Kate Moss Explains Her Involvement In The Amber Heard Trial
That makes sense.
This article is more than 2 years old
With the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial in the rearview, the world is slowly moving on from the public debacle. Some celebrities are still being asked about their involvement, including Kate Moss who recently cleared up her decision to participate in the trial. In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Moss mentioned that she felt compelled to speak the truth.
The Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial wouldn’t be the first time that usually private Kate Moss felt compelled to testify in a trial. She previously testified on behalf of former Dior designer John Galliano, who was found guilty of anti-Semitic abuse in 2011. Moss said “I believe in the truth, and I believe in fairness and justice,” and “I know that John Galliano is not a bad person. He had an alcohol problem and people turn.” She then referenced the Heard and Depp case, saying “I know the truth about Johnny. I know he never kicked me down the stairs. I had to say that truth.”
The incident she’s referencing is when Amber Heard implied that Depp had pushed Moss down the stairs at one point during Moss and Depp’s relationship. This came up when Heard was claiming self-defense for the reason she struck Johnny Depp, saying “I just instantly think of Kate Moss and the stairs, and I swung at him,” Heard testified. “In all my relationships to date, I hadn’t [delivered] a blow. For the first time, I hit him square in the face.” Moss was then called as a witness in the trial, where she testified Depp “never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs.” Moss further testified that she slid down the stairs following a rainstorm and hurt her back, clarifying that she screamed because “I didn’t know what happened to me and I was in pain.” She also pointed out that Depp helped her and got her medical attention after the accident.
While Kate Moss’s testimony certainly wasn’t the only thing that led to Depp’s legal win in his battle against Amber Heard, it wouldn’t be surprising if it helped factor into the jury’s decision. The trial was a result of Depp suing Heard for defamation due to a 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse. While Depp was never mentioned by name in the article, he alleged that Heard implied he was the abuser. Depp lost roles in franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the subsequent years after the op-ed was published. The jury found Depp’s defamation claims to be sufficient, awarding him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Heard won $2 million in compensatory damages in a countersuit.
Though the jury’s verdict in the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial is in the books, Heard and her team have filed a motion to appeal the verdict. The team claims that the court made errors and that these errors prevented a fair and just verdict for Heard. This motion for appeal comes after Heard’s team’s request for a new trial was denied. Depp and his team have, in turn, filed an appeal of their own, which targets the verdict on Heard’s $2 million compensatory damages she was awarded. Regardless of the results of these appeals, Depp and Heard are both moving on with their acting careers. You can see Amber Heard next in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is slated for release on March 17, 2023. Johnny Depp will be seen next as Louis XV in the French-language film La Favorite, which is directed by and co-stars Maiwenn. The film is releasing in French theaters and is co-financed by Netflix. Presumably, a US streaming release will follow the French release at some point.
