Why Amber Heard May Regret Bringing Up Kate Moss During Testimony

In Amber Heard's testimony in her defense in the $50 million defamation lawsuit filed against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp, Heard briefly mentioned supermodel Kate Moss, which some believe may have been a huge mistake.

On the witness stand on May 5, Heard testified against Depp, recalling many instances when Depp allegedly abused her in their relationship, which ended in 2016. In one description of an argument between the two, Heard brought up Moss, who dated Depp from 1994 to 1997.

Heard referenced a famous rumor that Depp had pushed Moss down a flight of stairs in the 90s, though Moss has never accused Depp of being violent during their relationship. A source close to Johnny Depp told Newsweek that Moss is expected to testify as a rebuttal witness on Wednesday.

Heard told the courtroom several weeks ago that Depp once tried to hit her sister, Whitney Henriquez, who was standing at the top of a staircase in their penthouse apartment.

"I don't hesitate. I just instantly think of Kate Moss and the stairs, and I swung at him. In all my relationships to date, I hadn't [delivered] a blow. For the first time, I hit him square in the face," Heard said.

Video footage of Depp and his legal team celebrating after Heard mentioned the model's name quickly went viral. In the video, which was shared on Twitter by Law&Crime Network, Depp's attorney Benjamin Chew can be seen fist-pumping the air as Depp smiled and shook his head.

Their reaction left some wondering:

Why was mentioning Kate Moss so significant?

According to a report from Insider, Heard may have unintentionally "opened a door" for more recent evidence to contradict the rumor, a point clearly used by Depp's legal team as Moss is now set to testify later this week.

Manhattan-based civil lawyer Roland Acevedo told news station WTTG that bringing up Moss is "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."

Johnny Depp and Kate Moss

After their split in 1997, Depp told Hello Magazine in 1998 that he and Moss had "so much going for our relationship."

"I'm the one who has to take responsibility for what happened—I was difficult to get on with, I let my work get in the way and I didn't give her the attention I should have done," Depp said.

In 2012, Moss told Vanity Fair that their breakup was "a nightmare."

"There's nobody that's ever really been able to take care of me," the model said. "Johnny did for a bit. I believed what he said. Like if I said, 'What do I do?' he'd tell me. And that's what I missed when I left. I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust. Nightmare. Years and years of crying. Oh, the tears!"

Depp sued ex-wife Amber Heard for defaming him in an op-ed she published in 2018 with The Washington Post in which she stated she was a victim of domestic abuse. Heard is counter-suing Depp for $100 million in nuisance charges.

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