FAIRFAX, Va. – The second day of testimony in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard dueling defamation trial proved to be more entertaining than the first, thanks to witness Isaac “Ike” Baruch, who managed to elicit lighthearted laughter in an otherwise sober courtroom.
Baruch, Depp’s engaging, dramatic pal of 42 years, was called by Depp’s team to testify that he never saw any signs of domestic abuse against Heard in the four years he lived next door to them. He came close to tears in describing what he called Heard’s “fraudulent” accusations against Depp.
Baruch, an artist, was asked in cross-examination by Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, if he’s angry at Heard. He said he liked Heard and considered her a friend.
But he said he was so stressed by the ordeal of Depp v. Heard that he can’t make art anymore. Baruch said he was angry about “phony pictures taken and put in the tabloids and the fake narratives and the way (Heard) got a fraudulent domestic violence claim to extort and blackmail” Depp.
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“What I am is tired. I want this all to end, for her to go heal and him to go heal,” he said, his voice breaking and rising. “There are so many people affected by the malicious lie she created, it’s gone out the door and around the world, and I can’t even paint anymore.
“I’m not angry at anybody, I want the best for her, I want her to take her responsibility, to heal and move on,” Baruch added. “There are…
