One Key Moment Experts Agree On That Helped Johnny Depp Win

From the moment that it was announced actor Johnny Depp had won his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, many have questioned how he won.

Johnny Depp's victory at the trial in Virginia has been credited to several moments in the case according to legal professionals.

However, one has been cited unanimously as the key to the actor's win: his ex-girlfriend Kate Moss's testimony.

A last minute addition to the witness list, Moss appeared via video link to be questioned. 

Earlier in the trial, Heard had testified that she often thought of Moss, especially due to a rumour that Depp had thrown her down a flight of stairs whilst they were on holiday in Jamaica. 

Moss, who was in a relationship with Depp between 1994 and 1998, was called by the actor's team in the last week of trial to rebut the rumour.

In her brief testimony over video call, Moss denied that Depp had ever pushed her down the stairs. She said: "There had been a rainstorm and as I left the room I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back.

"He came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention."

She added: "He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs."

Alamy

After Moss' testimony, some legal experts have declared it to be 'the nail in the coffin' for Heard's case. 

Speaking to the Daily Mail before Moss gave testimony, New York-based entertainment lawyer Nicole Haff, who works at Romano Law, said: "When someone brings up something in their examination and [you feel] it's wrong, you can basically call another witness to impeach that testimony.

"By bringing Kate Moss on to testify, she can obviously disprove [Heard's claim] or bring Heard's testimony into question, which generally has a big effect on the jury - if they can't trust what she says."

She added: "I would say it's a misstep [on Heard's part]. I would say this is a mistake because it is going to open the door for Moss to come in to testify, and it's believed she's going to give very favourable testimony [for Depp]."

Prior to Depp's victory being announced, it was thought that Moss' testimony being one of the last given in court would also have had a positive impact for the Pirate of The Caribbean actor.

Haff explained: "This case is wrapping up, it's going to be one of the last bits of testimony that the jury hears and it's going to be favourable to Depp."

Alamy

Another legal expert in agreement that Moss could seal the deal for Depp was Manhattan-based civil lawyer Roland Acevedo.

Speaking to Fox 5 ahead of Moss appearing, he said: "It certainly could open the door to calling in Kate Moss. It’s considered a tangential issue that usually courts don’t let you bring in, but since the defense opened the door and said he did this, they now may be able to call her to prove it never happened. This could blow up in her face."

A third legal expert also predicted that Moss appearing could make things harder for Heard.

California entertainment lawyer Mitra Ahouraian called it a 'mistake' for Heard to have mentioned the supermodel.

She told the New York Post: "That's one mistake that [Heard] made, was bringing up Kate Moss, which potentially opened the door to [Depp's team] bringing [Moss] on as an impeachment witness, and say, "This never happened"."

The case concluded on 1 June with jurors awarding Depp, who denied abusing Ms Heard, $15m (£12m) in compensatory and punitive damages. Heard won one of three of her counterclaims against Depp and was awarded $2m in compensatory damages.

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