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Amber Heard's team has revealed they will not call Johnny Depp back to the witness stand.
The decision was made public in a statement to the press, telling reporters that 'calling Depp back to the stand would be as relevant to us as a bicycle to a fish'.
The statement added: "Everything Depp has testified up to this point has been irrelevant to the heart of this case, and there’s no reason to believe it would be any different now."
It was previously understood the Pirates of the Caribbean actor would be called to testify this week by his ex-wife's lawyers.
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Court TV legal correspondent Chanley Shá Painter took to Twitter to reveal that 'this statement is from a source close to Amber Heard this afternoon after her team changed their mind in calling Depp to the stand'.
Law & Crime correspondent Angenette Levy also confirmed the news on Twitter. "Amber Heard’s team will not call Johnny Depp to the stand as they had initially planned."
Civil attorney Katherine Lizardo explained the possible reasoning behind the Depp decision to the New York Post.
"There is a risk that he is going to have more time being likeable on the stand, when it’s actually Amber Heard’s time to present her case," Lizardo said.
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Depp is expected to return to the stand as a rebuttal witness by his own legal team.
His ex-girlfriend and supermodel Kate Moss will also address the court over allegations Depp pushed her down a flight of stairs when they were dating in the '90s.
It looks like the British model will take the stand on Wednesday (May 25).
Depp launched the lawsuit after Heard claimed she was a survivor of domestic abuse in a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post.
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The two actors started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary and were married in 2015.
Things soon fell apart and Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp the following year and they finalised their divorce in 2017.
In 2020, Depp lost a libel case brought against The Sun over an article in which he was labelled a 'wife beater'.
The US defamation trial enters its sixth and final week at Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court, with proceedings set to wrap up on May 27.
Although the trial was supposed to end last week, the date was extended to make room for new testimonies and evidence.
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The jury will have the final say after the closing statements are made.
Topics: Johnny Depp, Crime, US News
Rachel Lang