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The Most Shocking Revelations From Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's Defamation Trial

As Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation suit comes to an end, look back on all the bombshells made inside a Virginia courthouse during the six-week trial.

By Mike Vulpo, Lindsay Weinberg, Gabrielle Chung Jun 01, 2022 8:00 PMTags
Watch: Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard Trial: Verdict REVEALED

Content warning: This story discusses sexual assault and abuse.
 
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's battle in the courtroom has come to an end. 
 
More than five years after their breakup, Depp's $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife took center stage this spring in a Virginia courtroom. In opening statements shared on April 12, Depp's lawyers argued that Heard ruined the actor's reputation by "choosing to lie about him for her own personal benefit."
 
Back in 2018, Heard wrote an essay for the Washington Post in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." Although the article never mentioned Depp by name, his attorneys previously said in court documents that Heard's op-ed was all part of an "elaborate hoax."
 
The Pirates of the Caribbean star also claimed in court documents that Heard concocted her story in the hopes of generating "positive publicity" and to "advance her career." Heard also countersued Depp seeking $100 million in damages.

Days before the trial began, Heard made a rare statement on Instagram announcing a break from social media. "Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in the Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse," she wrote on April 9. "I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny."

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Johnny Depp's Best Roles

After six weeks of testimony and 13 hours of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict on June 1 ruling that Heard was liable of defaming Depp. For more details about the ruling and all of the shocking revelations from the trial, keep reading.

Jury Reaches Verdict in Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Defamation Trial 

On June 1, a jury awarded $10 million to Depp in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate later reduced the punitive damages to $350,000, which is the state's statutory cap or legal limit, making his total damages $10.4 million. As for Heard's countersuit, the jury awarded the actress $2 million in compensatory damages.

"I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband," Heard said in a statement after the verdict. "I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American—to speak freely and openly."

As for Depp, he released a statement thanking the jury for giving him his life back. "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome," he said via his spokesperson. "Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's Attorneys Deliver Closing Arguments

On May 27, attorneys for both parties spoke to the jury one last time before deliberations begin. 

Depp's attorney Camille Vasquez first spoke to a jury exactly six years to the day Heard filed for a protective order against the Pirates of the Caribbean star, revealing her domestic abuse allegations to the public for the first time. "We ask you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr. Depp is not the abuser Ms. Heard said he is and hold Ms. Heard accountable for her lies," Vasquez said. "What is at stake in this trial is a man's good name. Even more, what is at stake at this trial is a man's life, the life that he lost when he was accused of a heinous crime."

But when Heard's attorney Benjamin Rottenborn began his closing arguments, he told the jury that if the actress was abused physically, verbally or emotionally just once, she wins. "They're trying to trick you that Amber has to be perfect in order to win...don't fall for that trick," he said. "Amber's not perfect, none of us are...A ruling against Amber here sends a message that no matter what you do as an abuse victim, you always have to do more." For more highlights from closing arguments, click here

MICHAEL REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Amber Heard Says She's Received Death Threats During Trial

On May 26, Heard returned to the stand and was asked to explain how she has suffered following statements that Depp's former attorney, Adam Waldman, made to the Daily Mail in 2020, in which he described her allegations of abuse as a "hoax."

"I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day, even just walking into this courtroom," she told a Virginia jury. "I receive hundreds of death threats regularly, if not daily. Thousands, since this trial has started. People mocking...my testimony about being assaulted."

Heard said in the years since leaving her ex, she has had panic attacks and that her friends and intimate partners have had to learn "unspoken rules" about how to touch her or avoid triggering her.

Amber Heard Denies Ever Faking Bruises or Photos of Her Alleged Abuse

Heard's attorney asked the actress about accusations that she faked bruises and photos of the alleged abuse she said she suffered from Depp during their relationship. Heard responded, "Absolutely not."

During her final day of testimony, Heard was also asked by Depp's attorney Camille Vasquez if she tipped off TMZ to show up at a Los Angeles courthouse as she obtained a restraining order against Depp in May 2016. Heard denied the claims before asking, "What actual survivor of domestic violence wants that?" 

Former TMZ Producer Recalls Covering Amber Heard

On May 25, former TMZ producer Morgan Tremaine was called as a rebuttal witness for Depp. During his testimony, Tremaine said he was instructed to dispatch photographers to a Los Angeles courthouse on May 27, 2016—the same day Heard filed for a temporary restraining order from Depp. 

