'I Testified in the Heard vs. Depp Trial. The Backlash Has Been Horrific' DR. DAVID R. SPIEGEL

[mzmolly]

I heard the news that Johnny Depp had won his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard as the verdict was being read on June 1. I was very disappointed, first and foremost for Ms. Heard, who should have received much more of an outpouring of support than she did.

I have been a practicing psychiatrist for around 30 years and have previously provided medical malpractice expert witness testimony. But before the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial, I had never provided witness testimony in any high profile cases.

I was asked to be an expert witness on this case in 2019, so I've actually been on the case for about three years and had been privy to every single detail of what's been happening for that period of time.

But when I signed on initially, the impression I had was that it would be a closed trial; there wouldn't be cameras and fans in court. Paparazzi outside the courthouse was never a problem, that's something I can handle, but the situation obviously took a different turn once the trial became a national, televised event. That said, I had a job to do and I did my job.

...

I would say to people who have attacked me that, just like they don't know Mr. Depp, they don't know me. This is my career, this is what I do. I'm an "emotions" guy, so I have no problem with people expressing emotion. But I have people expressing emotion that is hurtful and harmful, whether it be words or the ton of memes I've seen that are supposed to look like me when I'm testifying. I would ask people to remember that there are appropriate ways that you can say you are dissatisfied with my testimony or that it may have been short-sighted. I'm an expert at this. It's not like I saw one clip of Mr. Depp, and then said, "Oh, let me judge this."

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