Johnny Depp's Team File Motion To Strike 'Inappropriate Argument' Made During Closing Statement

Johnny Depp's legal team has filed a motion to strike an 'inappropriate argument' made by Amber Heard’s lawyers during their closing statements.

The Aquaman star's legal team told the jury 'that their decision in this case would send a message to every victim of domestic abuse everywhere'.

Depp's lawyers have now filed a motion hitting out at that claim, arguing that Heard's team 'improperly [invited the] jury to focus on [the] larger social issue' of domestic violence.

However, Judge Penney Azcarate has refused to accept the motion and the case is now in the hands of the jury.

According to FOX5 DC court reporter Katie Barlow, Azcarate said: "I’m not ignoring you but I am kind of ignoring you because the jury has the case now."

The motion to strike is the latest in the six-week courtroom drama that has been Johnny Depp's defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The jury has already returned to the judge with questions on the 21 points needed to satisfy Depp's defamation claim.

The jury asked the judge if they consider just the op-ed headline from The Washington Post or what's in the body of the article.

Judge Penney Azcarate cleared up the question and agreed with both legal teams that jurors must class the 'headline' as the potentially defamatory statement, not the 'article' itself.

Other questions that the jury must answer range from - 'The statement was made or published by Ms. Heard?' to 'The statement has a defamatory implication about Mr. Depp'.

While the final question states: "Do you find that Mr. Depp has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Heard acted with actual malice?"

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor has sued his ex-wife for $50 million (£38.2 million) over a 2018 article she wrote in the Washington Post, titled: "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change."

Although the article did not mention Depp by name, his lawyers say it falsely implied he physically and sexually abused the Aquaman actor while they were together.

Heard is also counter-suing Depp over comments previously made by his lawyer Adam Waldman, who allegedly referred to her abuse claims as a 'hoax'.

Now, following six-weeks of evidence, the jury is deliberating on the verdict.

The world is waiting with bated breath to find out the verdict of the highly publicised trial, and there may be a long wait.

There is no time limit for the jury to make their decision.

Featured Image Credit: Newscom / Alamy Stock Photo. REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Johnny Depp, Crime, Celebrity, News, US News

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist