Johnny & Amber INSIDE THEIR TOXIC TRAIL

NO MATTER WHO THE JURY ULTIMATELY BELIEVES. IT SEEMS THERE CAN NEVER BE A WINNER IN THIS DISTURBING BATTLE OF WARRING EXES

- Karleigh Smith

When Amber Heard finished giving evidence after two days detailing horrific physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Johnny Depp, his team swung into action. Not his legal team, but his PR team, who swiftly issued a statement claiming the actress had just given the performance of her life”.

Heard's media minders were just as quick off the mark, firing back that Depp should stop "attacking the victim [and] take responsibility for his own conduct”. For this celebrity "trial of the century", which is being live-streamed by millions around the world, is not just about who wins the multimillion-dollar defamation case. The high-stakes case is also being fought in the court of public opinion, and both of their futures in Hollywood hang in the balance.

Over the past month, a judge, jury, media scrum and fans have packed a courtroom in Virginia's Fairfax County to bear witness to their jaw-dropping testimony. Depp is suing Heard for defamation, after she penned a piece for The Washington Post claiming to be “the public face of domestic abuse” victims.

DIVORCE DISASTER

The couple split in 2016 and settled out of court, with Depp giving around $10m in alimony. Heard said she would donate it to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and to the LA Children's Hospital. The ACLU says she hasn't paid even half of what she promised.

He argues her piece clearly identifies him as her alleged abuser, and says it cost him his $32 million contract to reprise his role as Jack Sparrow in the sixth instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean.