Private details aboutJohnny DeppandAmber Heard’s relationship are being aired out in court, including what their former marriage counselor describes as"mutual abuse" between the stars.
Depp, 58, sued Heard, 36, for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote forTheWashington Postin which she opened up about surviving domestic violence. He originally filed the $50 million lawsuit back in 2019 but it was delayed due to the pandemic, until a jury was selected on April 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, and opening statements began the following day. She is countersuing for defamation, seeking $100 million in damages for portraying her allegations as a “hoax.”
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Back in November 2020, Depplost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit caseagainst British tabloidThe Sunfor calling him a “wife-beater.” The court upheld the outlet’s claims as being “substantially true” and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt tooverturn the decision was overruled.
In this case, however, he sued Heard directly.
For more on Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
The pair met while making the 2011 movieThe Rum Diaryand later wed in 2015. They broke up in May 2016 when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and they settled theirdivorceout of court in August 2016.
Depp has testified that his “goal is the truth” as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which has been televised live via various outlets. Ahead of the trial, Heard said in a statement that “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.”
Read on for some of the biggest revelations in the trial and check back for updates as the six-week proceedings continue. Closing arguments are set for Friday, May 27, with the jury to begin deliberation that afternoon.
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Heard accuses Depp of sexual assault
While much of the evidence included in this case was already made public in the 2020 U.K. case,Heard’s allegation of sexual assaultalong with other forms of domestic abuse was not known widely until opening statements.
A spokesperson for Depp denied the allegation, calling it “fictitious” and “for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement.”
Depp previously texted about Heard’s “rotting corpse”
Many of Depp and Heard’s past texts have been read aloud to the jury. One of those was an October 2016 exchange between Depp and his longtime friend Isaac Baruch, when Depp wrote, “Hopefully that c—’s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f—–g trunk of a Honda Civic!!”
During his cross examination, Depp saidhe is “not proud ofany of the language that I used” in the explicit texts.
Lily-Rose Depp, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.Julien M. Hekimian/Getty; John Phillips/Getty; Neilson Barnard/Getty
Depp says daughter Lily-Rose skipped his wedding to Heard
While discussing his February 2015 wedding to Heard (which included “Dinner, dancing and drugs” written on printed schedules of the festivities, Depp recalled), Depp revealed that his daughter Lily-Rosedeclined to attend the nuptials.
“My daughter Lily-Rose did not come to the wedding. She and Ms. Heard were not on particularly great terms,for several reasons,” he said.
The 22-year-old actress is the older of Depp’s two children with exVanessa Paradis. They also have son Jack, 20.
Depp and his sister recall abusive childhood
Both Depp and his oldersister Christi Dembrowskihave testified that their late mother Betty Sue Palmer was abusive toward them growing up, as well as toward their father John Sr., who is now 84.
“When Betty Sue, my mother, would go off on a tangent toward my father — and of course, in front of the kids, it [didn’t] matter to her — he amazingly remained very stoic and never, as she was rationing him with horrible things, he stood there and just looked at her while she delivered the pain, and he swallowed it. He took it,” said Depp.
When asked why he stayed in his marriage with Heard despite the alleged abuse he faced, Depp explained: “I suppose because my father stayed [in his abusive marriage]. … And I didn’t want to fail. I wanted to try to make it work. I thought maybe I could help her. I thought maybe I could bring her around. Because the Amber Heard that I knew for the first year, year and a half was not this, suddenly this opponent. It wasn’t my girl, she had become my opponent.”
Jo Hale/Redferns via Getty; Jesse Grant/Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Depp testifies that he’s done drugs with friends Paul Bettany and Marilyn Manson before
While discussing his previous struggles with substance abuse, Depp confirmed that he at timesdid recreational drugs with famous friends, likeWandaVisionstar Paul Bettany and controversial musician Marilyn Manson.
Later, when asked if he has done drugs like cocaine with musician Manson, Depp said, “We’ve had cocaine together maybe a couple of times,” and joked, “I once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so that he would stop talking so much.”
