The legal team of Johnny Depp which primarily includes Camille Vasquez has delivered its closing arguments / statements on Friday, May 27, 2022. The widely infamous Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial went on for six weeks. Depp’s star attorney Camille Vasquez started her closing trial arguments by calling Amber Heard an abuser.
Camille Vasquez Closing Arguments / Statement in Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial
‘There is an abuser in this courtroom but it’s not Mr. Depp. There’s a victim of abuse in this court but it’s not Miss Heard,’ Vaquez said. ‘Miss Heard is in fact the abuser and Mr. Depp is the abused.’
Vasquez recalled many expert accounts labelling and diagnosing Amber as a borderline personality disorder and called the Aquaman actress a ‘deeply, troubled person’ who is ‘desperate for attention and approval.’
It was exact years to May 27, 2022, when Amber Heard filed a restraining order against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. Vasquez said that it ruined Depp’s life.
Related: When is Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial verdict: Date & Time? Who will win? Possible Outcomes.
‘On May 27th 2016 Miss Heard walked into a courthouse in Los Angeles, California to get a no notice ex parte restraining order against Mr. Depp and in doing so ruined his life by falsely telling the world she was a survivor of domestic violence against Mr. Depp.
‘Today on May 27 2022, exactly six years later, we asked you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr. Depp is not the abuser Miss Heard said he is and holds Miss Heard accountable for her lies.’
‘What’s at stake is this man’s good name, what’s at stake is a man’s life that he lost when he was accused of heinous crimes and the life he could live when he’s finally vindicated,’ Vasquez said.
‘Six years ago today Miss Heard filed a false report of domestic violence against her husband of 15 months, Johnny Depp. It was a set up, she tipped off the paparazzi so they would be waiting.
‘They knew where she would pause’ and show off her bruise, Vasquez said.
Related: Who is Camille Vasquez? Johnny Depp’s legal counsel WON Internet with Closing Arguments.
She said: ‘The photos capture what they wanted her to see – the image of a battered woman. The dark mark on her face appeared six days after seeing Mr. Depp. It was a lie, she knew it, Mr. Depp knew it and multiple witnesses who saw her that week knew it. The world only saw what she wanted them to see.’
The cover of People Magazine was brought into the court and shown to the jury that featured Heard’s bruised face.
‘Two years later when promoting the biggest role of her career – until this trial – Miss Heard presented herself as a public figure representing domestic violence,’ she said.
Vasquez said Heard’s allegations are ‘wild over the top and implausible and you can’t pick and choose which of these to believe and disregard. You believe all of it, or none of it.’
‘Either she’s a victim of truly horrific abuse or a woman who is willing to say absolutely anything. It is disturbing to think Miss Heard would make up the horrific tales of abuse she testified to in this courtroom.’
Abuse is a reality for ‘far too many women but the overwhelming evidence and weight of that evidence shows it’s not her story, it’s not Miss Heard’s story’, Vasquez said.
She said: ‘It was an act of profound cruelty, not just to Mr. Depp but to true survivors of domestic violence.
‘It was false, it was defamatory and it caused irreparable harm.’
Before starting the court proceedings, Judge Penney Azcarate told the jury that it’s a high-profile case so their names would be sealed for a year. But, she didn’t make any such ruling when the trial began six weeks ago.
Vasquez said ‘most importantly you heard from Miss Heard herself’ including multiple audio recordings where she admits to being physically violent to Depp.
The jury was once again reminded of the recording in which Heard told Depp that she didn’t punch him instead she hit him.
Vasquez said, ‘Take a minute to think about what you heard there. Imagine that was Mr. Depp saying that to Miss Heard. This is the real miss Heard, in the audio recordings.
‘What you didn’t hear in a single audio recording was Mr. Depp ever admitting to hitting, punching or kicking Miss Heard. You didn’t hear it, it didn’t exist. It didn’t happen.’
In 2016 when Heard found out that Depp wanted to end the relationship she ‘went on the attack,’ Vasquez said.
She sent Depp a list of financial demands and when they were not met, she landed ‘a blow more damaging’ than anything physical by accusing him of abuse.
Vasquez said, ‘She didn’t just want a divorce, she wanted to ruin him.’
According to Vasquez, Heard has told ‘lies upon lies’ including saying in media interviews that she gave away all of her $7million divorce settlement to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
That was a ‘blatant lie’ and she had only herself given under $1million from to the ACLU and $250,000 to the Children’s Hospital.
Vasquez said, ‘When you catch Miss Heard in a lie she covers it up with more lies.’
After that, Vasquez picked the next giant lie at the case’s heart. It was that Miss Heard who claimed herself to being a public figure representing domestic abuse and Depp to be an abusive monster.
She said, ‘We told you this would be a performance, the role of a lifetime as a heroic survivor of brutal abuse.’
‘Miss Heard went all in. She spun a story of shocking, overwhelming, brutal abuse. She came into this courtroom prepared to give the performance of her life and she gave it.
‘Miss Heard’s acting coach said Miss Heard has difficulty crying when she’s acting. You saw it, sobbing without tears while spinning elaborate, fantastic accounts of abuse.
‘It was a performance. She told you what she thinks you need to hear to convict this man as a domestic abuser and a rapist. She wants you to believe she was abused countless times over the entire course of their relationship. The evidence does not bear that out’.
Vasquez made the jury go through numerous incidents of Heard claiming her to be beaten up. First was the December 2015 attack in which, according to Amber, Depp headbutted her, left her with black eyes, a broken nose, and chunks of hair missing. Then, she presented a Heard’s photo from the James Corden TV show where she went the next day right after being headbutted up. In the video, she could be seen smiling and mischievously looking at the camera.
Vasquez said: ‘Here is what Miss looked like on the James Corden show the next day.’
Next, Depp’s lawyer Vasquez turned to the Australian incident where Amber claimed that Depp violently raped her with a bottle.
Vasquez said that ‘there was a monster in that house but it wasn’t Mr. Depp, it was Miss Heard.’
She said: ‘All the evidence shows it was Miss Heard who attacked and grievously wounded Mr. Depp, throwing a bottle at him and severing his finger.’
Benjamin Chew Closing Arguments / Statement in Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial 2022
After Vasquez, another attorney of Depp’s legal team, Benjamin Chew took up to continue the closing statements. He said that Heard wrote the op-ed article on The Washington Post because she wanted to trade on her accusations against Depp as she had the movie Aquaman and its promotions. Chew said that Amber once again cast Depp as the villain in her life.
He said,’ This case has never been about money nor is it about punishing Miss Heard. It’s about Mr. Depp’s reputation and freeing him from the prison he’s lived in for the past six years.’
Chew referred to Heard’s claims as nothing but ‘despicably false’.
He said: ‘While Mr Depp’s name will be forever tarnished by these horrendous and false allegations this case is about telling you the truth of what happened
‘It’s about restoring his lost reputation. It’s about showing Mr. Depp’s children that the truth is worth fighting for.
‘And it’s about restoring Mr. Depp’s name and standing in the community to the fullest extent you can
‘He’s been carrying these outrageous stories on his back for six years. He’s told the unvarnished truth, even truth that’s pretty embarrassing
You’ve seen the evidence in this case – that evidence shows overwhelming Miss Heard’s attempt to portray herself as a heroic survivor and Mr. Depp as an abuser are utterly false
‘We implore you to give him his name back’.
‘Before Amber Heard no woman ever claimed that Mr Depp raised a hand to her in his 58 years and no other woman since Miss Heard made that false claim.’
‘This is MeToo without any MeToo.’