"We were trying to capture Amber leaving the courthouse and an alleged bruise on the right side of her face," he told the court. "She was going to sort of stop and turn towards the camera to display the bruise on the right side of her face, the alleged bruise."

When asked if TMZ got the shot, Tremaine replied, "We did." Heard previously denied working with TMZ. During cross-examination, Heard's lawyer accused Tremaine of seeking his "15-minutes of fame." He replied saying he has nothing to gain from speaking out in court. "I'm actually putting myself kind of in the target of TMZ, a very litigious organization. And I'm not seeking any 15-minutes here," he said. "I could say the same thing about taking Amber Heard as a client, for you."

Kate Moss Denies Johnny Depp Pushed Her Down the Stairs

On May 25, Kate Moss testified before a Virginia jury as a rebuttal witness, saying Depp "never pushed me, kicked me or even threw me down any stairs" during their relationship, which lasted between 1994 and 1998.

The model also recalled an incident that occurred while vacationing with Depp in the '90s. "We were leaving the room and Johnny left the room before I did and there had been a rain storm and as I left the room, I slipped down the stairs and I hurt my back," she said. "I screamed because I didn't know what happened to me, and I was in pain and he came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention."

Heard previously told the court that during an alleged confrontation with Depp, she "instantly" thought "of Kate Moss and stairs." 

Johnny Depp Denies Amber Heard's "Heinous" Accusations of Violence 

Depp was called as a rebuttal witness on May 25 and denied many allegations brought forth from his ex. "It's insane to hear heinous accusations of violence, sexual violence, that she's attributed to me, that she's accused me of," Depp said during his testimony. "I don't think anyone enjoys having to split themselves open and tell the truth, but there are times when one simply has to because it's gotten out of control. Horrible. Ridiculous. Humiliating. Ludicrous. Painful. Savage. Unimaginably brutal. Cruel and all false."

Depp went on to say that while no human is perfect, he has never committed sexual battery or physical abuse.

Witness Testifying in Johnny Depp Trial Called Amber Heard "Crazy" on Twitter During Case

Filmmaker and motel owner Morgan Higby Night took the stand on May 24 and was asked about his tweets regarding the case. 

It all started when an account named @ThatUmbrellaGuy tweeted, "Johnny Depp will be accused of being jealous because a woman was 'sitting close' to Amber Heard. Depp said she had 'taken happy something.' Deep [sic] is accused of 'removing her hand and yelling at Amber.'" 

In response to the tweet, Night wrote, "That never happened. I was with them all night. Amber was the one acting all jealous and crazy." 

During court on May 24, Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft asked Night, "You are a pretty big fan of Johnny Depp, aren't you?" to which Night replied, "I am not." The answer elicited laughter from many in the courtroom.

New Details Behind Amber Heard's Aquaman 2 Role Revealed

On May 24, President of DC Films for Warner Bros. Pictures Walter Hamada testified through a video deposition as Depp's first rebuttal witness. During his testimony, which was filmed in March, Hamada said Heard's contract was not renegotiated because of statements from Depp or his former attorney, which Heard's attorney argued was part of the defamation damages in her countersuit.

Hamada also said during testimony that the studio considered recasting Heard's role partially because the actress lacked chemistry with Aquaman (Jason Momoa). "Editorially they were able to make that relationship work in the first movie, but there was a concern that it took a lot of effort to get there," Hamada testified. "You know it when you see it, and the chemistry wasn't there." 

And although Heard previously alleged that her role was "pared down" over time, Hamada denied the claims and testified that the sequel was always conceived as a "buddy comedy" between Momoa and Patrick Wilson

JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Witness Says Johnny Depp's Career Was Struggling Before Amber Heard's Op-Ed

On May 23, producer and entertainment industry consultant Kathryn Arnold testified that Depp's career was in decline before Heard's 2018 op-ed piece for The Washington Post. Arnold said past movies starring Depp including Mortdecai (2015), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) and The Lone Ranger (2013) underperformed at the box office.

She also testified that reports of Depp's poor work habits made it harder for Hollywood to financially back him. "We talked about the erratic behavior, the tardiness, the drugs and alcohol abuse," Arnold testified. "And the lawsuits have had a really big impact, not just this lawsuit but previous lawsuits that Mr. Depp has been involved with because there's a lot of publicity around anything he does."

