The defamation case brought on by Johnny Depp may get even more star power on Wednesday with an appearance by Depp’s former girlfriend, Kate Moss.
Avid trial watchers know that the names of other luminaries such as James Franco, Billy Bob Thornton, Elon Musk and Paul Bettany have already been part of testimony.
Kate Moss is due to give evidence by videolink in Johnny Depp’s defamation case against his former partner Amber Heard.
And it was Depp’s former wife Amber Heard who dropped the British supermodel’s name while on the stand earlier in the trial when describing a moment of alleged abuse.
“All I could think about was Kate,” Heard said, prompting Depp’s legal team to solicit her testimony, according to various US media outlets.
Moss dated the Edward Scissorhands star from 1994 to 1997 and Heard has previously suggested that Depp pushed the supermodel down a flight of stairs.
Depp filed a lawsuit against Heard over an opinion piece she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse”.
His lawyers questioned experts earlier in the trial who testified that the actor lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $22.5 million pay out for a sixth instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Heard’s lawyers countered by questioning experts and friends who testified that Depp was his own worst enemy and that the article had nothing to do with his tarnished star.
Dr David Spiegel, a psychiatrist, testified on Monday that Depp had "narcissistic traits" that included lacking empathy.
Dr Spiegel said Depp was envious or jealous of Heard, exploitative and that he carried a sense of entitlement — traits that can result in “intimate partner violence”.
When cross-examined, Depp’s lawyers tried to discredit the psychiatrist by saying that he could not possibly make that diagnosis without interviewing the actor personally.
“I requested meetings with him and was denied,” Dr Spiegel said.
Depp already lost one case of libel against the Sun, a British tabloid that called him a “wife beater”.
Heard, who had a starring role in Aquaman, did not name Depp in the article and is counter-suing for $100m for "rampant physical violence and abuse" suffered throughout their relationship.
Entertainment industry veteran Kathryn Arnold said that allegedly defamatory statements made about Heard by Depp's former lawyer, Adam Waldman, have caused significant damage to her career, which was "on the precipice of a meteoric rise" after Aquaman.
“Every time her name is mentioned, the negativity flares up again,” Ms Arnold said. “So her world has been silent in terms of opportunities and even things that she wanted to work on are no longer available.”
Ms Arnold estimates that Heard has suffered between $45m and $50m in lost film and TV roles and endorsements.
Judge Penney Azcarate has scheduled closing arguments in the case for Friday, after which it will go to the jury.