Reps for Bettany and Manson did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Depp alsotestified that Heard “despised” Bettanybecause “we had become such close friends, and for her he was a threat and would take me away from her, with regard to if Paul Bettany were getting the attention from me, that was a show-stopper. It would cause all kinds of unpleasantries.”
EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty
Depp shows off his healed “mangled” finger from Australia fight
A point of contention in this case involves an infamous fight between Depp and Heard in Australia, where he was filmingPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesin March 2015. It resulted in his right middlefinger being severed at the tip. He claims it happened when Heard threw a vodka bottle at his hand as it rested on a bar top, though her legal team denied that version of events.
During his testimony, Depp’s team showed graphic, bloody photos of the finger taken that night and in the hospital after, when Depp told doctors it happened when his hand was caught in an accordion door. He claims he lied at the time in the hospital in order to keep Heard’s name out of the situation.
Deppheld up the now-healed “mangled” fingerfor the courtroom to observe, calling it “funny-looking.”
Heard has admitted to starting physical fight
“You didn’t get punched; you got hit. I’m sorry I hit you like this, but I did not punch you,” she told Depp. “I did not f—–g deck you. I f—–g was hitting you. I don’t know what the motion of my actual hand was. But you’re fine. I did not hurt you. I did not punch you. I was hitting you,” she could be heard saying.
Depp — who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any woman — was also asked about a December 2015 incident where he allegedly head-butted Heard, who sustained bruises on her face. He “vehemently” disagreed with the statement that he intentionally head-butted her, arguing that it could have been an accident while he attempted to restrain her.
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The makeup debate
In aTikTok video, Milani Cosmeticsdenied that their product could have beenused since it wasn’t sold until December 2017, and Heard and Depp’s marriage ended the year before when she filed for divorce.
A source close to Heard told PEOPLE that her lawyer “was using an example of the kind of makeup that she used.” Milani Cosmetics said in a statement that its TikTok post “was to verify the claim that our eagle-eyed and loyal fan base made about the product named in the trial. Milani Cosmetics is not taking a formal stance on the trial, evidence or future outcome of the case.”
A post–restraining order meetup
Heard filed for divorce in May 2016, and her domestic violence restraining order against Depp was filed less than a week after the divorce filing. Depp testified thatHeard asked to meet with himin July 2016 despite the restraining order while he was in San Francisco, which “confused” him.
“I was talked into going there and met with her in hopes that she would retract her lies that the world was now fed,” he said. “In no way was she ready to do that, and I couldn’t understand why I was there — everything had been taken from me….”
Depp said he felt Heard brought him to that meeting “under false pretenses” and, after the fallout of the allegations against him, he was “really just at the end, just at the end; I couldn’t take it anymore.” In a recording that meeting played in the courtroom, Depp could be heard threatening to cut himself in front of Heard, who begged him to stop.
MICHAEL REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP/Getty
Additionally, Curry suggested Heard shows signs of “borderline personality disorderand histrionic personality disorder” that could lead her to “feign” PTSD and frame herself as a victim, exaggerating or falsifying symptoms.
During cross-examination, Heard’s attorney asked Curry whether she was board certified. Dr. Curry responded that she is not. The psychologist was also asked about having dinner and drinks at Depp’s home before she was placed on retainer. She also pointed out it was never her job to evaluate Depp’s psychological state in this case.
Heard wanted to reconcile with Depp at one point, their former agent says
Talent agent Christian Carino (who happens to beLady Gaga’s ex-fiancé) was once a close friend of Heard’s, and that the star wouldconfide in him about her relationships. In text messages read aloud in Carino’s deposition, Heard wrote to him back in August 2017 — over a year after her Depp breakup and restraining order — “I’ve written so many notes. Can you give him one? I don’t know how or where to start. There’s no way to begin and all I have to say, but I have so many. Finally I am single, clear in my heart and mind. I just want him to know I love himand that I am sorry.”
STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty
Bodyguard says he saw Heard punch Depp
Depp’s security guard Travis McGivern testified that he once stood between the actor and Heard in 2015 when a dispute got “louder” and “more volatile” as both parties shouted obscenities at each other. McGivern said he saw Heard throw a Red Bull can at Depp and that she “tried to spit on” Depp at one point.
Healso said he saw her punch Depp: “Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fist and an arm come across my right shoulder and I heard and saw a closed fist contact Mr. Depp in the left side of his face. That was Ms. Heard’s fist,” he said. Adding of the actor’s reaction, McGivern said: “The initial look on his face kind of mirrored mine, kind of a look of shock. Like, ‘What just happened? Where did that come from?’ At that point, I wasn’t gonna let Mr. Depp get hit any more so I moved him down the last flight of stairs to the lower level and told him, ‘We are leaving.’ It wasn’t up to him anymore. Just for his safety.”
Heard recounts first time Depp allegedly hit her
When Heard began her testimony, she told the jury, “I struggle to find the words todescribe how painful this is. This is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything.” One moment Heard testified about in detail is when Depp allegedly first struck her. She said she will “never forget” it because “it changed my life.”
As Heard testified, she laughed about one of Depp’s tattoos and he “slapped me across the face.” At first, she thought it was a joke, but then he slapped her two more times, knocking her to the ground, she said.
Crying, Heard said in the courtroom, “I knew it was wrong. And I knew that I had to leave him. And that’s what broke my heart. … I wish I could sit here and say I stood up and I walked out of that house and I drew a line and I stood up for myself.”
Depp, meanwhile, was previously asked about the alleged tattoo incident while he was on the stand, saying that the moment as Heard explains it “didn’t happen” and added in his testimony: “I’ve never struck Ms. Heard. I have never struck a woman in my life. I’m certainly not going to strike a woman if she decides to make fun of a tattoo that I have on my body. … That allegation never made any sense to me whatsoever.”
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Heard testifies Depp did “cavity search” on her
When Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn, in his opening statements, brought upHeard’s allegations of sexual assaultalong with other forms of domestic abuse she experienced, a spokesperson for Depp denied the allegation, calling it “fictitious” and “for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement.”
Heard says Depp “hated” James Franco
The actress testified about Depp not wanting her to continue working, describing it asa “constant battle” convincing himshe could take a new project. She worked with James Franco for a second time on the 2015 independent filmThe Adderall Diaries, which led to arguments with Depp, whosuspected her of having an affair with her costar.
“He hated, hated James Francoand was already accusing me of kind of secretly having a thing with him in my past, since we had donePineapple Expresstogether,” she said.
While she was filmingAdderall Diariesin New York and Depp was doingBlack Massin Boston, they flew together on a private plane to Los Angeles, when she says he slapped her and kicked her to the ground in front of his assistants and security guards. When he testified, Depp said this didn’t happen, arguing that she was the aggressor and he hid from her in the bathroom.
“No one said anything. No one did anything. You could hear a pin drop on that plane. You could feel the tension. But nobody did anything,” Heard said through tears.
Heard confirmed thatshe had Franco over to her penthousethe day before filing for divorce, and the elevator surveillance footage was shown to the jury. She explained about that instance, “He was my friend. And he lived next door, quite literally next door. And I, frankly, had exhausted my support network with my usual friends and was happy to welcome as much friendship at that time as I could possibly get.”
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Both sides speak out mid-trial
When court wrapped on May 5 before a weeklong hiatus, a spokesperson for Deppissued a statement undermining Heard’semotional testimony, saying she “did indeed deliver the performance of her life.” They added that her “stories have continued to grow new and convenient details” but Depp’s “recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the six painful years since her first allegations were made.”
Depp’s spokesperson added, “The upcoming cross examination from Mr. Depp’s team will be most telling, and will certainly highlight the many fallacies Ms. Heard has now attempted to pass off as fact throughout her convoluted testimony.”
