Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard continued Wednesday with testimony from a flurry of witnesses, including the “Pirates” actor’s former talent agent, his high-powered divorce lawyer, an LAPD officer, and an employee from the Los Angeles penthouse Depp and Heard shared.
Front desk building employee Alejandro Romero made it clear he wanted no part of the case, and said he couldn’t remember much about the couple’s time together nor did he want to. “You sent me the papers to review, and I didn’t even want to review it because it’s been so long. It’s like I just don’t want to deal with this anymore,” Romero said in a pre-recorded video deposition.
The doorman was seated in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. At one point, he drank a soda, then vaped, and drove off for lunch. “I’m so stressed out because of this, I just don’t want to deal with this anymore. I’m tired, I don’t want to deal with this court case, everybody’s got problems and I don’t want to deal with this anymore,” he said.
Depp chuckled inside the Fairfax, Virginia courtroom as the video played.
Romero was repeatedly asked if he saw any bruises, cuts, swelling, red marks or other injuries on Heard’s face or if she covered any marks with makeup. Romero said he never saw any indications of physical abuse and noted he would’ve spoken up if he did. “You would cover any bruise, but you cannot cover the swelling,” said Romero.
He became more frustrated as the questions continued and said, “I’m not agreeing to testify against anyone of domestic violence because I was not there, I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. I was not there, I was never there, I was probably hundreds of miles away and got no idea what happened. That’s it.”
After dismissing the jury for lunch, Judge Penney Azcarate looked shocked and said she’d seen a lot of things, but “that was a first.” Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft agreed, calling it “the most bizarre deposition.” Bredehoft said, “When he started driving…” Azcarate replied, “Yep, that did it.”
Later in the day, Depp’s divorce attorney Laura Wasser said she didn’t make any attempts to seal the couple’s divorce records. Wasser was subpoenaed to testify and appeared in a pre-recorded deposition from Dec. 16, 2020.
In a letter sent to Wasser’s firm on May 24, 2016, Heard’s attorneys asked for spousal support, a Range Rover, the S. Broadway Penthouse including payment for the mortgage and utilities, $100,000 for legal fees, and $25,000 for forensic accounting costs.
Another witness, Depp’s former CAA agent Christian Carino, told the court that the actor had become radioactive in Hollywood after Heard’s allegations of abuse.
Carino, a longtime agent who previously represented Depp, said he warned the actor’s handlers that his legal disputes were becoming a “distraction” for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star’s career.
“People don’t want to hear that the people they look up to are in litigation,” Carino said in a videotaped deposition recorded on Jan. 19, 2021.
Carino said he had discussions with “Pirates” producer Jerry Bruckheimer about Depp being dropped from a planned sixth film in the lucrative Disney franchise. “The studio was having difficulty employing him,” Carino said he was told, adding that the decision was made “because of the accusations made by Amber Heard.”
LAPD Officer William Gatlin also offered testimony. Gatlin said he responded to a 911 call at the couple’s L.A. penthouse on May 21, 2016, but found no evidence of domestic violence. “At the time, we did not observe any visible or verifiable injuries to her,” Gatlin said about Amber Heard.
Body camera video from Gatlin and his partner were played for the court. The footage showed Heard’s friend Josh Drew opening the door and telling officers a second emergency call was related to the same incident. Gatlin told him he was aware of the earlier call but the officers still had to verify whether it was a new incident. Finding no evidence of a crime, Gatlin and his partner left and did not write a report.
LAPD Officer Tyler Hadden and his partner responded to the first call at the L.A. penthouse. Hadden told attorneys the people inside the unit, including Heard, were “uncooperative” and would not give any information related to the incident. Hadden added in a pre-recorded video deposition that Heard refused medical treatment and did not want to make an incident report.
Hadden told the court Heard didn’t have any visible injuries. When pressed about “redness” on the “Aquaman” actress’ face, Hadden said it appeared to be from Heard “crying.” Hadden also told the court he listed the incident as a “verbal dispute” because there were no signs that a crime had occurred.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million claiming she libeled him in the 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post. Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim for defamation for Depp’s attorney calling her a “liar.”
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor previously spent four days on the witness stand. Heard is also expected to testify.