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A photo of Amber Heard’s bleeding, injured lip that was produced by her team in the ongoing defamation trial against Johnny Depp has been labeled as “fake” by the latter’s team. It has also been pointed out that the photo evidence did not match the timeline of Heard’s initial allegations.
Meanwhile, Judge Penney Azcarate banned Heard’s legal team from using the image in court as they failed to submit the photo during the discovery phase prior to the trial.
In the picture, the Aquaman star can be seen posing with a wound on her lips while holding a note that reads, “I shall return.” Depp’s team told TMZ that the photo was taken in 2012 and the publication confirmed the date with metadata research.
However, during Johnny Depp’s 2020 defamation trial against The Sun in the UK, Heard claimed that she was subjected to violence by the Pirates of the Caribbean star for the first time in 2013, a year after the alleged picture of her bloody lip was captured.
Following the mix-up with the date of the evidence, a source close to Amber Heard reportedly told TMZ that the actress was left confused about the dates she mentioned in the UK trial. The insider further argued that records from Heard’s therapist show that Depp's alleged abuse dates back to 2012, which renders the timing of the alleged photo valid.
What did Amber Heard and her team say about the photo of her injured lip?
The highly-publicized Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial began in the Fairfax County Court on April 11. Heard took the stand to testify last week after Depp’s team rested their case on May 3 following 13 days of deliberations.
During her testimony, Heard accused Depp of committing domestic abuse during their past relationship and marriage. Speaking about one such incident, Heard claimed that Depp backhanded her during a fight:
“I was in one of these fights, I believe it's this one, in his downtown ECB, we call it, loft, and we're in the kitchen living room area and he backhands me.”
The actress further alleged that her lip was injured by Depp’s rings and left behind a “bit of blood”:
“And, you know, it was, you know, he wears a lot of rings. I remember kind of just feeling like my lip went into my teeth, and it got a little blood on the wall. Just that simple, a little bit of blood on the wall.”
Heard’s team then cited the 2012 photo of the actress showing her lip injury and holding a sign saying “I shall return." They claimed that Depp had left the sign for Heard after their altercation.
However, as Heard's legal team attempted to present the photo in front of the jury, Depp’s lawyers argued that the picture could not be used as evidence since Heard’s team did not submit the document during the discovery phase of the defamation case.
Judge Azcarate accepted the objection placed forward by Depp’s team and ruled that the alleged photo could not be produced in court as evidence.
The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial is currently on a week-long recess and will resume on May 16.
