Getting messy. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are fighting it out at the High Court in London in the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s ongoing legal battle with a U.K. publication that accused him of being a “wife beater.”
Depp, 57, is suing The Sun newspaper for libel for an April 2018 story citing allegations that Heard, 34, previously made detailing 14 different instances of abuse. The actor has repeatedly stated that Heard’s accusations are false, but when she gave verbal testimony in the libel suit on Monday, July 20, the actress went into extreme detail about the emotional, verbal and physical abuse she claimed she faced during their marriage.
“He demeaned me anytime I tried to wear anything that could be seen as sexy, calling me a ‘whore,’ ‘slut,’ ‘fame-hungry’ and ‘an attention whore,’ it got worse over time. He started saying things like, ‘Well, I’m going to have to watch you get raped’ and ‘I hope you get railed by a bunch of f–king fellas. Sometimes he used racial epithets about the men I would be — or deserved to be — assaulted by,” she alleged while speaking in court on Monday, July 20. “Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally, or just by losing control and going too far.”
The Rum Diary costars tied the knot in February 2015 and confirmed their split in May 2016. Three years later, the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald actor “vehemently” denied ever being violent with his ex-wife, flipping the script and accusing her of domestic violence as well.
“She hit, punched, and kicked me. She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls, and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me,” Depp claimed in court documents related to a separate defamation lawsuit in May 2019.
Despite the traumatic testimony she gave in London, a source previously told Us Weekly that Heard is trying to find a bright side. “She’s been surrounding herself with loved ones and close friends who she trusts and trying to do ‘normal’ activities like getting together for dinner safety,” the source said, adding that the actress is “trying not to let the legal drama and hate get to her.”
Scroll down for more details on Depp and Heard’s ongoing libel battle.
According to audio from one of the former couple's nasty fights, the Friday Night Lights actress told Depp to "grow the f--k up" after she allegedly punched him. "I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you. I can't promise you I won't get physical again," she said in the recording, part of which was played in court on July 7. "God, I f--king sometimes get so mad, I lose it. ... You can still call me names. You're a hypocrite, you're a baby. If they give a taste of it to you, you f--king lose it, but yet you dish it out."
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As court hearings continued, Heard opened up about a "three-day ordeal of assaults" while the pair was in Australia in March 2015. Depp claimed that the Texas native threw a bottle of vodka at him at this time, severing his fingertip and "crushing" his bones. "That's when I began what I feel was probably some species of a breakdown, a nervous breakdown or something," he testified on July 9. Heard, for her part, said she wasn't in the room when the incident with Depp's finger occurred.
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While testifying in court on July 10, the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star claimed that his ex-wife or one of her friends once defecated in the couple’s bed. “I thought that was an oddly fitting end to the relationship,” he said. Heard denied that she was the culprit, blaming one of the pair’s two dogs. “It was not left by a three or four-pound dog,” Depp countered. “I was convinced that it was either Ms. Heard herself or one of her cohorts involved in leaving human feces on the bed. ... I wanted nothing to do with her.”
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Text messages from the pair's time in Australia, where he was shooting the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, reveal that the Sweeney Todd star thought Heard was "malicious, evil and vindictive," and desperate for fame. "Hoax is probably the best word one could use because the allegations, all of the allegations, are patently untrue," Depp said in court on July 13. "It appears to me that Ms. Heard was building a dossier very early on that appears to be an insurance policy for later."
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While visiting Depp in Australia in March 2015, Heard claimed she experienced "extreme acts" of "psychological, physical, emotional and other forms of violence" at the hands of her then-husband. "It is the worst thing I have ever been through. I was left with an injured lip and nose, and cuts on my arms," she explained, later detailing an incident where Depp left raw meat in some of her clothing. "There were pieces of it wrapped round something and I realized it was the steak I had planned to cook. ... He had also gone around and painted on all my clothes in the closet."
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The Pirates of the Caribbean star owned up to heavily using various drugs throughout the course of his career but testified on July 17 that he was attempting to get clean during his marriage. Heard, however, struggled to kick her own habits. Depp alleged that his then-wife would indulge in "two or three bottles" of wine a night and that her drug use and drinking resulted in "severe outbursts of anger and rage."
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As more details about Heard's allegations emerged, Depp's former partners Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis showed their support for the Edward Scissorhands star. "The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations. He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me. He has never been violent or abusive towards anybody I have seen," the Stranger Things star, who was engaged to Depp for three years in the '90s, said in her statement on July 17. Paradis, for her part, was Depp's partner for 14 years and shares two children, Lily-Rose and John Christopher, with the actor. "Through all these years I've known Johnny to be a kind, attentive, generous and non-violent person and father. On movie sets the actors, directors and entire crews adore him because he is humble and respectful to everyone, as well as being one of the best actors we've seen," she said.
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The Aquaman actress' former personal assistant came forward with allegations of her own as witness testimonies continued in the lengthy court battle. Kate James, who was fired by Heard in February 2015, claimed in a statement on July 15 that the Criminal Minds alum thought she was "above the law," particularly when she "deliberately smuggled [her] dogs" into Australia in the summer of 2015. "She did not care about throwing anyone under the bus, if it meant saving her own skin," James' statement continued.
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On July 16, Depp's bodyguard, Sean Bett, submitted a written statement to the court alleging that he had witnessed Heard's abusive behavior on multiple occasions. "Throughout the course of Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard's relationship, Ms. Heard was verbally and physically abusive towards Mr. Depp," he claimed. "On many occasions, I witnessed her shout at Mr. Depp. I was also told by Mr. Depp on multiple occasions that Ms. Heard had physically abused him. ... Ms. Heard often behaved in this way when she had been drinking. I learned quickly to recognize the signs, so that we were able to leave the situation before it escalated further."
