MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

'The weirdest witness': Team Amber Heard's Dr David Spiegel trolled with 'Doc Brown' jibes

Social media users couldn't help but compare Dr David Spiegel with the iconic 'Back to the Future' character after a highly animated cross-examination

Doc Brown, the memorable 'mad scientist' from 'Back to the Future' played by Christopher Lloyd, was trending on Monday, May 23, after a psychiatrist took the stand as an expert witness in the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Social media users couldn't help but compare Dr. David Spiegel with the iconic film character after a highly animated cross-examination by Depp's legal team. Spiegel was brought in as an expert witness by Heard's team to provide testimony on substance abusers and intimate partner violence (IPV). Depp's legal team, however, objected to Spiegel being considered an expert on IPV — thereby kicking off a rather wacky cross-examination.

RELATED ARTICLES

Who is Dr. David Spiegel? Shrink links Johnny Depp's behavior to 'intimate partner violence'

BICYCLES & FISH: BIZARRE reason why Johnny Depp will NOT be called back to the stand by Amber Heard's team

Attorney Wayne Dennison scrutinized Spiegel's resume, noting that the psychiatrist had never written about or presented specifically on IPV. "IPV doesn’t appear on your CV at all?" Dennison asked. "If you say it's not on my CV I'll believe you," Spiegel responded. The two then sparred on the American Psychiatric Association’s Goldwater Rule, which explicitly states that psychiatrists should refrain from giving professional opinions about public figures they haven't examined in person. According to Spiegel, he had requested to interview Depp twice but had been refused by his lawyers.

Dennison subsequently asked Spiegel if he used Depp's performances "in lots of Pirates movies" to analyze the actor's cognitive state. "I apologize for what I said," Spiegel replied, visibly rattled. "Then I misspoke." "Because you can't compare Pirates to sworn testimony, right?" Dennison continued, before asking why he'd glossed over Depp's other roles such as Willy Wonka. "Willy Wonka doesn't matter to you?" the attorney asked. "You see that movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Did you look at that one when you were comparing his processing speed?"

The psychiatrist, speechless for a couple of seconds, turned to Judge Penney Azcarate. "Do I have to answer that question, Your Honor?" he asked, to which the judge said, "You have to answer questions, yes sir." The visibly flustered doctor eventually replied, "No you'll be happy to know I didn't see Willy Wonka. I didn't see 21 Jump Street when it happened. No, I did not."

Spiegel was also confronted about calling Depp an "idiot" in his deposition. When asked if he thought Depp's substance abuse had affected his ability to act, Spiegel said he had "read" somewhere that Depp used an earpiece to be "fed lines" and that he once did a movie "entirely wasted." The cross-examination ended with arguably the most bizarre exchange of the entire session, which even caused Depp to have a facepalm moment.

"Do you know whether Marlon Brando used an earpiece?" Dennison asked Spiegel. "Isn't he dead?" the doctor retorted. "So the answer is no, he does not use one now."

The judge then brought the trial to lunch recess, but social media couldn't get enough of Spiegel's courtroom antics. Many compared him to 'Doc Brown', the eccentric scientist in "Back to the Future" played by Christopher Lloyd. "Dr. Spiegel looked like a psychotic tweaker version of Doc Brown from Back to the Future," one tweeted. "Fingers crossed that Doc Brown is going to make it so Johnny can go back in time & never marry Amber Turd," another wrote. "Dr. Spiegel is one of the weirdest witnesses on the stand - it's like someone kidnapped Doc Brown from Back to the Future and put him on crack," another comment read.

"Ok, time for Doc Brown from Back to the future to sum up. He needs one of the pills JD gave Marilyn Manson so he will stop talking **yawn**," someone else added. "If you mix drugs you’ll want to beat your ho. - Doc Brown," another quipped.