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Court erupts in laughter as witness says he’s not a Johnny Depp fan

Amber Heard’s lawyer accused holiday park worker Morgan Night of being a big fan of the actor

Inga Parkel
Tuesday 24 May 2022 21:50 BST
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Depp v Heard trial interrupted as observer breaks into laughter

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Johnny Depp’s witness admitted that he was not a fan of the actor, causing the courtroom to fill with laughter.

Morgan Night took the stand on Tuesday (24 May), to testify on behalf of Depp in the multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit, brought against ex-wife Amber Heard.

Night worked at the Hicksville trailer park in Joshua Tree National Park, California that Heard, Depp and friends visited in May 2013. During that trip, Heard alleges Depp trashed their trailer before performing a “cavity search” on her.

While Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft cross-examined the witness, she accused him of being a big fan of Depp and wanting to be a part of the trial.

“Mr Night, you are a pretty big fan of Johnny Depp, aren’t you?” Bredehoft questioned.

“I am not, to be honest,” he responded, which was met with laughter from the court.

Before Night took the stand, Judge Penney Azcarate sent out the jury so he could be questioned about what he’d seen of the trial before he learned he would be a witness.

Night explained that approximately five weeks ago, a friend of his texted that Hicksville was mentioned in court and he watched a short clip online.

He was contacted by Depp’s attorneys and said that the description of the evening at the Hicksville trailer park that was mentioned, was not how he recalled the incident and that the night was not particularly remarkable.

Night said that he searched Twitter for mentions and replied to a tweet about what happened around the fire pit.

“That never happened. I was with them all night. Amber was the one acting all jealous and crazy,” his reply read.

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Depp is suing Heard for $50m (£39.7m) for allegedly implying he abused her in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, and allegedly stopping him from landing the same types of prominent Hollywood roles he was used to.

Heard is countersuing Depp for $100m (£79.4m) accusing him of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.

You can follow live updates of the Depp-Heard trial here, as it moves towards final arguments and a verdict

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