Why did Amber Heard mention Kate Moss in Johnny Depp libel trial?

This week the legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has taken a break, but that’s not stopped punters from dissecting every morsel from the trial so far, after Kate Moss was recently mentioned.

Depp, 58, is suing ex-wife Heard, 36, over a 2018 article she wrote in The Washington Post, which the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor’s lawyers say falsely implies he physically and sexually abused her. The article does not mention him by name. Aquaman actress Heard is countersuing for $100million (£76m) claiming Depp libeled her by calling her a liar.

Following several days of testimony from Depp, and various witnesses testifying on behalf of the plaintiff, Heard also took to the stand before the trial took a hiatus this week.

However, following Heard’s testimony on Thursday, interest is still piqued in the case, after she mentioned Depp’s former girlfriend Moss while discussing an alleged altercation between Depp and Heard’s sister, Whitney, in March 2015.

During her statement, Heard claimed her sister was near a staircase ‘in the line of fire … trying to get Johnny to stop,’ before mentioning it ‘reminded’ her of an alleged incident between Moss and Depp, who were the ‘it’ couple of the mid-90s.

Walking the court through one of her fights with Depp, Heard – who testified over several days last week – said she threw a can of Red Bull towards the actor, which struck him in the back. Heard claims Depp became enraged and followed her up a staircase before her sister Whitney intervened in an effort to get between the pair.

She told the court: ‘[Whitney’s] back was to the staircase, and Johnny swings at her. I don’t hesitate, I don’t wait — I just, in my head, instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs.’

She said: ‘In all of my relationship to date with Johnny, I hadn’t landed a blow. And I, for the first time, hit him — like, actually hit him. Square in the face,’ adding: ‘He didn’t push my sister down the stairs.’

At the mention of Moss in the courtroom by Heard, Depp’s legal team appeared to rejoice, with his attorney Ben Chew seen in a video clenching his fist and excitedly turning to a colleague before whispering something to Depp. However, it’s not clear why he’s responded to this moment in such a way.

It’s not the first time Amber Heard has mentioned Kate Moss

Heard first mentioned Moss – who dated Depp for four years before the pair called it quits in 1997 – during her testimony at Depp’s UK defamation trial in 2020.

According to The New York Post she told the court: ‘I remembered information I had heard [that] he pushed a former girlfriend — I believe it was Kate Moss — down the stairs.

‘I had heard this rumour from two people and it was fresh in my mind.’

Moss has never alleged she was abused by Depp.

According to reports at the time, Depp and Moss were spotted arguing in public, with one alleged argument in 1994 resulting in Depp’s arrest for criminal mischief at New York’s Mark Hotel after he allegedly trashed his hotel room.

It’s said Depp was found ‘in a state of possible intoxication’ while supermodel Moss was uninjured.

The charge against the actor was dismissed by a criminal-court judge on the condition that he stay out of trouble for six months, while Depp was forced to pay the hotel nearly $10,000 (£8.1K), which included more than $2K (£1.6K) for damages, plus the bill for the remainder of his reservation.

It’s reported Depp cited irreconcilable differences between the pair which led to their split, while also allegedly admitting he was ‘difficult to get on with’ and allowed his work to get in the way of their romance.

Speaking about the pair’s relationship, Moss revealed in a 2012 Vanity Fair interview she cried for ‘years’ after their split.

She said: ‘There’s nobody that’s ever really been able to take care of me. Johnny did for a bit. I believed what he said. Like if I said, “What do I do?”, he’d tell me. And that’s what I missed when I left. I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust.’

MORE : Johnny Depp’s ex-fiancé Jennifer Grey reacts to Amber Heard defamation trial: ‘It breaks my heart’

MORE : Johnny Depp trial: Amber Heard ‘shudders’ as she comes face-to-face with actor after emotional abuse testimony

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