Arnold also referenced a Hollywood Reporter article, published before Heard's Post piece, that said Disney was rethinking the future of Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise after disappointing returns on the fifth film.

Witness Claims Amber Heard Could Have Earned $50 Million if Not for Johnny Depp

During her testimony, Arnold said that movie, TV and endorsement deals for Heard dried up after Adam Waldman, Depp's ex attorney, publicly called her abuse accusations against Depp "false" and a "hoax."

Arnold predicted that Heard could be at the same level as Ana de Armas, Zendaya and Gal Gadot following her breakout superhero role in 2018's Aquaman. "It would have been very reasonable to believe her career would have been on an upward trajectory of those other actors" if not for the hoax allegations, Arnold testified. "It's very likely Ms.Heard should have earned $45 to $50 million." 

Depp's team, however, pushed back on cross-examination arguing that Gadot was in Fast & Furious movies before she played Wonder Woman and Zendaya was a Disney Channel star before her career took off.

On May 24, entertainment lawyer Richard Marks, who spoke on Depp's defense, testified that Arnold's "assessment of damages is built on nothing and it's wildly speculative."

Marks also testified that after Heard's Aquaman success, the actress scored a TV series for $200,000 per episode, far short of any $1 million pay day that Arnold claimed. 

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Psychiatrist Says Johnny Depp Showed Signs of Intimate Partner Violence

On May 23, psychiatrist Dr. David R. Spiegel testified for Heard's defense that Depp showed signs of substance misuse and intimate partner violence. 

"In my opinion," the Eastern Virginia Medical School professor said in court, "Mr. Depp has behaviors that are consistent with both someone who has a substance use disorder as well as consistent behaviors with someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence." 

Depp's legal team argued that Dr. Spiegel may be unqualified to testify on intimate partner violence because none of his published works specifically have the topic in the titles. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, intimate partner violence is defined as abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship. 

Orthopedic Surgeon Testifies about Johnny Depp's Severed Finger

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Moore testified for Heard's defense on May 23 that he didn't believe Depp's account of how his finger was severed.

"The description was the hand being flat on the bar and the bottle crushing the finger from the top," Dr. Moore testified via NBC News. "But looking at the images, there's really no significant injury to the dorsal of the finger and created the type of injury...we would anticipate both injury to the fingernail and other parts of the finger."

Depp's attorney Camille Vasquez sought to undermine Dr. Moore's testimony reminding the jury that the doctor never treated Depp or examined his hand in person. As a result, she argued he was not in a position to definitively rule out Depp's account that Heard's hurling of a vodka bottle caused his injury.

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Johnny Depp’s Ex Ellen Barkin Clarifies Their Relationship Dynamic

On May 19, the court played a video deposition from Barkin that was filmed in November 2019 as part of Depp's defamation case against Heard, who is countersuing her ex. Barkin, who was photographed out with Depp in 1994, confirmed their friendship went from "purely platonic" to a "romantic one" that year when she moved to Hollywood. She then asked during the deposition to "change" her characterization to "sexual" instead of romantic when describing their dynamic. 

The actress said their relationship remained sexual for "several months" and that they would see each other three to four times a week. "He would come to my house or I would go to his house," Barkin said, adding they were a 10 minute drive apart from each other in L.A.

According to the Daily Mail, Depp said in a London courtroom in 2020 that "a sexual element began with Ms. Barkin which lasted for months on and off really because she was making the film I was making at the time, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Ellen Barkin Testifies to Johnny Depp’s “Jealous” Behavior

Barkin testified that Depp was "a jealous man," as well as "demanding" and "controlling." She said he asked things like, "Where are you going? Who are you going with? What did you do last night?" 

She said in the 2019 deposition, "I had a scratch on my back once that got him very, very angry, because he insisted it came from me having sex with a person who hasn't him."  

The Drop Dead Gorgeous star confirmed that Depp was the one who broke off the relationship decades ago. She recalled a "big goodbye" between them. "A lot of jealous ‘Don't do this, don't do that,'" she said. "I never heard from him again after that." 

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Ellen Barkin Alleges He Once Threw a Bottle of Wine in Her Direction

Barkin said Depp once threw a bottle of wine across his hotel room while they were shooting the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. She said it didn't hit her or anyone else and it was thrown in her direction toward a group of people.