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While describing her allegedly abusive ex, Heard noted that some instances would be so severe that she feared for her own life. "I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far," she claimed in court on July 20. "He explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship." Heard said that Depp would resort to "punching, slapping, kicking, head-butting and choking me, as well as throwing me into things, pulling me by my hair and shoving me or pushing me to the ground" when they fought.
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Heard alleged that Depp was able to use his charismatic nature to his advantage. "He is very good at manipulating people," she said in court on July 20. "He would blame all his actions on a self-created third party instead of himself, which he often called 'the monster.' ... When I say he was dark, he had a violent and dark way of speaking: the way he talked about our relationship being 'dead or alive' and telling me that death was the only way out of the relationship."
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"There were times when, yes, I lost my cool with Johnny in our fights," Heard testified during her court appearance on July 20, adding that she would only "try to defend myself when he got serious and when I thought my life was threatened, but I was never violent towards him."
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"He accused me of having affairs with each of my costars, movie after movie ... He would taunt me about it — especially when he was drunk or high — and had derogatory nicknames for every one of my male costars he considered a sexual threat," Heard alleged in court testimony on July 20, dropping names of high-profile stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Channing Tatum, James Franco and more. "Leonardo DiCaprio was 'pumpkin-head,' Channing Tatum was 'potato-head' and 'Jim Turd Sturgess.'"
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On July 21, Heard took the stand once more and denied her ex-husband's claims that she fabricated her bruises after one of their alleged May 2016 fights where she claims Depp threw a phone at her "like he was a baseball pitcher." The actor previously slammed Heard's accusations and said her bruises were "painted on" in court documents related to their 2019 defamation lawsuit.
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As more details of the former couple's apparently abusive relationship came to light in court on July 21, it was claimed that Elon Musk offered Heard "24/7 security" via text message in May 2016. "The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again… anyway, sorry for being an idiot. The radio silence hurts a lot. It only matters because I really like you," the Tesla founder allegedly texted the Hidden Palms actress at the time.
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While discussing the May 2016 incident that allegedly left her bruised and beaten, Heard claimed that James Franco was concerned for her safety. "We were talking. He was saying to me, 'Oh my God, what happened to you?'" she said in court on July 21. "[Franco] saw my face ... when I let him in. He saw my face and he said, 'What the f--k?'" One day earlier, Heard claimed that Depp accused her of having an affair with Franco, among other famous Hollywood men.
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Heard took the witness stand for the third day straight on July 22 and claimed that her ex-husband once threw "30 or so bottles" at her as if they were "grenades or bombs" during their violent 2015 spat in Australia. She previously described the alleged incident as a "hostage situation" during which Depp was "completely out of his mind and out of control" due to substance abuse.
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Continuing her emotional testimony in London on July 22, the Playboy Club actress alleged that her sister, Whitney, was caught in the crossfire of her March 2015 dispute with Depp. "He was about to push her down the stairs and the moment before that happened, I remembered the information I had heard that he pushed a former girlfriend — I believe it was Kate Moss — down the stairs," Heard claimed. "I will never forget this incident." When Depp's lawyer asked why the Moss allegation never came up before, Heard countered, "I've not had the liberty of time or space or energy even to list every thought that crossed my mind."
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In more text messages revealed in court during the lengthy July trial, Heard apparently told her mother that Depp was "violent" and behaved like a "mad man." The messages were sent after an incident in which the Edward Scissorhands actor allegedly "refused to leave the breakfast room at his L.A. home" in March 2013. "It's terrible, Mom, I don't know what to do. He's nuts," Heard claimed in a text at the time. "The crazy mood swings are hard to handle. ... I feel really lost and lonely. He's a mad man. I feel I'm on a fastening train but I don't want to jump off. I stay on the train even though I know it's about to explode."
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On July 24, Depp's legal team claimed they had filmed proof of Heard and her sister, Whitney, having a physical altercation after the actress alleged that her ex-husband tried to push her sister down the stairs in March 2015. The London Fields star's sister told the High Court that the footage referenced a "verbal argument," not a "physical fight," and emphasized her support for Heard. "I'm here because she was the victim of domestic violence, and for no other reason," Whitney said in court. "I'm here to tell the truth."
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Heard's close friend and former acting coach, Kristina Sexton, told the court on July 24 that she hadn't witnessed any specific incidents of physical abuse, but was aware of Depp's "volatility" in other ways. According to Sexton, the Hollywood Vampires member wanted his ex-wife "barefoot and pregnant – and at home," and refused to support her taking roles that were "overtly sexual" (which he allegedly called "whore parts"). Heard, in return, became a "nervous wreck" at her auditions. "After I pressed her about it, she then admitted he had hit her," Sexton claimed. "She admitted to me, 'Yeah, he pushes and shoves me, he's done some things.'"
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In the final days of the lengthy court battle, Depp's lawyer, David Sherborne, accused Heard of fabricating her stories of domestic violence. "From the big points to the small points, Ms. Heard has proved herself to be a wholly unreliable witness, and, frankly, a compulsive liar, and I don't say that lightly," the attorney said on July 28. "At its very core, we say it demonstrates that she is the abuser, not Mr Depp. He is no wife beater. ... He has never hit a woman in his entire life. Period. Full stop. Nada."
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After his name came up in court hearings, Musk denied ever having an affair with Heard during a revealing interview with the New York Times. "This is totally false," the Tesla CEO said of Depp's claim. "For the two of them, I would just recommend that they bury the hatchet and move on. ... If Johnny wants a cage fight, just let me know."
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