Lawyer questions Amber Heard’s claim Johnny Depp initiated ‘smear campaign’ against her

Amber Heard is being questioned by lawyers about her claim that ex-husband Johnny Depp started a smear campaign against her amid a trial of dueling defamation lawsuits between the celebrities and ex-spouses.

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation, for allegedly false domestic abuse accusations she made against him that he said hurt his career. Heard is counter-suing Depp, also for defamation, for $100 million.

The highly-publicized trial has been live-streamed on the Law & Crime Network YouTube channel, and other outlets, from a courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia since mid-April.

Camille Vasquez, Depp’s lawyer, began questioning Heard Tuesday about her career after she made allegations against Depp.

“It’s an orchestrated smear campaign,” was Heard’s summary.

“You have no evidence of that, do you, Ms. Heard?” Vasquez asked.

Turning to the jurors, Heard then said, “Just look me up and you’ll see.”

After that, Vasquez rattled off a series of negative headlines about Heard, in a very similar fashion that Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, did when Depp was on the stand. The back and forth between Heard and Vasquez quickly became contentious, with Vasquez interrupting Heard’s responses and claiming she wasn’t answering her questions.

Vasquez also asked if Heard was referring to Depp in her op-ed, but Heard denied it was about him. 

Heard maintained the article is about what happened to her after she divorced Depp and got a restraining order against him.

While Heard maintains she was abused by Depp, Depp claims just the opposite: he was abused by her and not the other way around.

In the Heard-penned 2018 Washington Post article at the center of Depp’s lawsuit, she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Though Depp isn’t named in the article, Heard made prior allegations of abuse against Depp in 2016, which he claims is referenced in the piece.

Heard also has several other witnesses lined up to testify, including her sister Whitney Henriquez, actor Ellen Barkin, and Depp himself. This will be the second time Depp has taken the stand after he previously testified on behalf of himself and was cross-examined by Heard’s team.