Kate Moss to testify in ex Johnny Depp’s defamation trial with Amber Heard

Supermodel Kate Moss to testify in ex Johnny Depp’s defamation trial with former wife Amber Heard

Supermodel Kate Moss will take the stand in Johnny Depp’s bitter defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, according to US reports.

The move comes after the American actress brought the fashion icon into the trial, mentioning her by name while on the stand earlier this month.

At the time, legal experts described Heard’s move as a “blunder”, while immediately on Moss being named, Depp’s legal team were seen aghast later fist-bumping each other.

The model, 48, was in a relationship with Depp between 1994 and 1997.

According to reports in the US, she will testify via live video link and be called by Depp’s team on Wednesday.

Moss’s call to the take the stand came after Heard described a March 2015 fight in which the Aquaman actress punched Depp in the face.

She said it was out of fear he was going to shove her sister Whitney down a staircase.

Heard said she threw a can of Red Bull towards Depp, which struck him in the back, adding she called him a “f****** p****”.

She said he became angered and followed her up a staircase.

Heard said he grabbed her, at which point her sister Whitney intervened.

“She threw herself in the line of fire,” Heard testified.

“She was trying to get Johnny to stop. Her back was to the staircase, and Johnny swings at her … I don’t hesitate and wait. I instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs.”

Usually, alleged misconduct that’s not related to a specific accusation in a case isn’t allowed to be brought up by lawyers at trial.

But Heard’s mention of Moss opened the door for Depp’s attorneys to call the model as a witness to address the allegation.

“[Moss] is still allegedly friends with Johnny, and her testimony wasn’t allowed to come in before because it wasn’t as relevant,” said California entertainment lawyer Mitra Ahouraian.

Ms Heard has previously claimed Depp pushed Moss down a staircase while they dated in the 1990s.

During the 2020 UK libel trial between Depp and The Sun newspaper, she said, “He pushed Kate Moss down the stairs, I heard this from two people, and this was fresh in my mind”.

“I reacted in defence of my sister. I had for years been Johnny’s punchbag, but for years I never hit him. It was the first time after all these years that I struck him back,” she added at the time.

Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a Washington Post op-ed she wrote about the domestic violence she suffered, although she did not name her ex-husband.

He is demanding more than £38 million, saying her domestic abuse claims have all but ended his career and ruined his reputation.

The actress, 36, has filed a countersuit against Depp, seeking almost £78 million in damages and saying his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating claims against the actor.

Heard’s counterclaim accuses Depp of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”

Today, psychiatrist David Spiegel testified in the Fairfax courthouse in Virginia as a defence witness for Heard’s legal team.

He said the actor’s actions were “consistent with someone who has substance abuse behaviour as well as someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence”.

The expert in addiction and intimate partner violence added that Depp’s alcohol and cocaine abuse has impacted his attention span and memory so much that the actor needs his lines fed to him in an earpiece.

The trial continues.