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Who is Alejandro Romero? Johnny Depp giggles as doorman vapes through 'bizarre deposition'

Alejandro Romero, a front desk employee at the building where Depp and Heard lived, smoked and appeared to be driving in his pre-recorded testimony

A new witness in Johnny Depp's defamation trial against Amber Heard brought some laughs in court on April 27. Alejandro Romero, a front desk employee at the building where Depp and Heard lived together, smoked and drove a car while giving his pre-recorded testimony. During his testimony, Romero was seen vaping while sitting in a vehicle. Following that, he was questioned if he remembered seeing Heard on a specific date on which Romero responded, "I don't remember. I don't even remember what I got for breakfast," which led to laughs from the courtroom audience, including Depp.

Romero continued to smoke throughout his testimony and he drew more smiles when asked about a timeline of events he was given. He appeared frustrated as he stated, "I know you guys sent me the papers to review, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to review them because it’s been so long. I just don’t want to deal with this anymore,” prompting Depp to smile and giggle. Depp broke out into a laugh as he heard Romero describe how Heard had requested him to look into an intruder after she found some scratches on her fron door. According to Romero, Heard and her friend Rocky Pennington informed him that someone tried to break into their flat at the Eastern Columbia Building in West Hollywood. 

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In a pre-recorded video deposition, Romero explained that he thought to himself, "What?' Four inches off the ground? The dog was scratching. In my head, do you think someone is trying to get into your unit with scratches four inches above the floor? They were terrified. They asked me to go inside the unit and inspect each room individually. It's part of my job, so I did it." According to The Things, Romero worked as the front desk clerk at Depp's Eastern Columbia penthouse. While his specific responsibilities are unknown, Romero was most likely in charge of all five penthouses owned by the actor in that building. He is said to have worked in Depp's building in 2016, during the infamous incident in which LAPD officers were called to the house due to a possible domestic violence complaint.

Romero stated at the time that he saw no bruises or wounds on Heard's face and that she was 3 feet away from him. He answered when questioned if he would have seen anything because they were so near and the light was so good, that he wasn't looking to see whether Heard's eyelashes were even. His cheeky comments elicit a lot of laughter in court and from Depp. Romero lost his cool at one point and expressed his displeasure with having to speak with the lawyers as he grumbled, "Ugh.” He was spotted driving away as he testified that he'd been truthful in his replies. In terms of Depp, Romero testified that even though he had only met Depp a few times the actor was normally a ‘calm, really happy person,’ yet when Romero was shown security footage from the night of the incident in May 2016 he replied, "This is the first time I've seen him like this." 

Previously, Romero had testified in Depp's trial against The Sun. He had revealed Heard's reported relationship with Elon Musk at that time. Romero alleged in a written declaration submitted to the High Court in the 2020 suit against The Sun, which stated that Musk would ‘always visit when Mr. Depp was not at home.’ He went on to say,  "After he had made a few visits, Ms. Heard provided Mr. Musk with his own garage remote and a fob to Mr. Depp's penthouse." Following the latest deposition, Heard's lawyer described it as "the most bizarre deposition" she had ever done. "I've never seen that before," Judge Penney Azcarate also remarked. 

Depp has been in court recently for a defamation trial he filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard for her op-ed where she wrote, "like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age. But I kept quiet — I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn't consider myself a victim. Then 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.” While Depp was not named in the post, his legal team claims it bears a clear implication that Depp is a domestic abuser, which they claim is ‘categorically and demonstrably false.’ Depp is seeking not less than $50 million in damages. Heard has also filed a $100 million lawsuit against Depp for nuisance and immunity from his claims.