Not his witness though is it?

[Ostap]

However, another person thought that Depp's lack of eye contact hinted at guilt rather than fear, tweeting, "The way #JohnnyDepp is behaving is so rude and dismissive. Sitting there head down, doodling. If he was innocent he'd be head up, focused, listening to the testimony. Not his witness though is it? Questionable behavior."
newsweek.com

Hello everyone. Could you explain the bolded part to me?

 

[probus]

It's far from clear, and I suspect it doesn't really mean much of anything. It's just a bit of emphasis about Depp's demeanour, and we hardly need to be reminded that the two principals are totally at loggerheads.

 

[emsr2d2]

I assume the witness being questioned at the time was a witness for the defence (ie it was a witness for Amber Heard's side in the court case). He's more likely to politely concentrate on what's being said when the witness on the stand is on his side.

 

[Ostap]

I assume the witness being questioned at the time was a witness for the defence (ie it was a witness for Amber Heard's side in the court case). He's more likely to politely concentrate on what's being said when the witness on the stand is on his side.

But it was not a witness, it was Amber herself. Johnny didn't look at her during her testimony. The bolded part seems to suggest that he instead was looking at his witness (the on on his side?) I'm still confused.

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, Amber certainly isn't one of his witnesses! He's the complainant and she's the defendant. I think the writer is suggesting that his lack of eye contact with her during her testimony is indicative of guilt. However, we're all guessing here. Without knowing who was on the stand at the time, I don't think we can say for certain.

 

[jutfrank]

The commenter means to say that Amber Heard, who is testifying on the stand as a witness in her own defence, is not 'his' witness. That just means that she is not on his side.

Amber Heard took the witness stand Wednesday to defend herself during the defamation lawsuit filed against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp, who appeared to avoid looking at her while she was on the stand.

 

[Ostap]

May we know what verb is implied in this sentence: "Not his witness."? How is this sentence connected to the previous one?

He'd be head up, focused, listening to the testimony, not his witness though is it?

I can't even make sence of the tag question "is it?", what does it refer to?

 

[emsr2d2]

The logical way of saying it would have been "She's not his witness though, is she?" However, the writer chose to use "it" in place of "she".

It's not his witness on the stand, is it?

It's a rhetorical question.

 

[Ostap]

It's not his witness on the stand, is it?

Ah, got it now!