In response, a Heard spokesperson issued their own statement, saying that Depp’s “defamation claim is falling apart so rapidly that his counsel are turning from prosecutor to persecutor.” They slammed his team’s “approach of attacking the victim and refusing to take responsibility for his own conduct.”
Heard’s side said Depp’s “panicked” legal team is “fighting tooth and nail to prevent compelling evidence and photos from being introduced. Small wonder Mr. Depp does not have the fortitude or courage to even look at Ms. Heard at all throughout the proceedings — as he could not in the U.K. trial — and,instead he doodles and snickers.” They called Depp’s courtroom behavior “pitiful.”
Heard denies that poop in bed was a prank on Depp
Depp has testified that he was shown a photograph of “fecal matter on the bed” after Heard left with friends to go to Coachella back in April 2016. He claimed his then-wife “tried to blame it on the dogs.” “I lived with those dogs for many years. … That did not come from a dog,” he said on the stand. “It just didn’t.” He also referred to is as a “fecal delivery.”
Starling Jenkins III, a longtime executive chauffeur and security guard for Depp who is still under his employ, previously said under oath that Heard told him the defecation was “ahorrible practical joke gone wrong.”
She denied that, however. Heard testified that one of their dogs had “bowel control issues” and said she and her friends would not have done that as a practical joke.
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Why Depp withholds eye contact in the courtroom
When Heard’s cross-examination began, Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez pointed out that Depp “hasn’t looked at you once this entire trial.” Vasquez told the courtroom that the actor “promised” Heard during one of their last in-person meetings that she would “not see my eyes again,” playing the audio of him telling her that in 2016.
“He’s kept that promise, hasn’t he?” Vasquez asked, referring to Depp refusing to look at Heard, to which Heard responded, “As far as I know, hecannotlook at me.”
“Hewon’tlook at you, right Ms. Heard?” said Vasquez, with Heard replying, “He can’t.”
Earlier in the trial, a spokesperson for Heard said in a statement, in part, “Small wonder Mr. Depp does not have the fortitude or courage to even look at Ms. Heard at all throughout the proceedings — as he could not in the U.K. trial — and, instead hedoodles and snickers.”
Whitney Henriquez.KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty
Heard’s sister claims Depp hit her, gave her NDA after
The actress' younger sister Whitney Henriquez, 34, testified that her then-brother-in-law Depp hit her in the back on a staircase back in March 2015 and Heard stepped in to defend her.
“I’m facing Amber, he comes up behind me, strikes me in the back. I hear Amber shout, ‘Don’t hit my f—ing sister!’ She smacks him, lands one. At that point, that’s when [Depp’s security guard] Travis [McGivern] runs up the stairs, after Amber landed one.”
Heard testified thatshe “swung at” Depp in the alleged fightso that he “didn’t push my sister down the stairs.” She said on the stand, “In all of my relationship to date with Johnny, I hadn’t landed a blow. And I, for the first time, hit him — like, actually hit him. Square in the face.”
Depp and McGivern both denied this version of events in their testimonies. McGivern said of Depp’s reaction after Heard hit him, “The initial look on his face kind of mirrored mine, kind of a look of shock. Like, ‘What just happened? Where did that come from?’ At that point, Iwasn’t gonna let Mr. Depp get hit any moreso I moved him down the last flight of stairs to the lower level and told him, ‘We are leaving.’ It wasn’t up to him anymore. Just for his safety.”
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; SC Pool/Corbis/Getty
Ellen Barkin says Depp was “controlling” when they dated
Actress Ellen Barkin’s 2019 deposition was played for the courtroom. Shetestified that she had a brief sexual relationshipwith Depp after they made the 1998 movieFear and Loathing in Las Vegastogether, and that he once “threw a wine bottle across the hotel room” in her direction.
Of the actor’s “controlling” and “demanding” behavior, Barkin said Depp is “just a jealous man,” who would say things to her like, “Where are you going, who are you going with, what did you do last night?”
