Johnny Depp trial – live: Amber Heard defamation case to resume today after week of shocking testimony

Katherine “Kate” James has addressed the extreme working conditions she allegedly endured as a former personal assistant to Amber Heard.

During Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife on Thursday (14 April), Heard’s personal assistant answered questions – in a pre-recorded video deposition completed in February – regarding her past employment with the film star, which she said lasted from 2012 to 2015.

In the defamation case against Amber Heard brought by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, a former neighbour of the couple became emotional during extensive testimony about his friendship with the pair.

Isaac Baruch, who first met Depp as a teenager in Florida and became his longtime friend, lived in one of the five penthouse lofts at the Eastern Columbia Building in Downtown Los Angeles owned by the actor.

At one point on Wednesday, he was asked by Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft if he was angry with her client given all that unfolded as the couple broke up and allegations were made against Depp.

ICYMI: Clémence Michallon reports from the courthouse in Virginia.

Johnny Depp’s sister says Amber Heard called him “old and fat” and that the actor’s family was “devastated” at his marriage to her.

Christi Dembrowski made the claims as she took the stand as the first witness in the multi-million dollar defamation trial in Virginia, in which Depp claims that a 2018 article on domestic violence she wrote for The Washington Post implied he was an abuser.

She told the court that while she had seen Ms Heard “be nice” to her brother, she had also seen her “be not nice” and gave details of one such confrontation.

Explosive new allegations have been made by Amber Heard about her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, during the opening arguments of his $50m defamation trial.

Ms Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, claimed that Mr Depp sexually assaulted Heard using a liquor bottle during a black-out drunk episode.

Mr Depp was visibly skeptical as Ms Bredehoft made the claims, and shook his head “no” after her comments.

The legal team representing Johnny Depp in the defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard has made their opening statements, with Mr Depp’s attorneys painting Ms Heard as a compulsive and chronic liar who used the allegations she made against the actor as a means to advance her own career.

They claimed she wanted to portray herself as a heroic survivor of abuse.

The attorneys also noted Mr Depp’s drug and alcohol use, but argued that a substance abuse problem does not prove that he ever hurt Ms Heard.

Eve Barlow, Amber Heard’s friend and supporter, has been banned from the courtroom for the remainder of the trial.

She was asked to leave the courtroom in an order by Judge Penney Azcarate.

Amber Heard‘s defence attorney claimed Johnny Depp would try to turn the defamation cause against his ex-wife into a “soap opera,” but warned that it was a distraction.

Ben Rottenborn, Heard’s lawyer, said the case was about her First Amendment rights to discuss her experiences, and argued that context matters and asked the jury to read the entire article she wrote for The Washington Post – which led to the lawsuit – and not just the parts highlighted by Depp.

He then read the article to the jury and asked why Depp did not sue The Washington Post as well as Heard, claiming he wanted to “ruin her life, to destroy her.”

During her testimony, Christi Dembrowski told the court about the siblings’ early lives and growing up in Kentucky with an abusive mother described as “angry” and “high strung”.

She said her mother would hit them and their father, and called them names. She claimed her mother called Mr Depp “one-eye” because he wore an eyepatch to correct a lazy eye when he was a child.