Johnny Depp to return to the stand in his defamation case against Amber Heard
The former couple settled their divorce in August 2016, releasing a joint statement which read in part, “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love.”
The trial, which started on April 11, is set to last six weeks. Heard has not yet testified.
Depp began his testimony on April 19, and he is expected to continue being cross-examined by Heard’s attorney on Monday.
Here’s some of what came up during his testimony so far.
Frequent arguments
Depp denied the allegation and was not charged with any crime.
Audio recordings of some of their heated exchanges have been played in court, including one in which Heard discussed striking Depp.
“You didn’t get punched; you got hit. I’m sorry I hit you like this, but I did not punch you,” Heard purportedly said.
Depp has also claimed he physically defended himself at times, speaking about one incident in which Heard said her nose was injured. Depp said in court that his head connected with Heard’s forehead while he was trying to “restrain” Heard.
“There was not an intentional head butt,” the actor said.
A severed finger
“I didn’t want to disclose that it had been Ms. Heard that had thrown a vodka bottle at me and then took my finger off,” he said during his testimony. “I didn’t want to get her in trouble. I tried to just keep things as copacetic and easy as possible for everyone. I didn’t want to put her into that mix.”
Dr. David Kipper, who has treated Depp, corroborated portions of Depp’s story in a deposition played in court this week.
Heard’s lawyers have referenced statements Depp made to ER doctors at the time to argue that Depp cut off his own finger. Depp denies this.
Depp was also asked about his actions following his injury, including when he used his injured finger to write on the walls with a mixture of his blood and paint. Depp confirmed in court that he had done so.
Text messages
Depp testified he was “embarrassed” by the messages read in court and said he uses “dark humor” at times to express himself.
Other text messages were shared in which Depp discussed his drug use and alcohol use with friends like actor Paul Bettany and musician Marilyn Manson.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’
As Depp’s lawsuit focuses on the damage that has been done to his once lucrative career, some conversation was focused on “Pirates of the Caribbean,” the popular franchise that Depp led for five films over 15 years.
Rottenborn, Heard’s lawyer, argued that Depp was aware he was “likely out” of the sixth film or that Disney would drop or shrink his role in it, prior to the publication of Heard’s op-ed. Depp denied this.
“I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mentioned my name or not,” Depp said on the stand.
Depp sheepishly admitted in his testimony that he has not seen the first film in the “Pirates” franchise. He said, however, “I believed in the character wholeheartedly.”
However, when asked by Rottenborn, “If Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this Earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film, correct?”
“That is true, Mr. Rottenborn,” Depp replied.
Read More:Johnny Depp to return to the stand in his defamation case against Amber Heard