Johnny Depp’s ex Kate Moss on why she testified on his behalf in trial against Amber Heard: ‘I had to say the truth’

Model Kate Moss, who had dated actor Johnny Depp in the 1990s, has revealed why she supported him during his recent defamation trial with his ex-wife, actor Amber Heard.

In a new interview, Kate also spoke about previously supporting her friend, fashion designer John Galliano, who was found guilty of anti-Semitic abuse in 2011.

Earlier in May, Kate took the witness stand in the defamation battle between Johnny and Amber Heard. Johnny’s attorneys had called Kate as a rebuttal witness after Amber had testified about a time she feared her ex-husband would push her sister down a staircase.

Amber had said she recalled “rumours” of Johnny pushing Kate down a flight of stairs and she slapped him to stop him from harming her sister.

“I believe in the truth, and I believe in fairness and justice. I know that John Galliano is not a bad person – he had an alcohol problem and people turn. People aren’t themselves when they drink, and they say things that they would never say if they were sober.

I know the truth about Johnny [Depp]. I know he never kicked me down the stairs. I had to say that truth,” Kate told BBC radio interview show Desert Island Discs, as reported by Deadline.

Kate, who dated Johnny from 1994 to 1998, testified that she slipped on a staircase and injured her back during a vacation the couple took in Jamaica. He had rushed to help her, carried her to her room and summoned medical services, she had said. “He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs,” she said.

In June, a Virginia court found in its verdict that Amber defamed Johnny by publishing an op-ed in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” The jury held that the statement was false and was made with “actual malice.”

They awarded Johnny $15 million in damages but Amber had to pay $10.35 million due to a Virginia law limiting punitive damages. In her countersuit, Amber won on one of the three counts and was awarded $2 million in damages.

Recently, both Johnny and Amber filed separate appeals challenging the damages awarded. According to Deadline, in the paperwork filed in Fairfax County, Johnny has appealed the $2 million defamation award the jury in Virginia handed to Amber at their trial. A day earlier, Amber had also filed an appeal challenging the damages the jury awarded to Johnny.