According to Reuters, Depp has denied the allegation, saying she held a grudge. The Willy Wonka star said in a London court in 2020, "She wanted a proper relationship with me and I did not want that. I didn't feel the same about her as she did me and I suppose from that moment on she became very, very angry and since then I have not spoken to Ms. Barkin," per the Daily Mail.

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Amber Heard's Agent Testifies Her Career Took "Downturn" Amid Depp Drama 

In a pre-recorded testimony filmed on March 1, 2022, Heard's talent agent Jessica Kovacevic testified that her career was stalled due to negative publicity surrounding the drama with Depp.

"When you have an actor who is in a movie as successful as Aquaman was, their career totally changes. And they're in a different echelon. They get way more offers," she explained. "They're more bankable so they can green light projects." 

But with Heard, she said, "that did not happen." Heard didn't get "even a small percentage" of the fame or boost that co-star Jason Momoa got after the blockbuster, according to Kovacevic.

"She was very well received in the movie at the time," the agent continued, "and then to have a complete downturn after that and have that coincide with constant tweets and negativity put out about her…I don't have a physical piece of paper of that evidence but it's the only logical conclusion I can draw."

She added that Heard has not obtained any roles in films with the same budget as Aquaman, which she estimated was between $150 and $200 million.

Amber Heard's Sister Details Fights Between the Actress and Johnny Depp

On May 18, Heard's sister, Whitney Henriquez, appeared in court to testify what she observed throughout the couple's relationship. According to Henriquez, the two were "incredibly in love" at first but "when Johnny was using, there would be a fight."

"There was always a period when they weren't getting along," she said. "It seems to oscillate very quickly. He would be sober for a little while and almost quickly fall off the wagon and start to use or drink, and there'd be some sort of big blowout."

She told the court that whenever the pair fought, "you can almost guarantee that something was gonna get destroyed."

By the end of the relationship, Heard was "physically unwell" and "emaciated," according to Henriquez.

Amber Heard's Sister Testifies That She Took Drugs With Johnny Depp

While on the stand, Henriquez said she had seen Depp drunk "countless" times during his relationship with Heard. She also testified that she had seen Depp be high on drugs "a lot."

"Personally, I've done cocaine and drank with him on a number of occasions. He almost always had weed of some sort," she said. "I've seen him take MDMA and, on an occasion, shrooms as well. I once saw him consume a zip-lock bag that had a bunch of unknown pills—some prescription, some not —and he just took them all at once to see what would happen."

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Amber Heard's Sister Alleges Johnny Struck Her During Argument With the Actress

Recounting an argument between Heard and Depp she had witnessed in March 2015 at the couple's penthouse suite, Henriquez alleged that she was struck by the actor during the incident.

"I'm standing on the top of the stairs, with my back to the stairs, and that's when Johnny runs up the stairs," she claimed. "He comes up behind me and strikes me in the back…I hear Amber shout, 'Don't hit my f--king sister.'"

After Heard allegedly smacked Depp and "lands one," Henriquez claimed Depp then "grabbed Amber by the hair with one hand and was whacking her repeatedly in the face with the other."

In his testimony earlier on in the trial, Depp denied hitting Amber.

Henriquez, who was living at the penthouse suite during the incident, said she later refused Depp's request for her to sign an NDA when she moved out of the home.

During a redirect from Depp's attorney, Henriquez said she wasn't injured during the staircase incident and was unsure who Depp was aiming for when he struck her.

Amber Heard Says Her Role in Aquaman 2 Was Reduced Due to Legal Drama

Heard alleged that her role in the upcoming movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was pared down due to her legal drama

"I was given a script, then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it," she testified on May 16. "That depicted my character and another character—without giving any spoilers away—two characters fighting with one another. They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch." Read more of her testimony here.

Amber Heard Testifies on Johnny Depp's Alleged Abuse

Heard took the stand on May 4, testifying about the first time Depp allegedly hit her while they were sitting on the couch. "He slapped me across the face and I laughed," she said. "I laughed because I didn't know what else to do. I thought this must be a joke because I didn't know what was going on. I just stared at him thinking that he was going to start laughing too."

She also testified that Depp critiqued her outfits and tried to impress her parents with "amazing" gifts.

Amber Heard Says She Stayed With Johnny Depp Because He Might Change

Amber said on the stand that she hoped their relationship would change after Depp tried to get sober. "He'd get clean and get sober and become this thing that made me feel so loved," she testified. "I just felt like he knew me and I recognized something in him…that I just got him."

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Lady Gaga’s Ex Christian Carino Took the Stand to Discuss Amber Heard’s Breakup With Elon Musk

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's former talent agent, Christian Carino, took the stand on April 27 and discussed his prior conversations with Heard about her breakup with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who she dated after splitting with Depp.

Carino, who is Lady Gaga's former fiancé, testified to text messages he exchanged with Heard in August 2017. In one message, Heard said she was "dealing" with a breakup, writing that she was "so sad" and hated that the news was made public. Carino said he believes she was referencing her split with Musk.

Carino texted back, "You weren't in love with him and you told me a thousand times you were just filling space." When asked in court what he meant by that, Carino said he was telling her she shouldn't be sad because she wasn't "in love" with Musk.

Heard wrote back that she wanted to "grieve and recover" in her own time. Carino said in court that he didn't know whether Heard was referring to Musk or her prior breakup with Depp. He later messaged Heard that she could "avoid" this problem if she stopped dating "uber famous people." 

E! News has reached out to Musk's lawyer for comment and has not heard back. The attorney previously told E! News Musk will not be testifying at the trial.

Johnny Depp Defends His "Burn Amber" Texts With Paul Bettany

During a redirect on April 25, Depp told the court that his 2013 text exchange with his friend Bettany—in which he wrote in part, "Let's burn Amber!!! Let's drown her before we burn her!!"—was a reference to a Monty Python sketch about burning witches.

"This is a film that we'd all watched when we were 10, and it's just irreverent and abstract humor," he said. "That's what we were referring to in those texts."

While the texts did show Bettany rebuffing the idea, Depp testified that Heard had an "abominable" relationship with the WandaVision actor.

"Ms. Heard despised Mr. Bettany because mainly we had become such close friends. For her, he was a threat and would take me away from her," Depp said. "If Paul Bettany was getting attention from me, that was a showstopper. It would cause all kinds of unpleasantries."

E! News reached out to Bettany's rep for comment but did not hear back.

Johnny Depp Wanted to Give a "Proper Goodbye" to Jack Sparrow and Pirates Franchise

While on the stand on April 25, Depp testified that he had "planned on continuing" to star in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise "until it was time to stop." The last film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2017, a year before Heard published her op-ed.

"Captain Jack Sparrow was a character that I had built from the ground up," Depp said. "I didn't quite understand how after that long relationship—and quite a successful relationship certainly for Disney—that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent."

Depp also claimed he had "many discussions" about a role in the sixth installment of the Pirates saga before Heard's op-ed.

"My feeling was that these characters should be able to have their proper goodbye, as it were," he said. "A franchise can only last for so long, and there's a way to end a franchise like that. I thought that the characters deserved to have their way out—to end the franchise on a very good note."

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Johnny Depp Claims Amber Heard Did Drugs on Their Wedding Day

While taking the stand, Depp accused Heard of being high on MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, on their February 2015 wedding day. "Amber, a couple of friends of mine…All of her gang were all partaking in the MDMA," Depp testified. When asked if he also took drugs that day, Depp claimed that he didn't do any MDMA or drink alcohol. He did, however, admit to smoking marijuana. E! News has reached out to Heard's rep for comment and hasn't heard back. 

Lily-Rose Depp Skipped Johnny Depp's Wedding to Amber Heard

When looking back on his February 2015 wedding to Heard, Depp explained why one of his kids wasn't interested in attending the big day. "My daughter Lily-Rose did not come to the wedding," he testified of the 22-year-old. "She and Ms. Heard were not on particularly great terms, for several reasons."

Amber Heard's Thoughts on Johnny Depp's Winona Ryder Tattoo

Back in the ‘90s, Depp got a tattoo in honor of his then-girlfriend Winona Ryder that read, "Winona Forever." Once they broke up, Depp changed the tattoo to "Wino Forever."

"I took off the last two letters," Depp testified. "I thought through pain comes humor. Humor has to come in there into the pain and that's how you play it out in the mind." The actor testified that Heard hated the tattoo and made him get a tattoo of her own name. 
 
"I was doing everything I could to bring a smile to her face as opposed to a frown and then the onslaught of whatever problems she was experiencing," he said. "I would try to wake her up with laughter, singing stupid songs in her ear. I generally just tried to keep bringing her mood up. Sometimes it worked, many times it didn't. But I tried."

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Johnny Depp Suspected Amber Heard Was Having an Affair With James Franco

During cross-examination on April 21, Depp admitted to having a heated conversation with Heard before they boarded a 2014 flight from Boston to Los Angeles. According to the actor's testimony, he feared Heard was having an affair with James Franco, her co-star in 2015's The Adderall Diaries. The day after the flight, Depp sent a text to Heard apologizing for his behavior writing, "Once again, I find myself in a place of shame and regret. Of course, I am sorry. I really don't know why or what happened but I will never do it again." E! News has reached out to Franco's team for comment and hasn't heard back. 

Johnny Depp Praises Amber Heard to Elton John

At one point in Depp's cross-examination, Heard's lawyer read an e-mail the actor sent to Elton John. The e-mail stated, "My kids have fallen head over heels in deep love with Amber, my girl, and that pressure off my shoulders is f--king gone. that is until the French extortionist attempts to brainwash them against her which I'm sure is imminent." Depp later verified the e-mail in court and confirmed that he was referring to ex-partner Vanessa Paradis as the French extortionist.

JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Johnny Depp Texts Paul Bettany About Amber Heard

During court, Heard's attorneys showed texts from a 2013 exchange between Depp and Paul Bettany. In one of the text exchanges with Bettany, Depp wrote: "Let's burn Amber!!! Let's drown her before we burn her!! I will f--k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead." Bettany pushed back on the idea stating in text messages, "I don't think we should burn Amber…" 

E! News has reached out to Bettany's team for comment and hasn't heard back. The actor previously expressed that it was "embarrassing" to have his texts made public when they were used in the U.K. libel case Depp brought against The Sun, which he lost. "During the marriage I didn't know them," Bettany told The Times when addressing Depp and Heard's marriage. "I wasn't around for any of that. We live in a world without context."

Johnny Depp Explains Why He "Lied" About His Severed Finger

Though Depp initially sought treatment at an emergency room for his severed finger, the actor said during his testimony on April 20 that he "lied" to the doctor there about how he got injured.

"I didn't want to get her in trouble," he testified. "I tried to just keep things as copasetic and as easy as possible for everyone. I did not want to put her name in that mix."

Previously, a judge presiding over Depp's libel lawsuit against The Sun did not accept that Heard was responsible for severing the actor's fingertip through allegedly throwing a vodka bottle at him, according to The Guardian.

Johnny Depp Says He Tried to "Make It Work" with Amber Heard

During his court appearance on April 20, Depp compared his contentious relationship with Heard to the abuse he and his father John Depp Sr. allegedly experienced at the hands of his late mother, Betty Sue Palmer.

"The only thing I learned to do was exactly what I did as a child—retreat, take a step back," he said. "Why did I stay? I stayed, I suppose, because my father stayed."

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Johnny Depp Claims Amber Heard Used His Childhood to "Verbally Decimate" Him

On April 20, Depp claimed in court that Heard used his embattled childhood against him, with him saying it "became ammunition for Miss Heard to either verbally decimate me or to send me into a kind of tailspin of confusion and depression."

Depp said the "only way to find any sort of peace was to try to walk away," adding that "there were times when I would just go and lock myself in the bathroom or anywhere that she couldn't get into."

Johnny Depp Says He Turned to Drugs and Alcohol as a "Numbing Agent"

Sharing that there were "constant clashes" throughout his relationship with Heard, Depp testified on April 20 that he used drugs and alcohol "to have something to distance me and distance my heart from those verbal attacks."

"I was more inspired by Miss Heard to reach out for a numbing agent," he said. "I had to have something to be able to maintain me."

read
A Complete Timeline of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's Legal Battles

Johnny Depp Calls Detoxing Under Amber Heard's Watch the "Lowest Point in My Life"

Depp's doctor, David Kipper, previously testified that the actor traveled to the Bahamas with Heard in August 2014 for a detox from the opiates he had been taking after dental surgery, according to The Washington Post.

During his testimony on April 20, Depp said broke down crying during that trip when he begged Heard to give him his medication amid a withdrawal.

"That was the lowest I'd ever felt as a human being," he recalled. "Tears streaming down my face, begging another human being, ‘Please, please give me the meds that will take this away.' And she would not."

Johnny Depp Alleges Amber Heard Put a Cigarette Out on His Face

While on the stand during a testimony on April 20, Depp claimed Heard once took a lit cigarette and "stomped it out on my face."

"This was after the finger had gone away," he continued, referring to the March 2015 incident in which his finger was severed. "She stubbed it out in my face, on my cheek."

E! News has reached out to Heard's rep for comment.

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Johnny Depp's Controversial Texts to Amber Heard

On April 13, text messages between Depp and his neighbor Isaac Baruch were revealed in court.
 
''I hope that Amber's rotten corpse is decomposing in a f--king trunk of a honda civic," Depp's text read, according to court footage posted to Twitter. Baruch acknowledged as real, saying, "...I see it here. Yeah, it was written."  
 
The messages were presented while Baruch was being cross-examined on the stand by Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft. E! News reached out to Depp's rep who said they would not be commenting.

Johnny Depp Denies Amber Heard's Sexual Assault Allegation

During opening statements, Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn claimed his client suffered sexual violence at the hands of Depp. He also alleged that the actress suffered domestic abuse by Depp that "took many forms," including physical, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse.
 
"You will hear in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered," Rottenborn said about Heard's upcoming testimony. "You'll hear that straight from her. She will get on the stand and she will tell you that. It happened."
 
A spokesperson for Depp denied the allegations, saying, "This follows a pattern of her elaborate, erroneous claims which have continued to change and evolve over time for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement."

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Did Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Engage in "Mutual Abuse"? 

Laurel Avis Anderson, a therapist who worked with Depp and Heard, testified on April 14 that the couple engaged in "mutual abuse."
 
"I thought he had been well controlled," Anderson said according to Variety when discussing Depp's past partners. "With Ms. Heard, he was triggered. They engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse." The therapist, who saw the couple several times between October and December 2015, testified that Depp denied being violent. At the same time, she said the pair, who wed in February 2015, had "terrible skills" communicating.

"Ms. Heard had a jackhammer style of talking. She was very amped up," Anderson testified. "He had trouble talking at a similar pace…She loved him. He loved her. She believed that she wasn't stupid. She knew what they were doing wasn't healthy."

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Johnny Depp & Amber Heard: Romance Rewind

Johnny Depp's Doctor Recalls Treating His Severed Finger

Depp's longtime doctor David Kipper participated in a deposition that was played in court on April 18. In the deposition, recorded in February, Kipper recalled treating the actor after his fingertip was severed. 

Kipper said he didn't know how Depp had gotten injured back in March 2015 when he cleaned the actor's wound in Australia. Depp previously claimed Heard "threw a large glass vodka bottle" at him and that the bottle hit the countertop where he had his hand and caused his finger to shatter. "I had to have three surgeries to reconstruct my finger and contracted MRSA three times," Depp said back in 2019 in his first declaration as part of his $50 million defamation lawsuit against her. "I feared that I would lose my finger, my arm and my life."
 
When asked in the deposition about a text message to Kipper from Depp that claimed the actor cut his own finger, Kipper responded, "I think that's what it said, yes." Kipper also testified that the actor told the ER doctor he'd cut his own finger with a knife.

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Why Johnny Depp Took the Stand

On April 19, Depp took the stand and explained why he chose to pursue the high-profile defamation case.

"I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in my instance, but stand up for my children who at the time were 14 and 16," the dad of Lily-Rose Depp, 22 and Jack Depp, 20, with ex Vanessa Paradis, testified, NBC News reported. "They were in high school and I thought it was diabolical that my children would have to go to school and have their friends or people in school approach them with the infamous People magazine cover with Miss Heard with a dark bruise on her face." The cover, released in June 2016, featured a photo taken from Heard's friend of the actress visibly injured.

Depp went on to say he never reached the point of striking Heard "in any way" nor has he ever struck any woman in his life.  

"It's been six years of trying times," Depp told the court. "It's really strange when one day you're Cinderella so to speak, and zero point six seconds you're Quasimodo. And I didn't deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who believed in me for all these years. I didn't want anybody to believe that I had done them wrong or that I had lied to them or that I was a fraud."

This post was first published on April 19, 2022, and updated on April 20, 21, 22, 25 and 27 and May 4, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 following additional testimony.

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