One of Amber Heard's close friends has been thrown out of the courtroom during the defamation trial brought against Heard by ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Sources who were attending the trial late last week have claimed British music journalist Eve Barlow was reprimanded by the judge for tweeting and texting from the front row of the courtroom, reports the New York Post.
Depp accused Heard of defaming him in an opinion piece she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018.
Barlow was allegedly acting as if she was part of the actress's legal team and even tried to intervene in the court proceedings.
She reportedly tried to advocate for Heard by asking her legal team to show Judge Penney Azcarate that a witness for Depp, Gina Deuters, was compromised.
Barlow brought up a social media post from Deuters, claiming it was a recent post from the current trial.
However, the post was actually shared in 2021 during Depp's previous trial against The Sun.
Deuters, who is married to Depp's longtime employee Stephen Deuters, admitted on Thursday that she had seen clips of the trial online before she gave her testimony.
She was dismissed from the courtroom and her testimony struck from the record.
In response, Depp's lawyers pushed a motion to have Barlow permanently barred from the courtroom, which was approved by the judge.
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"Amber had her closest journalist friend sit front and centre – with her legal team – at the trial, live-tweeting, texting and posting information," a source said.
"Eve Barlow seems to think she's part of Amber's legal team. Depp's lawyers finally had enough and had her barred from the courtroom."
Judge Azcarate objected to her tweeting and texting, and according to court transcripts, said, "She was tweeting live from my courtroom … and I know the deputies took her out because she was texting. That's against the court order. Ms Barlow is not coming back into the courtroom during this trial."
Barlow did not respond to a request for comment.
Depp, 58, who was married to Heard from 2015 to 2017, claims his ex-wife made up abuse allegations in attempt to score a divorce settlement, which has damaged his career.
He was dropped from his leading role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise just days after the Washington Post opinion piece ran.
Adamant she told the truth, Heard has countersued Depp for $135 million (NZ$199 million).
Over the past week, Heard's lawyer Ben Rottenborn has claimed evidence will prove his client suffered domestic abuse by Depp in "many forms".
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Depp has strongly denied the allegations as "fictitious".
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