Johnny Depp is suing his former wife Amber Heard for $50 million claiming that she ruined his career by fabricating claims of domestic violence. A former agent for the Hollywood star testified that Heard’s abuse allegations had a “traumatic impact” on Depp’s image following which he was dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
According to a Variety report, Christian Carino, a talent agent at Creative Artists Agency, appeared by video deposition at Depp’s defamation trial, which has been underway in Fairfax, Va. since April 11. Carino testified that it became clear, though conversations with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and CAA co-chair Bryan Lourd, that Disney had decided it could not continue to employ Depp. Carino said that the abuse claims were never openly discussed as the reason, but that it was simply “understood” within the industry.
Carino was friends with both Heard and Depp, and represented both of them at various points, though he reportedly said that he no longer has a relationship with either of them. He testified that Depp is “one of the finest actors of his generation,” and that has not changed despite the turmoil of his life in recent years. But he also said that the lawsuits, with his former business manager, his former attorney, and with Heard, have damaged Depp’s off-screen image. “I think what he was known for off-screen was a shroud of mystery of who he was, because he was not visible to the public,” Carino said. “It changed with the exposure that came with the lawsuits.”
Carino was asked about the production of the fifth Pirates film, in 2015, and acknowledged that Depp was routinely late to set. “I’m aware of him being tardy, but he’s been tardy on everything his entire life,” Carino said, adding that the production had figured out how to work around the issue. Carino was vague about when Disney decided not to hire Depp for a potential sixth Pirates film saying at first that he could not specify even the year when it occurred. The timing of that decision is a key issue in the case. Heard’s lawyers told jurors in opening statements that there must be proof that the Post article specifically damaged Depp’s reputation for him to prevail in a libel case.
Carino also testified that Heard twice tried to reconcile with Depp, even after she filed for divorce, once in 2016 and then again in 2017. At one point in 2016 he brokered a meeting between Heard and a reluctant Depp that ended in a fight, per The Hollywood Reporter. He also testified briefly about Heard’s subsequent relationship with tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Heard texted Carino in 2017 professing sadness about her breakup with Musk. Carino seemed incredulous, and texted in response to Heard, “You told me a thousand times you were just filling space.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the jurors saw video depositions with two LAPD officers and a front desk employee who works at the Eastern Columbia Building, where Depp used to own several penthouses. The officers were called to the penthouses on May 21, 2016, for a report of domestic violence. Heard refused to make a report, and the officers testified they saw no evidence of injury. Officer Tyler Hadden, one of the officers who responded to the couple’s penthouse apartment that day, said Heard refused to talk to officers and had no signs of an injury, although he acknowledged she’d been crying and was red-faced. “Just because I see a female with pink cheeks and pink eyes doesn’t mean something happened,” he said in a recorded deposition played for jurors Wednesday, as THR cites.
Jurors heard similar testimony Tuesday from an officer who accompanied Hadden to the penthouse. An officer who made a follow-up visit that night, William Gatlin, testified that he saw no injuries either, though he acknowledged that his visit was brief and he got no closer than 10 feet (3 meters) from Heard. The jury saw a bodycam video of Gatlin’s response, which was less than two minutes. Heard could only be seen at a distance. Heard’s lawyers, in their questions, have suggested that Heard could have covered her injuries with makeup, because at that point she still wanted to protect Depp.
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