Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are back in court once again. Following Depp’s libel lawsuit, which depended largely on the testimony of his ex-wife, Depp is now suing her directly for defamation (Heard is countersuing for $100 million.) It’s been a long road to this trial, and even those testifying are apparently ready for this whole thing to just be over.
On the second day of the trial, Isaac Baruch, a childhood friend of Depp's, took the stand, and while he clearly took the side of his old friend, as he believes that Amber Heard has been lying about her claims of abuse, he also said he is simply tired of this whole ordeal, which has been going on for "six years." Baruch testified (via the Washington Post)...
It’s six years. Am I angry anymore? What I am is tired. I want this all to end, for her to go heal, him to go heal. So many people have been affected by this malicious lie that she started and she created, and it’s gone out the door and around the world. I’m not angry at anybody. I want the best for her, for her to take her responsibility, heal, and move on.
Isaac Baruch is firmly on Johnny Depp’s side here, which is not surprising considering the two have apparently been friends for years. He largely paints Depp as the victim. Although, under cross-examination, Baruch did admit to receiving a text from Depp where he referred to Amber Heard’s “rotting corpse.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were married from 2015 to 2017, but it was in May of 2016 where Baruch said he first noticed evidence of problems inside the relationship. It has taken six years to get to this point, though certainly not all of that is due to the parties involved. This trial had been delayed for two years due to the global pandemic.
In 2018 Amber Heard wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post where she admitted to being a survivor of domestic abuse. While she never mentioned any names, he's alleging it's been understood that she was describing her marriage to the former Grindelwald star. That op-ed is the basis for the defamation lawsuit. It was following its publication that Disney announced plans to move forward with its lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, but to make the movie without Johnny Depp’s popular character.
The loss of that role certainly hurt the actor financially. He lost another high profile role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise following the verdict against him in the libel case. His friend wants to see all of the damage done come to an end. On the way all this has harmed Depp, Isaac Baruch said…
And for Johnny — his family has been completely wrecked by all of this stuff. And it’s not fair. It’s not right, what she did, and what happened, for so many people to get affected from this. It’s insane, how this happened.
Though we've heard from a person speaking in defense of Depp, there will be people speaking in defense of Heard as well. We'll be sure to keep you updated as the suit moves forward.
