To say that Dr. David Spiegel’s time on the stand at the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial was unusual would be the understatement of the century.
The psychiatrist was called by Heard’s legal team to testify about a slew of psychological conditions Depp may or may not suffer from (although the doctor has never met the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor).
What followed was, in a word, bizarre.
“Have you seen the movie ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?'” Depp’s lawyer asked Spiegel, referring to a movie in which the actor starred.
Spiegel then made a bunch of unusual movements with his mouth, sticking his tongue in and out, before saying to the judge: “Is that — do I have to answer that question, your honor?”
The odd behavior prompted Depp to sit forward in his chair and squint at the doctor with a befuddled expression.
With the utmost patience, the judge said: “You have to answer questions, yes sir.”
“No, you’ll be happy to know I didn’t see Willy Wonka as a — I didn’t see 21 Jump Street,” Spiegel said.
There were other odd and compelling moments, with one social media user clipping together all of Spiegel’s odd mouth movements.
Another captured Depp laughing and putting his head in his hands.
In another odd twist, Spiegel said he’d never met or even spoken to Depp, although he twice requested to do so but was denied. Instead, he said he based his understanding of Depp’s mental state on testimony from Depp and others — as well as Depp’s performances in movies.
When Depp lawyer Wayne Dennison asked the doctor what he ‘used as a baseline’ for analyzing the actor, Spiegel said: “I guess my baseline would probably be how I’ve seen him interact in public, how I’ve seen him interact with others, I’ve seen him interact in media and his processing speed is certainly not slow.”
Dennison: “At deposition, didn’t you say that what you did was compare Mr. Depp’s performance in lots of Pirate movies against his deposition testimony here?”
Spiegel: “What I said was I’ve seen Mr. Depp do apology ads… I’ve seen him interact with the media regarding to that, I saw no delay in processing speed.”
Heard in 2018 penned an op-ed in The Washington Post in which Depp was not named, but she declared herself a “public figure representing domestic violence.” That prompted Depp to sue her for $50 million. Heard then countersued for $100 million, claiming that her former husband defamed her when he and his lawyer said she made up her allegations of domestic violence. The case is in its 21st day and is expected to be handed to the jury this week.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.