Johnny Depp 58, was back on the stand to testify in the courtroom.
He testified about the abuse he received from his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard. He also adamantly denied ever physically hurting Heard during their marriage.
Johnny Depp testified yesterday in the trial, “Never did I, myself, reach the point of striking Ms. Heard (Amber Heard) in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life.” The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard civil case continues.
A lengthy audio played as the packed courtroom listened and was fixated on what was being said between the couple. Depp and Heard in Court – Audio Played
The actor is suing Heard in civil court for defamation over an article she wrote back in 2018 for the Washington Post. In it, she describes the alleged abuse she went through during a relationship about surviving domestic violence. She didn’t mention any names but the descriptive events and timing of the article were curiously close to the demise of her marriage to Depp.
Depp faces cross-examination on Thursday. Heard will be up next to take the stand.
The famous actor who is known for so many iconic roles including Pirates of the Caribbean, originally filed the $50 million lawsuit in March 2019. He said he was devasted by the article and it caused people, and colleagues he worked with, to “look at him differently.”
In her defense Amber Heard is counter-suing but for double the amount – $100 million dollars in total, also in a defamation suit. Amber Heard, 35, is best known for the blockbuster films Justice League and the Aquaman movies.
The defamation case trial continues today with Depp facing cross-examination.
VIDEO: Thursdays court hearing – Johnny Depp Cross-Examination
Photo By Reuters
Johnny Depp felt humiliated and believed that his personal reputation and career were damaged by Heard’s article.
He went on to describe how he not only “wanted but needed to clear his name for himself and his children.” Depp’s friends and Sister testified last week, that his reputation has been irreparably destroyed.
His Sister, Christi Dembrowski took the stand last week and recounted statements about how their mother was abusive toward their father. Their father remained in the marriage for years, for the children’s sake before leaving. Dembrowski described her relationship with her Brother as very close. She is the 2nd youngest of their four siblings, and Johnny is the youngest.
Dembrowski gave an emotional testimony and Depp at times, was seen to be uncomfortable with relieving the traumatic childhood memories. His Sister testified that Depp would never harm a woman ever, because of the abusive childhood that they had endured with their Mother. “He just doesn’t have it in him,” she said. Their mother passed away in 2016.
Amber Heard looking back in the Virginia Court Room – Photo: AP
During the court case proceedings, the actor went into great detail to defend himself against the accusations. His lawyer played an audio recording of the fight between the pair for everyone to hear.
Since the high-profile trial began airing on live television and on streaming sites, the court proceedings have been already viewed by millions of people.
During the proceedings yesterday, the court listened as Heard admitted to hitting Depp.
In another part of the audio Heard says to Depp: “I didn’t punch you. I’m sorry I didn’t hit you across the face in a proper slap. I was hitting you, it was not punching you.”
Depp responds: “Don’t tell me what it feels like to be punched.”
Heard Replies: “You’re a fu**ng baby. You are such a baby, grow the f**k up Johnny…”
Amber can also be heard collaborating her ex’s accounts, on the audio saying to Depp that “you can’t solve anything by always running away.”
Heard shouts at Depp: “You escape the solution. We cannot work it out if you run away to the bathroom!” Johnny Depp said he acted in self-defence – repeating the pattern of his father by leaving the room. Something he did as a child as well when he was fleeing his Mom’s verbal and physical abuse.
Depp gave horrific detail accusing his ex-wife of severing the tip of his finger while they were in Australia. There was a shocked look on people’s faces in the courtroom as Depp stated, “I had to have three surgeries to reconstruct my finger. I feared that I would lose my finger.”
Other statements by Depp include an incident where his ex-wife banged his head into the bathroom door.
Depp said that it happened inside their penthouse in Los Angeles where the couple lived. “I was completely taken aback by such a corrosive, horrific move so I stood up. By this point the door was open and I stood up and said: What the f**k was that?” He continued, “the next move was BANG, she clocked me in the jaw.” The actor states she kicked the bathroom door against his head.
More gruesome incidents include the court hearing how Heard faked a nose injury. She claimed that Depp broke her nose. Heard accused Depp of headbutting her and said: “Way to go, Johnny, you broke my nose.” However, Depp claimed that Heard showed him the bloody tissue. But, when he looked closer in the garbage, he was surprised to see it was fake. He said, “I realized it was nail polish.”
Depp testified some more, that he believes she concocted multiple injuries to acquire a restraining order against him. Further claims were made against Heard that she attacked him once when he was going into his office. To add, he maintains she continued physical attacks and verbal abuse against him throughout the marriage.
Besides the claims against Depp of being a wife-beater, he said one of the things she said hurt ‘the most’ was that he was a bad father.
Sources say, his children are his heart and he would do anything for them. And by accusing him of being a bad parent, that abuse broke him and it was the lowest point for him. But he stayed in the marriage because he didn’t ‘want to fail’ just like his father did with his mother by leaving.
Depp described Heard as calculating, and very motivated by money. He recounted mentions of her berating him about her not being in the Will and disliking to sign a Prenup and a Postnup. Depp painted a picture of Heard being more interested in money rather than investing in their relationship.
It is still unclear about the allegations with both sides painting very different stories. However, in the case of public opinion, Johnny Depp is loved and admired as one of the best actors in Hollywood.
He is one of the most beloved and popular actors around the world. With over four decades of TV and blockbuster films under his belt, the jury must not let his accolades sway their decision. Meanwhile Amber took to her Instagram page days ago.
Before the trial started, Amber Heard wrote on her Instagram that she will not be on social media until after the trial:
“Hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”
The former Hollywood couple met on the set of the 2011 film The Rum Diary and later dated. They got married in Los Angeles in February 2015 and split a year later in 2016. Depp was previously in a 14-year long-term relationship with actress Vanessa Paradis who is also the mother of his two children.
The civil trial, which started last week, is being held in Fairfax County in Virginia, where the Washington Post online service HQ is located. After Depp lost a similar defamation (v. Heard) case against a newspaper in the United Kingdom, this is the 2nd civil court case for the actor.
Published by Holr Magazine