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On Tuesday, May 24, Johnny Depp's legal team brought in Morgan Night as a surprise new witness to testify about the actor and Amber Heard's argument at the Hicksville Trailer Palace. The incident was witnessed by Night in June 2013, when the couple visited the place along with their mutual friends at the time.
In his testimony, Night mentioned that he did not see Depp yelling at Heard. This contradicted what the Aquaman star and her former long-term friend Raquel "Rocky" Pennington had testified in court.
According to Night, it was Heard who yelled at Depp, who appeared to be "cowering" during the argument. The former employee and owner of the Hicksville Trailer Palace further mentioned that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor grew quieter as the night progressed.
What is known about Morgan Night, who testified in favor of Johnny Depp?
Morgan Higby Night is a producer and director who has been active since the mid-1990s. The 51-year-old is also a former DJ and radio host. As a producer, he is known for his contribution to 2006's Shortbus and 1999's Matters of Consequence. According to his IMDb page, Night also has a writing credit for the latter project.
Morgan Night is also the father of musician Lydia Night. She is the lead vocalist and guitarist of California-based punk rock band The Regrettes. As per his testimony, Night met Johnny Depp in the mid-to-late 1990s at the Viper Room nightclub, which the actor partly owned.
Morgan Night's testimony about Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's alleged argument at the Hicksville Trailer Palace
In his testimony, Night contradicted the statement made by Heard's ex-friend Raquel Pennington (not to be confused with the MMA fighter of the same name), who claimed that Depp yelled at the actress. Pennington and Heard previously claimed that Depp was jealous that an individual named Kelly Sue Milano shared a chair with the 36-year-old actress at the trailer palace. The woman also allegedly embraced Heard, which according to Pennington, is said to have angered Depp.
Morgan Night previously responded to a tweet on April 27, where he refuted the claims of Amber Heard. Night had tweeted a reply to Twitter user 'That Umbrella Guy,' in which he stated that Heard had yelled at Johnny Depp. The former owner of the Hicksville Trailer Palace also alleged that Heard was "jealous and crazy." Following this, Heard's lawyers cross-questioned Night. They alleged that he followed 'That Umbrella Guy,' who was touted as a big fan of Depp.
Judge Azcarate announced that a Voir Dire would be performed on Morgan Night
In the trial, Virginia Judge Penney Azcarate said a Voir Dire would be performed on Morgan Night, who claimed that Johnny Depp's legal team contacted him. He also claimed not to have any contact with Depp's legal team before May 3.
Night's association with the trial as a rebuttal witness, combined with the allegations from Heard's attorneys about him following pro-Depp Twitter accounts, might have urged the Judge to cite Voir Dire.
According to Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, Voir Dire (which means "to speak the truth" in French) refers to preliminary questions by the judge or lawyers to potential jurors or witnesses to assess their competency to provide a verdict or testimony.
