Today, Wednesday 25 May 2022, Kate Moss testified in the Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard case in a brief appearance through video call. Though Moss confirmed she did fall down a set of stairs when she was in a relationship with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor (whom she dated from 1994 until 1998) while on holiday in Jamaica, she made a point of refuting claims made by Heard a few weeks prior that alleged Depp had been the one to push the model.

Instead, Moss explained that Depp had, in fact, helped her up and cared for her at the time. “We were leaving the room, Johnny left before I did, and there had been a rain storm,” she said. “As I left the room, I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back. I screamed, because I didn’t know what had happened to me and I was in pain. He came running back to help me and carried me back to my room, and got me medical attention.”

When asked about the relationship as a whole, the British supermodel concluded, “He never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs.”

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The defence—Heard’s team—declined to cross-examine Moss. After her testimony concluded, an anonymous source close to the actress allegedly told The Independent: “So Johnny Depp didn’t abuse Kate Moss. That makes him 1 for 2 in the abuse column. But, to date, he’s 0 for 1 in the courtroom on the central issue in this case back when he lost the same exact case in England. And when the jury deliberates over the singular issue in this case—whether Amber Heard can exercise her right of Freedom of Speech—he’ll be 0 for 2, no matter how much his lawyers try to distract and divert the jury’s attention.”

Moss’ name came up in the courtroom earlier this month as Heard was testifying. The actress described a time when Depp allegedly “[swung] at” her sister while she had her back to a staircase, continuing that it reminded her of another incident during which she suggested her ex-husband pushed Moss down a flight of stairs while they were dating in the 90s.

“I just, in my head, instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs,” Heard said. But this wasn’t the first time the Aquaman actress had made the claim—during Depp’s 2020 trial against The Sun in the UK, as reported by The Associated Press, Heard stated: “He was about to push her down the stairs and the moment before that happened, I remembered information I had heard that he pushed a former girlfriend—I believe it was Kate Moss—down the stairs.”

As the Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard defamation trial continues to flood the internet, yet another specific fact which has been revealed is currently being dissected by netizens. After “entertainment industry consultant” Kathryn Arnold (whose job mostly consists of testifying about the industry in court cases such as this) spoke on the potential effects that Heard and Depp’s divorce, as well as the subsequent backlash against the actress that followed, had on Heard’s career. 

Long story short, Arnold concluded that yes, it did end up having a significant impact on the actress’ professional life—more specifically, concerning Heard’s starring role in the Aquaman franchise of DC Films and sub-franchise of Warner Bros. films. The expert’s testimony confirmed some of the rumours many had seen circulating before, including the fact that Heard was deliberately left out of promo materials for the film’s sequel, banned from DC’s FanDome event and was almost straight-up fired from the movie.

Arnold—who was called as a witness on Heard’s behalf—noted that “research showed whenever Heard’s name was mentioned, whether in connection to a film, TV show, magazine article, or endorsement deal, there was immediate backlash from fans on social media.” The studio reportedly went as far as to push to have her removed from Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom outright, a move that was stopped by a united front from co-star Jason Momoa and director James Wan.

According to Arnold’s testimony, Wan and Momoa were both “committed to her” and were “adamant she was in the film.” Regardless, Heard has testified that her part in the film was cut short, though it was officially blamed on a supposed lack of chemistry with Momoa.

That being said, Arnold’s take was followed by none other than Walter Hamada’s, President of DC Films, who counterargued that no, the star’s role in the big-budget sequel was in no way impacted by rumours surrounding her tumultuous marriage to Depp.

Instead, Hamada alleged that it was always intended for Heard to have a smaller role in the film franchise. He then added that producers were so “concerned” about a lack of chemistry between Heard and Momoa in the first Aquaman that they even considered recasting her in the sequel. Though Momoa and Wan’s pushback stopped this from happening, fans have already shared their opinion on which star is the best to replace Heard as Queen Mera.

“I think editorially they were able to make that relationship work in the first movie,” Hamada stated. “But there was a concern that it took a lot of effort to get there and that would we be better off finding someone with more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move forward that way.”

The movie tycoon further insisted that the actress’s compensation was in no way impacted by the claims made by Depp.

When testifying on Monday 23 May, Arnold also claimed Heard could have been enjoying the same career success as “comparable actors” such as Zendaya, Gal Gadot and Momoa if not for her ex-husband’s team’s alleged “smear campaign” against her.

“When you look at the time frame of when the [Adam] Waldman statements came out [in 2020], and you look at what was going on with Ms Heard’s career prior to the statement and what happened after the statement, it’s very clear to make that correlation,” Arnold told the court.

Then again, Depp’s lawyers were quick to push back on the expert’s assessment of Heard’s career during cross-examination and claimed her comparison of Heard with the aforementioned actors was way off, adding that they were either stars of blockbuster franchises or had higher profile careers than Heard in 2020.

Depp’s team also noted that Gadot played a recurring role in the Fast & Furious franchise before joining the DC universe as Wonder Woman while Heard’s appearance in Aquaman as Mera was a “supporting role” to Momoa’s titular superhero.