- Amber Heard said she isn't surprised people came "out of the woodwork" to testify in support of Johnny Depp.
- Heard was referencing last minute witnesses including Kate Moss who questioned her testimony.
- "He is a very powerful man and people love currying favor with powerful men," Heard said.
Amber Heard said she wasn't surprised by last-minute testimonies from Kate Moss and a hotel manager in support of Johnny Depp, saying that's the kind of power he wields over people.
Heard made the comment in her last minutes on the stand on Thursday, as her defamation trial with ex-husband Depp comes to a close.
Depp took Heard to trial, accusing her of ruining his career by insinuating in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that she had been the victim of domestic violence, and claiming it was Heard who was the real abuser in their relationship. Heard countersued, and spent several days on the stand describing multiple incidents where she said she was physically and sexually abused by Depp during their relationship.
Wednesday saw Depp's legal team call two last minute witnesses to the stand to rebut incidents brought up by Heard in her testimony. Depp's ex-girlfriend Moss dispelled a rumor referenced by Heard that Depp pushed her down a set of stairs when they dated in the 1990s. Moss said she slipped and that Depp came to her rescue.
A hotel manager also questioned Heard's description of a fight where she said Depp got angry with her over another woman touching her. The manager said that he saw Heard pick an argument with Depp, and saw Depp "cower" in response.
Depp's attorney, Camille Vasquez, brought up these testimonies during her cross-examination of Heard on Thursday, telling Heard that she must have been surprised about these last minute witnesses that question her credibility.
Heard said she wasn't surprised, since she's witnessed first hand how people will do anything to curry favor with her ex-husband, a powerful man.
"I know how many people will come out of the woodwork to be in support of Johnny ... I know how many people will come out and say whatever for him, that's his power," Heard said. "That's why I wrote the op-ed, I was speaking to that phenomenon — how many people will come out in support of him and will fall to his power. He is a very powerful man and people love currying favor with powerful men and I know that firsthand, I've lived it."
In regards to Moss dispelling the stairs rumor, Heard said it didn't make any difference to her. Heard referred to the rumor, saying it's what she thought about when she said Depp started to get aggressive with her and her sister when the three were standing at the top of a set of stairs in 2015. She said it's what prompted her to hit Depp, the only time she says she hit him in their relationship.
"Everyone who was around in the 90s and the early aughts knew that rumor. I heard that rumor from multiple people. Of course that's what flashed through my head when my violent husband not only swung for me, but all of a sudden swung for my sister. Of course I thought of that," Heard said.
"I did not expect her to show up or not expect her to show up. It didn't matter," Heard said of Moss testifying. "It doesn't' change what I believed at the time when we were on the stairs and I thought he was going to kill my sister by pushing her down the stairs."
Both sides are expected to give closing arguments on Friday, after which the jury will begin deliberations.