“I had a scratch on my back that once got him very, very angry because he insisted it came from me having sex with a person who wasn’t him,” said Barkin.
Depp previously called Barkin’s claim “untrue” in 2020,Reutersreported, claiming the actress held a grudge against him, adding, “I do not have an anger-management problem.
Kate Moss shows up for ex Depp
While explaining why she hit Depp to defend her younger sister from him during an incident on a staircase, Heard testified she was triggered thinking of arumor about Depp pushing ex-girlfriend Kate Mossdown some stairs.
Depp’steam later called Moss to testify. The British model, who dated Depp for four years in the 1990s, addressed an incident when she fell down slippery stairs at a resort in Jamaica after a rainstorm.
“As I left the room, I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back,” Moss, 48, said under oath. “I screamed because I didn’t know what happened to me and I was in pain. He came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention. … He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs.”
Heard’s team did not cross-examine Moss, who appeared live via video for the brief testimony.
Evelyn Hockstein/Pool photo via AP
Depp takes partial credit for Heard’s biggest movie role
Depp said after the audition, “She asked me if I’d speak to [Warner Bros.] … I made a phone call and I spoke to three upper-echelon Warner Bros. executives … and I told them—,” continued Depp before an objection was sustained. “I can only say that she ultimately did get the job in the film. I suppose I curbed their worries to some degree.”
Heard testified thatshe “fought really hard” to remainin the upcomingAquamansequel, which has already been filmed and will hit theaters in March. She and her agent said the studio tried to distance itself from her due to negative publicity surrounding her Depp allegations. DC Films President Walter Hamada, however, testified for Depp’s side, saying her smaller role in the sequel was always the plan, citing “concerns” over her lack of “natural chemistry” with star Jason Momoa.
Johnny Depp.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Depp categorically denies Heard’s “insane” testimony allegations
During his time back on the stand on the final week of testimonies, Deppvehemently denied Heard’s claims of abuseand sexual assault, calling them “heinous” and “humiliating.”
“I have never in my life committed sexual battery [or] physical abuse,” he said under oath, adding of the trial, “This is not easy for any of us, I know that.” He also called Heard’s allegations “unimaginably brutal” and “all false.”
When Heard testified in front of the jury, she said, “Everything I’ve said to date now is the truth.” She also said it “seemed crazy” that Depp thought she was taking part in an “elaborate, well-orchestrated, years-long campaign” to make false claims of abuse. She said she never wanted to have to testify previously because “I didn’t want this to go to a prosecutor. I didn’t want to hurt Johnny. Idon’twant this to hurt Johnny.”
Amber Heard.MICHAEL REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty
Heard gets the last word
On the final day of testimony before closing arguments, Heard returned the stand, expressinghow the trial has been “torture” for her.
“It’s been agonizing,” she added, referencing the online “mocking” of her testimony. “I just want Johnny to leave me alone. … I don’t deserve this. I want to move on.”
During cross-examination, Vasquez asked about Heard’s “lies” being “exposed,” to which the actress replied, “I haven’t lied about anything I’ve been here to say.”
Attorneys present closing arguments
In their closing arguments on May 27, the exes' respective attorneyspresented their final remarks, with Vasquez telling the court in part of Heard’sallegations of abuseagainst Depp, “You either believe all of it, or none of it.”
“Either she’s a victim of truly horrific abuse or she’s a woman who’s willing to say absolutely anything,” Vasquez added, also accusing Heard of “profound cruelty” and of coming “into this courtroom prepared to give the performance of her life, and she gave it.”
Rottenborn said in part during his own closing remarks, “If he abused her one time, Amber wins,” and accused Depp of having “almost all of” his witnesses on his payroll.
“Let’s see the monster. Let’s see the monster in the flesh,” Rottenborn added,before playing the videoof Depp slamming cabinets in the former couple’s kitchen.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
