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'She'll turn and display her bruise': Morgan Tremaine claims Amber Heard staged bruise photo-op

Tremaine revealed that TMZ was informed Heard would 'stop and turn and display her bruise' when she got her restraining order against Depp

Morgan Tremaine, a former field assignment manager with TMZ, said that he dispatched photographers to get pictures of Amber Heard while she was at the court in Los Angeles in May 2016 to obtain a restraining order against Johnny Depp.

Tremaine testified that celebrity tabloid TMZ was informed that Heard would "stop and turn and display her bruise" when she got her restraining order against Depp. "The objective was to capture her leaving the courthouse, and she was going to stop and turn to the camera and display the bruise," he said.

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Tremaine stated that his responsibilities included dispatching paparazzi to various locations, based on tips or just direction dictated by a list of hot spots where celebrities would be. He explained that TMZ received tips through their tip line or directly through new producers in the office. "We were trying to capture Amber leaving the courthouse and an alleged bruise on the right side of her face," said Tremaine.

He did not reveal the source of the tip informing TMZ about Heard's presence, but said that it came from a news producer. Previously, the 36-year-old 'Aquaman' actress testified that she was "shocked" to see photographers outside the court. Tremaine also revealed that TMZ received the video of Depp in the kitchen through an email tip line and that it was much shorter than the one shown to the jury.

"There's a bit at the end where she is seemingly snickering and looks at the camera. That part was not present in what we received," he explained. Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft then accused Tremaine by saying, "You know this case is being televised, right? So, this gets you your 15 minutes of fame." He responded, "I stand to gain nothing from this. I'm putting myself in the target of TMZ, a very litigious organization and I'm not seeking any 15 minutes here. You're welcome to speculate, I could say the same thing, by taking Amber Heard as a client, for you."

Previously, TMZ filed an emergency motion to block Tremaine from testifying for Depp, but Judge Penney Azcarate rejected the motion to intervene in the defamation case. She noted that Tremaine appears to have chosen to testify at the Fairfax, Virginia trial on Depp's behalf voluntarily. Charles Tobin, an attorney representing TMZ's parent company, EHM Productions, was present in court.

He said, "A news organization will have absolutely no control over being able to enforce its promises. And so we would ask the court to permit us to intervene and to assert the privilege that belongs to TMZ." But Azcarate ruled that Tobin and EHM Productions didn't meet the legal standards to intervene in the case since TMZ's arguments weren't directly linked to the defamation case.

"Whether that breaches a nondisclosure agreement between Mr. Tremaine and EHM is not germane to this matter and can be litigated in a separate matter if EHM so chooses," she said. "And while breaches of contract must be taken seriously, and the court does, any alleged breach is not germane to the underlying litigation here," stated Judge Azcarate.