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On May 24, Morgan Tremaine, an ex-employee of celebrity news outlet TMZ, testified in the court of Fairfax, Virginia about the leaked kitchen video of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp which was uploaded on the site during his tenure as a producer. He confirmed that he received the video of Depp slamming cabinets through TMZ’s tip line on August 12, 2016 via Dropbox.
Tremaine also testified about engaging the paparazzi on May 27, 2016, to photograph Heard exiting a Los Angeles courthouse after she sought a temporary restraining order against Johnny Depp.
He said:
“Their objective was to capture her leaving the courthouse and she was going to sort of stop and turn toward the camera to display the bruise on the right side of her face, the alleged bruise.”
During cross-examination, Elaine Bredehoft, Heard's attorney, accused Tremaine of manipulating the trial to obtain "fame," stating:
“You know this case is being televised, right?”
To this, Tremaine responded that he is aware that there are cameras around.
Bredehoft then asked:
"So this gets you your 15 minutes of fame?"
In response, Tremaine said:
"I have nothing to gain from this. "I'm actually putting myself in the crosshairs of TMZ, which is a very litigious organization. I'd say the same thing if you took Amber Heard on as a client."
The courtroom exploded into laughter after Morgan Tremaine's comment, with Johnny Depp's team exchanging looks with one another.
Morgan Tremaine became the internet's darling after his clash with Elaine Bredehoft
Morgan Tremaine was celebrated on Twitter for his response to Bredehoft's question, with people comparing him to Draco Malfoy, a Harry Potter character. Some people also compared Bredehoft with Dolores Umbridge from the same series.
What did Morgan Tremaine reveal about the viral video on the stand?
Tremaine testified that he served as a "go-between" between the news desk and the paparazzi. Tremaine stated he was in charge of twenty people in Los Angeles and three people in New York.
Morgan Tremaine was responsible for dispatching cameramen to various areas depending on tips. Producers or tip lines provided the tips, he added. According to Tremaine, sources such as publicists, attorneys, and B-list celebrities frequently called in tips themselves.
Upon being asked if he has ever worked on any projects featuring Heard, Tremaine stated that TMZ received a tip on May 27, 2016 that Heard was filing a restraining order against Depp in a Los Angeles court.
Morgan Tremaine said that he was instructed to have the cameraman attempt to capture the bruise on her face. Allegedly, he was told that Heard would stop and display the bruises on her face for the picture. According to the ex-employee, he was able to obtain the required photo of Heard.
Another tip came in August 2016 when Heard arrived for a deposition. Tremaine said that they dispatched a cameraman to the parking lot of a legal firm, which was unusual for them.
He then discussed the shocking footage which was submitted via tip line on August 12, 2016. An email arrived with a Dropbox link to the video of Depp breaking the cabinets.
According to Tremaine, his team was instructed to accept the footage and place a watermark on it. Within 15 minutes, the piece was published on the site.
Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard for an op-ed article she wrote in 2018 for the Washington Post where she claimed that she was a survivor of domestic violence. Although, she did not name the actor in the piece, his lawyers claim that it had a "clear implication" that she was talking about Depp.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor's $50 million defamation lawsuit was countered by Heard with a $100 million defamation lawsuit in response to Depp's claims that she was lying.
