Amber Heard’s ‘bloodied lip’ photo dismissed by court while Depp’s team calls it fake
Though the defamation trial has been put on a break following Amber Heard's initial testimony, the talks around it have not ended. While testifying against Johnny Depp, the actress gave a detailed account of several allegedly abusive incidents that she suffered at the hands of her ex-husband with whom she was married for about two years.
She also spoke about a particular episode between her and Depp that apparently left her with a bloodied lip, which her legal team tried to prove by showing a photo. However, the court reportedly refused to see the image since it was not presented as evidence in time for trial. Also, Depp’s team has called the allegation as well as the photo fake as it does not align with her earlier accusations.
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TMZ obtained the photo Amber Heard's legal team wanted to show the jury after an alleged attack, but Johnny Depp's team objected ... saying Amber's lawyers never submitted the photo during the discovery phase of the case. https://t.co/EBzjTZtgPP
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 11, 2022
Describing the incident before the court, Heard said: “I was in one of these fights, I believe it's this one, in his downtown ECB, we call it loft, and we're in the kitchen living room area and he backhands me. And, you know, it was, you know, he wears a lot of rings. I remember kind of just feeling like my lip went into my teeth, and it got a little blood on the wall. Just that simple, a little bit of blood on the wall.”
Though the photo did not make it to the court, TMZ got its hands on it that showed the 36-year-old actress with a tiny bit of blood on her left lower lip. She was also seen holding a small note that read: “I shall return xxx.” According to her, the note was written by the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' star.
But Depp’s team has called out her accusation and the photo. The team told TMZ that during the 2020 UK trial, it was claimed that the actor's alleged abuse against Heard began in 2013. However, the photo was from 2012, which the tabloid was able to verify. Regardless, a source close to the ‘Aquaman’ actress defended her saying she got confused with dates in the UK but her therapist documentation clarified that Depp allegedly started abusing her in early 2012.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the long recess in the trial could work in Heard’s favor. Los Angeles jury consultant Richard Gabriel commented, “What we hear last really does stick with us. Instead of moving on to something else, and focusing on that, jurors will sit for more than a week with Heard's testimony. That's a real thing.”
“It's not a wash, it does favor her. The timing of trials is very important — when you introduce things, who gets to go last. Who speaks before a weekend. All that stuff matters,” Gabriel noted.
NBC News' legal analyst Danny Cevallos stated: “That's the kind of thing lawyers worry about all the time and sometimes you get bad luck. This is a significant break and people are going to marinate in it [Heard's testimony],” before adding: “I've seen this in divorce cases and judges who have handled divorces cases would tell you it's possible [for jurors] to not believe either side, 'a pox on both your houses.' It's possible neither of them are credible and if that's the case, then Johnny Depp hasn't met his burden.”