Johnny Depp’s lawyer claims the video taken by Marilyn Manson ‘demolishes’ Amber Heard’s claims that she was abused by her ex-husband.
Testimony from Adam Waldman, who has worked on and off on Mr. Depp’s legal team since October 2016, was presented in court Thursday during the former couple’s high-stakes defamation trial in Fairfax, Virginia.
Mr Waldman, who is at the center of Ms Heard’s counterclaim after he called her abuse allegations ‘false’ and ‘a hoax’, gave evidence by video in February after being subpoenaed by the legal team of the Aquaman actress.
The lawyer, who was banned from Twitter for violating its privacy policy, insisted he had “seen things that show [Ms Heard’s] false statements”.
Mr Waldman testified that he believed the photos and videos rock star Mr Manson sent him helped rebut Ms Heard’s accusations about an alleged violent incident that took place on Thanksgiving 2013.
“In regards to this incident – Thanksgiving, possibly 2013 – I think these videos and photographs demolished her claim,” he testified.
Mr Waldman appears to be referring to a 2015 Thanksgiving video that was released during Mr Depp’s UK libel case against The sun diary – that he lost.
In the UK case, the court saw footage of Mr Manson, Ms Heard’s father David and Mr Depp’s son Jack joking at the rally in Los Angeles.
In the video, Mr Manson joked that Ms Heard’s father was “a freak” before David started chasing Jack.
Mr Depp’s legal team claimed during the UK case that the video showed ‘a happy family event’ – and so cast doubt on Ms Heard’s version of events from that day.
Ms Heard claimed the couple had an argument that day, during which Mr Depp ripped her shirt off, threw her across the room and threw glass at her.
Mr. Waldman also cited several witnesses who he said said they did not see any injuries on Ms. Heard’s face between May 21 and May 27, 2016.
Ms. Heard alleges that Mr. Depp violently assaulted her on May 21. The incident came two days before she was to file for divorce and six days before she was to seek a domestic violence restraining order.
Mr Waldman has previously accused Ms Heard of faking the scene of the abuse that night, saying in a 2020 media interview it was “an ambush, a hoax”.
Mr Waldman’s comments accusing Ms Heard of staging “a hoax” are at the center of Ms Heard’s counterclaim in the defamation suit.
Mr Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post where she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic violence”.
the Pirates of the Caribbean The actor is not named in the article, which is titled “I spoke out against sexual violence – and faced the wrath of our culture. This must change”.
However, Mr Depp claims this falsely implies he is a domestic abuser – which he strongly denies – and has left him struggling to land roles in Hollywood. He’s suing for $50 million.
Ms Heard is fighting back for $100million, accusing Mr Depp of orchestrating a ‘smear campaign’ against her and describing her lawsuit as a continuation of ‘abuse and harassment’.
His defamation counterclaim was originally filed following Mr Waldman’s comments where he accused Ms Heard of lying about the domestic violence she said she suffered at the hands of Mr Depp, calling his accusations a “false”, a “hoax of sexual violence” and an “ambush”. .
Mr Waldman was then reportedly dropped from Mr Depp’s legal team, but is now back as his lawyer.
Mr Manson was mentioned earlier in the defamation suit, when Mr Depp testified that he had taken drugs with the rock star.
The Pirates actor told the court he once gave Mr Manson a pill to stop him talking so much.
It comes at a time when Mr Manson is also suing his ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood for defamation after accusing him of raping and abusing her during their relationship.
Ms Wood presented the allegations last year. Several other women then also brought the charges.