Why Johnny Depp Won't Look Amber Heard In The Eyes During $50 Million Defamation Trial
Johnny Depp's $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife resumed on Monday, May 16, after a weeklong hiatus — and those who have been watching the headline-making case since it began in April may have noticed the actor refuses to look at Amber Heard.
As the trial kicked off this week in Fairfax, Virginia, one of Depp's attorneys Camille Vasquez addressed the reason behind why the Pirates of the Caribbean star won't look his former spouse in the eyes. "Mr. Depp hasn't looked at you once this entire trial, has he?" Vasquez asked Heard while cross-examining her, to which she replied: "Not that I've noticed, no."
"You've looked at him though many times, haven't you?" the lawyer pressed, leading Heard to reply, "Yes, I have."
JOHNNY DEPP CHUCKLES WHEN PHOTO OF AMBER HEARD'S BRUISED FACE IS SHOWN TO JURY
Vasquez continued: "You know exactly why Mr. Depp won't look back at you, don't you?" which Heard confirmed to the jury with, "I do."
"He promised you you would never see his eyes again, is that true?" Vasquez asked Heard, who insisted to the court, "I don't recall if he said that."
Vasquez then played an audio recording of one of the last encounters Depp, 58, and Heard, 36, had with each other. The actress is heard begging the A-lister to hug him to say goodbye while a clearly distraught Depp turned her request down.
"I just wanted to touch you," an emotional Heard says in the clip, to which Depp replied: "Really? After all the s**t you just said? After all the s**t you f**king accused me of? You want to touch me?"
Depp is then Heard warning the Aquaman star to not take his glasses off his face. "You will not see my eyes again," the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actor promised.
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Despite having filed a restraining order against Depp at the time, Heard "summoned" her ex to meet her at a hotel in San Francisco in 2016. Depp previously testified he agreed to meet Heard in hopes "she would retract her lies" about him, referring to the disturbing allegations of abuse.
After playing the audio in court, Vasquez asked Heard: "He's kept that promise, hasn't he?" referring to Depp refusing to look at Heard, to which she responded, "As far as I know, he cannot look at me."
"He won't look at you, right Ms. Heard?" emphasized Vasquez, which led Heard to reply: "He can't."
A rep for Heard previously slammed Depp for the way he was conducting himself in court, saying he "does not have the courage to even look at Ms. Heard."
Depp is suing his ex-wife for $50 million after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, which was published in 2018, in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse. Heard countersued for $100 million saying Depp's claims about her making up accusations of abuse were intended to harm her reputation.
The Edward Scissorhands actor testified that his "goal is the truth" and that he's seeking to clear his name in the trial, as he was dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise after Heard lodged the abuse allegations against him.