Closing Arguments Get Heated in Depp vs. Heard, Jury Begins Deliberations

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12:06 PM PT — The rebuttals from Johnny and Amber’s legal teams were intense … with Depp’s attorney calling Amber a liar and Heard’s lawyer saying the allegation is all a hoax on Amber’s end and is “vicious and vile.”

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Johnny’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, went first in her rebuttal … calling Amber a liar and saying Heard’s story was constantly shifting throughout the trial, with the accusations of abuse never the same.

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Depp’s team claimed Amber gave the performance of her life on the witness stand, but they say she was caught in lie after lie. Camille says Johnny had to sue because it was the only way to defend himself and expose Amber as an alleged liar.

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Amber’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, fired back when it was his turn to address the jury … bristling at Depp’s lawyers calling Heard untruthful.

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Rottenborn doubled down on his argument that Depp abused Amber in different ways outside of physical abuse, including emotional and verbal abuse. BR also ripped Depp’s lawyers for trying to box in abuse as something that is only physical or sexual.

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After the rebuttals, the judge read the jury instructions and sent them off to deliberate … and there was applause in the courtroom.

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10:18 AM PT — Amber’s other attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, promised to be quick with her part of closing … and she certainly fulfilled it. EB raced through her arguments with the jury — which were all about JD’s ex-attorney’s statements that AH countersued over — and Elaine went through examples of why she believes his remarks were defamatory … mostly arguing, the abuse happened.

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She also touched on how his statements have affected her career — and said Walter Hamada himself — the WB exec — testified that Jason Momoa and James Wan emailed him insisting if they were going to work on the second film together, Amber also had to be included.

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The takeaway on this issue was … why would those key guys from the movie say that unless there was some feeling that WB wanted her out. Elaine argues it’s clear Amber’s star was shot down as a result of this — and asked the jury to award her reasonable damages.

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Court is in recess and will come back for rebuttals, which the judge said would be much shorter. Amber’s team has much less time than JD’s to make their case upon return.

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8:59 AM PT — Rottenborn just made an interesting argument in closing — he says not only did JD physically abuse Amber, but suggests that even the stuff he did outside of alleged hitting constitutes abuse … including the notorious video of him slamming cabinets in their kitchen.

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BR was emphatic that what the jury saw there was horrific for Amber to experience, saying that abuse does not necessarily need to manifest in the physical form to be valid.

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It’s an interesting point … as many know, DV doesn’t just have to be beatings — it certainly can take shape in other ways, including emotional, verbal, etc. That’s kind of what Rottenborn is saying here — she might not have the smoking gun documented, but what she does have on tape still supports her claims of abuse … and backs her account as a victim.

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8:33 AM PT — Amber’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, came out swinging in closing arguments with a powerful sentiment — namely, asking the jury to think about what Johnny and his team are suggesting with their premise … that if you didn’t document abuse, it didn’t happen.

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Rottenborn went on to list other implications he believes JD is outlining — including … if you did tell people, it’s a lie; if you did document injuries, they’re fake; if you tried to help your spouse, you were actually sabotaging them. BR says these are dangerous ideas to try and cement with a verdict and that they have a broader negative impact on DV victims.

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He also said the jury is not here to decide if JD actually abused Amber, but more specifically — if her op-ed piece and the alleged defamatory statements are protected speech under the First Amendment. He said the two statements in the actual body copy are true on their face, and that she didn’t actually write the headline about “sexual violence” in question.

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7:47 AM PT — Chew went through the jury instructions with the actual jury themselves, going through each question one by one and explaining why he feels he and his team have made the case for each — including the notion that they’ve proven Johnny did not abuse Amber. He also noted that on the issue of damages, JD doesn’t care about money or punishing Amber … he just wants to be vindicated and to finally get his reputation back in a court of law.

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7:25 AM PT — Chew is touching on what Amber’s claims did to Depp’s reputation. He invoked his most famous role, Captain Jack Sparrow, and said that JD will go to his grave knowing some people who used to look up to him now believe he beat a woman as a result of what AH has done … regardless of the outcome of this trial. He also says this is NOT a #MeToo moment … because no one has come out of the woodwork to say “Me Too.”

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7:13 AM PT — Camille just wrapped her portion of closing, and she was effective in detailing each allegation of abuse from Amber and picking it apart in front of the jury. Her takeaway message … you either believe all of her claims or none. She insisted she and the team have proven, through evidence and testimony, that Amber is lying … and Johnny is telling the truth — namely, that she allegedly abused him, not the other way around. Ben Chew is up.

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6:32 AM PT — The attorney addressed Johnny’s amputated finger, and said the injury was caused by a broken vodka bottle thrown at him by Amber. She also said Amber’s allegation of sexual assault with a liquor bottle was a bald-faced lie … saying someone who would have undergone such trauma would not simply go to bed and fall asleep.

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Vasquez told the jury … with all the photos and videos of Amber over the years of their relationship, there were no visual signs of abuse.

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Vasquez played a damning video where Amber said she donated her $7 million settlement to charity. She says she gave the $7 mil. to the ACLU and Children’s Hospital — she did not.

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Vasquez brought up the feces in the bed, saying it was all orchestrated by Amber who was enraged that Johnny showed up late for her 30th birthday party and struck him before he left. Vasquez says Amber wanted more than a divorce — she wanted to ruin Johnny.

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Johnny’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, came out of the gate swinging, saying Amber Heard went to an L.A. courthouse in 2016, filed a claim of abuse and ruined his life. Vasquez also says the mark on her face that was apparent as she left the courthouse, captured by photogs, was fake … appearing 6 days after she last saw Johnny. She said there is an abuser in the courtroom, but it’s not Johnny — it’s Amber.

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Vasquez went on … Amber was desperate for attention and suffered from a personality disorder laced with anger. She said it was Amber who emotionally and physically abused Johnny.

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One of the most powerful moments — Vasquez played an audiotape of Amber admitting she hit Johnny, but somehow distinguished a hit from a punch and called him a “baby” for complaining about it.