A tough cross. One of Johnny Depp’s attorneys during his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard — which began on April 11, 2022, and concluded on May 27, 2022 — made headlines for her no-nonsense line of questioning.
Camille Vasquez is an attorney for Brown Rudnick, the firm that Depp, 58, hired to oversee his legal defense. On June 7, less than a week after a jury ruled in Depp’s favor, Brown Rudnick announced that Vasquez had made partner after four years with the firm. “We are delighted to welcome Camille to the partnership,” said Brown Rudnick chair and CEO, William Baldiga. “Historically, we have reserved this announcement for the end of our fiscal year. But Camille’s performance during the Johnny Depp trial proved to the world that she was ready to take this next step now. We are incredibly proud of her and look forward to what she will accomplish as our newest partner.”
During a May 17 cross-examination, Vasquez, 37, asked Heard, 36, why James Franco visited her home the night before she filed for divorce from Depp.
“[Franco] was my friend. And he lived next door, quite literally next door,” the Aquaman actress told the attorney. “And I, frankly, had exhausted my support network with my usual friends and was happy to welcome as much friendship at that time as I could possibly get.”
The Dark Shadows star sued Heard — whom he was married to between 2015 and 2017 — for defamation following a 2018 article she wrote for the Washington Post. In the editorial, the Friday Night Lights alum identified herself as a survivor of domestic abuse. While Heard did not name her alleged attacker in the op-ed, Depp’s team claimed there were parallels between the Kentucky native and the allegations.
Heard — who initially connected with Depp on the 2009 set of The Rum Diary — claimed on the stand that she was not sure if she would make it out of their marriage.
“Unfortunately, all of this is real. I narrowly survived it, but I survived it,” Heard said in her May 16 testimony, referring to her past allegations that Depp abused her. “I tried to protect Johnny — and the secret I tried hard to keep for five years. … I was scared and very conflicted because the person I was scared of was also the person I was in love with.”
The Danish Girl actress added: “I knew that if I didn’t, I’d likely not literally survive. I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me, and I really didn’t want to leave him.”
Depp, for his part, also took the stand and fervently denied Heard’s claims.
“It’s been six years of trying times,” the 21 Jump Street alum said during his April 19 testimony. “It’s pretty strange when one day you’re Cinderella, so to speak, then 0.6 seconds you’re Quasimodo. I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children [Lily-Rose and Jack Depp, whom he shares with ex Vanessa Paradis], nor did the people who have believed in me for all these years. I didn’t want any of those people to believe that I had done them wrong or lied to them or that I was a fraud. I pride myself on honesty.”
He continued: “Since I knew there was no truth to it whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but stand up for my children, who at the time were 14 and 16.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
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