incredibly painful to relive the break-up of my relationship, have my motives and my truth questioned, and the most traumatic details of my life with Johnny shared in court and broadcast around the world,’’
Heard said. ‘‘I stand by my testimony in court and I now place my faith in British justice.’’
Her statement came hours after Depp’s legal team described her in court as a ‘‘compulsive liar’’ who ‘‘gratuitously and totally invented’’ an incident in which she alleged the American actor threw Kate Moss down the stairs.
David Sherborne, Depp’s lawyer, said the claim was ‘‘another moment of scripted malevolence’’ from Heard, and called on Mr Justice Nicol to conclude that she is an unreliable witness.
‘‘We say that Ms Heard doesn’t know what the truth means,’’ Sherborne told the court. ‘‘Our position is quite simple. We say from the big points to the small ones, Ms Heard has proven herself to be an unreliable witness and, quite frankly, a compulsive liar.’’
Sherborne said the Hollywood actress had ‘‘changed dates’’, ‘‘added further details’’, and ‘‘invented whole events’’ during her ‘‘performance’’ in the witness box.
Rather, it was Heard who was the ‘‘abuser’’ in the relationship, Sherbourne argued, as she had a ‘‘propensity to violence’’.
‘‘Sometimes notes, even in the course of her giving evidence, could be both right and wrong at the same time. How convenient. Doctors were lying, nurses were lying, police officers are lying. Only Ms Heard, who was at pains to repeat the well-rehearsed mantra that she was not here to call anyone a liar, only Ms Heard was correct at all times no matter what,’’ he said.
Mr Justice Nicol is expected to hand his judgment down in the coming weeks. – Telegraph Group