Johnny Depp returned to the stand on Wednesday to admit the relationship was fraught with alcohol, drug and physical abuse… but he wasn’t talking about himself.
He claimed he was subjected to an “endless parade of insults”, that he was demeaned, berated and constantly “made a fool of”, and that these arguments would often descend into physical violence — from Amber Heard.
He said his then-wife would lash out in anger or frustration, shoving and slapping him, or throwing a TV remote at him, or throwing a glass of wine in his face.
On day 6 of the defamation trial, the actor was asked about Heard’s drug use; he said she was “quite fond” of MDMA and magic mushrooms, claiming he had seen her take the former about 20 times during their relationship, and the latter around seven times.
He also claimed she took other medications, one of which he described as “high velocity speed.”
Asked about her drinking, he said she could easily put away two bottles of wine on a given evening; he said he once asked her if she wanted to join him in sobriety — to help and support him — and she said no.
Depp was also asked about the first time he was alleged to have struck Heard, because she made fun of one of his tattoos — an allegation he said made no sense to him.
He reiterated he had never struck a woman in his life, and insisted he would never hit someone for insulting a tattoo.
He described his tattoos as a personal “journal” marking significant points in his life, and insisted no one should ever go back and re-write their journal… although he did admit altering his “Winona forever” tattoo in honor of then-girlfriend Winona Ryder to “Wino forever”.
He said Heard encouraged him to get one of her name too, which he eventually did; ironically it was shortly after that, he said, that “everything started going sideways.”
He was asked about another incident on a flight from Boston to LA, which Heard had previously accused him of being drunk and abusive before blacking out.
Depp countered by claiming he was not drunk, but sleepy from his medication. He said “blacking out” from the medication versus alcohol were “two different animals”; while a drunk could stand and shout and be abusive but not remember afterward, the drugs simply sent him to dreamland. The reason he said he went to the bathroom was to hide from Heard, who was “ready for a brawl.”
Depp was also asked why he didn’t leave the relationship, despite being, as he described it, “bullied”.
He replied he believed it had something to do with his father doing the same when his mother beat him — and because his mother had attempted suicide when his father eventually did leave.
“I stayed because I didn’t want to fail,” he said. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Especially Miss Heard. I didn’t want to break her heart.”
He said he wanted to stay and help Heard go back to the person she was when they first met — and not the “opponent” she had become.
“Ms. Heard had spoken about suicide on a couple of occasions, so that was also a factor,” he added.
Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in which she claimed she was a victim of domestic violence. Depp was not named in the piece, but his lawyers argue it is strongly insinuated, and that his career suffered as a result. She has countersued Depp for $100 million.
Depp has already lost an earlier lawsuit he took in the UK over the same article that appeared in The Sun.
The trial is expected to last six weeks. See more coverage of the ongoing trial here.
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