Amber Heard has claimed that she wrote the op-ed for The Washington Post about Johnny Depp because he is a ‘powerful man’ with an army of followers.
The Aquaman star took to the stand on Thursday (May 26) for the final time in the six-week-long defamation case.
Johnny Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation and claims the 2018 article she wrote caused his career to suffer.
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The article was titled 'I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change'.
She never named Depp in the article.
Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez questioned Amber Heard about holes in her allegations that were revealed by various people who testified on the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s behalf in the trial.
Those who spoke in favour of Depp included his former partner Kate Moss and Hicksville Trailer Palace owner Morgan Night, who refuted Heard’s claim that Depp had aggressively trashed a trailer.
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"When you told this jury you punched Mr Depp because you thought of M. Depp pushing Kate Moss down the stairs, you didn't expect Miss Moss to testify that never happened," Ms Vasquez said.
In her response, Heard maintained she knew that plenty of people would come out in support of Johnny because of the ‘power’ he holds over them.
She said: “I've already been through trial with this man. I know how many people will come out in support of him."
It was in her explanation that she admits that the article was about Depp, the crux of what the lawsuit and court case have been centred on.
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She continued: “I know how many people will come out and say whatever for him. That's his power.
"That's why I wrote the op-ed.
"I was speaking to that phenomenon, [about] how many people will come out in support of him and will fall to his power.
“He is a very powerful man and people love currying favour with powerful men.”
The claim that she wrote the article to highlight Johnny Depp’s ‘power’ goes against her previous argument that the 2018 op-ed is ‘not about Johnny’.
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When Heard took to the stand on May 16 she said: “The only one who made it about him ironically is Johnny.
“It’s about me. It’s about what happened to me after Johnny.
"It’s about what happened to me after I escaped my marriage.”
When she was asked what ill intentions she planned on having against her ex-husband in publishing the article, she insisted there were ‘none’.
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The internet also caught on to her latest contradictory admission.
One Twitter user wrote: “SHE ADMITS THE OP-ED IS ABOUT JOHNNY DEPP.”
Another said: “THAT'S WHY I WROTE THE OP-ED. She admitted it.”
While this is the first time Heard has admitted the op-ed was about Depp, it will take more from the legal team for this to be a winning factor.
Depp’s team must also prove that Heard’s domestic abuse allegations are false, in order to prove that the article was defamatory in nature.
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp