Summary

  • Johnny Depp had appeared on a list of potential witnesses compiled by lawyers defending his ex-wife Amber Heard

  • But Heard's team decided not to call the US actor to the stand as the defamation case entered its sixth, and final week

  • Depp sued Heard for $50m (£40m) over a Washington Post article, where she claimed she was an abuse victim

  • Heard is countersuing Depp, saying he smeared her by calling her a liar

  • Depp denies abusing Heard and says she was the aggressor in the relationship

  • But Heard's lawyers portray Depp as a physically and sexually abusive partner prone to drug binges

  • Warning: This page contains accusations of physical and verbal abuse - you can visit bbc.co.uk/actionline for support

  1. Pausing our live coveragepublished at 19:47 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Amber Heard's legal team has called their next witness to the stand: Kathryn Arnold, an entertainment consultant.

    A source close to Amber Heard has confirmed that her team will no longer call Johnny Depp to the witness stand so we are pausing our live coverage.

    Want to catch up on the latest? Here's some of our coverage of the Depp and Heard trial:

  2. Heard and Depp - in their own wordspublished at 19:20 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Monday kicks off what is likely to be the final week of testimony in the blockbuster legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

    Here's a look at what the former couple have said about each other on the witness stand.

    Media caption,

    Depp v Heard: The trial so far, in their own words

  3. Trial resumespublished at 18:57 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    The trial has resumed after a one-hour lunch break.

    Dr David Spiegel - a psychiatrist called to the stand by Amber Heard's attorneys - will continue his testimony.

    Johnny Depp is expected to take the stand next.

  4. Kate Moss to testify on Wednesday - sourcepublished at 18:52 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Kate MossImage source, Getty Images

    At the start of the trial, many big names - including billionaire Elon Musk, and actors James Franco and Paul Bettany - had been rumoured to testify. But none showed.

    Now, a source close to Johnny Depp says British supermodel Kate Moss will testify on Wednesday.

    Moss, 48, dated Depp from 1994 to 1997.

    Earlier in the trial, Amber Heard shared with the court a rumour that Depp had pushed Moss down a flight of stairs.

    Moss - who is known to be fiercely private - will appear via video link on behalf of Depp's team.

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  5. Court breaks for lunchpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    The court has taken a break for lunch.

    We'll be back with continued coverage at 13:55 local time (18:55 BST).

  6. Psychiatrist spars with Depp lawyerpublished at 17:49 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    David SpiegelImage source, Getty Images

    Psychiatrist David Spiegel is now facing questions from Johnny Depp's team.

    The exchanges are almost immediately combative as lawyer Wayne Dennison works to undermine Dr Spiegel's assessment of Depp as having substance abuse disorder.

    Judge Penny Azcarte asks Dr Spiegel twice "to just answer the questions" after some heated exchanges between Spiegel and Dennison.

    "I'm not sure why we're arguing about psychology - I'm telling you what it is," Dr Spiegel says at one point.

    Depp's lawyer accuses the psychiatrist of using Depp's acting in films to make his diagnosis of the actor, as Spiegel has never met him in person.

    "Willy Wonka doesn't matter do you?" Dennison quips at one point - referring to a film starring Depp.

    Spiegel looks baffled and asks the judge if he has to answer the question.

    Heard's team requested two medical reviews of Depp leading up to the trial but both motions were denied.

  7. What has Amber Heard said so far?published at 17:26 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Amber HeardImage source, Getty Images

    When Amber Heard took the stand, jurors heard a wildly different account of her relationship with Depp than offered by his team.

    Heard, like her ex-husband, described an intense and immediate connection between the pair.

    "I felt like butterflies. I couldn't see straight," she said.

    But that connection was marred, Heard testified, by a sudden transformation. Depp would disappear for days, she claimed, and return drunk, high and angry.

    She described a variety of violent outbursts - slaps, head butts and sharp kicks to the head - and disturbing episodes of sexual assault throughout their relationship.

    "I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me," Heard told the jury of her decision to file for divorce in 2016.

    "I had to leave him," she said. "I knew I wouldn't survive if I didn't.

    Depp has denied all allegations of assault.

  8. What has Johnny Depp said so far?published at 17:15 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Johnny Depp takes the witness oathImage source, Reuters

    Throughout the trial, Depp has portrayed his ex-wife as a volatile spouse who abused and demeaned him.

    After the romance of their first year together soured, the pair argued regularly, Depp said.

    Heard frequently issued a "sarcastic, demeaning, aggressive, violent, toxic spew", and occasionally resorted to violence, he said.

    Depp told the jury: "She has a need for conflict. She has a need for violence."

    Heard has admitted to striking her former partner on several occasions, after "years of not defending myself". But Heard said she was never "abusive" to Depp.

  9. Psychiatrist: Depp's behaviours 'consistent with substance abuse'published at 17:01 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Johnny DeppImage source, Getty Images

    Right now, the jury is hearing from Dr David Spiegel, a psychiatrist.

    Spiegel - an expert witness called by Amber Heard's team - tells the court he has treated thousands of patients - the majority of whom have had substance abuse problems.

    Depp, he says, "has behaviours that are consistent with someone that both has substance use disorder as well as behaviours of someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence".

    Depp's drug and alcohol use has been a frequent theme of the trial so far.

    Depp says he was sober for much of his relationship with Heard after detoxing from opioids in 2014.

    But Heard's team has described a different Depp - one prone to alcohol and drug binges despite her repeated pleas for him to get clean.

  10. Why are we here?published at 16:52 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Amber Heard Op-EdImage source, Washington Post

    The sequel to Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard's bitter legal battle has come to Virginia - just minutes from the nation's capital.

    After losing the first round - a libel trial set in the UK - Depp, 58, sued Heard, 35, for $50m (£38m) over an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post in which she described her experience as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".

    "I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out," she wrote. "I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse."

    She did not mention Depp or any other alleged perpetrator by name.

    But according to Depp's complaint, these three sentences amount to defamation anyway, derailing his career and "incalculably" damaging his reputation.

    "The op-ed's clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser is categorically and demonstrably false," the star's lawyer wrote in the complaint. "Her allegations… are part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms Heard and advance her career."

    Heard has sued back, with a counterclaim of $100m.

  11. Welcome to our live coveragepublished at 16:48 British Summer Time 23 May 2022

    Johnny DeppImage source, Getty Images

    Good morning from Washington DC.

    Johnny Depp is set to be called back to the stand for a second time in his high-profile defamation case against ex-wife, Amber Heard.

    The trial, which is scheduled to come to a close this week, has already involved graphic accusations of verbal and physical assault - in both directions. Depp and Heard have each denied any abuse.

    Readers should be aware that the trial has, to date, contained graphic descriptions of physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, and our live coverage may cover some of those topics.

    We’ll have updates and analysis from our reporters watching the trial.