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Johnny Depp‘s cross-examination continued Thursday as he took the stand for a third day to testify against ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he has accused of ruining his reputation and career with false accusations of domestic violence.
As cross examination began, Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn asked Depp if he considered himself a “southern gentleman.” Depp confirmed, adding he’s done his best to meet these chivalrous standards.
Actor Johnny Depp testifies during his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022.
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Heard’s lawyer then asked about Depp’s relationship with Marvel star Paul Bettany, best known for playing Vision in WandaVision.
During a 2020 U.K. libel case, which Depp lost, several private and disturbing text messages with Depp were read in court.
These texts from 2014 were again read in court Thursday, including messages from Depp, who texted Bettany, “Let’s drown [Heard] before we burn her.”
“I will f–k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead.”
Multiple photos of drugs allegedly belonging to Depp were submitted as evidence to the jury. These included a photo of several lines of cocaine alongside whiskey and a small box with a skull and crossbones and the words “property of JD,” which could also be seen in the image. A photo of four large bags of marijuana was also shown in court.
Several text messages from Depp discussing drugs and drug usage were read aloud, including references to cocaine, marijuana and various pills.
After a brief break, the trial resumed and the court heard an audio recording of a conversation between Heard and Depp. In the audio, jurors listened to Heard tell Depp of his behaviour while allegedly under the influence of drugs, including vomiting in his sleep.
A photo was also shown of Depp asleep on the couch in his Boston residence with melted ice cream in his lap. Depp testified in the photo he had worked a long day and had taken opioids, and that’s why he fell asleep on the couch.
Audio recording of the actor moaning “like a pained animal,” according to Depp, was also played in court. It is unclear when the audio recording took place.
Tensions rose in the courtroom as Rottenborn continued his cross examination of Depp, casting doubt on whether the actor had been sober from alcohol for 18 months.
Depp spoke about this alleged sobriety during his testimony Wednesday.
Attorney for Amber Heard, Ben Rottenborn, attends the defamation trial against her at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022.
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After lunch, the cross examination of Depp continued. Heard’s lawyer began by questioning the actor about the couple’s time in Australia during 2015, when Depp’s finger was severed.
During his testimony, Depp admitted to dipping his severed finger in paint to write messages in both paint and blood on the walls and furniture in the house where he and Heard were staying.
On Wednesday, Depp testified about the details of his relationship with Heard, claiming she used his personal weaknesses as “ammunition.”
“It seemed like pure hatred for me,” he said, claiming Heard would name-call and escalate misunderstandings into “full-scale arguments.”
Depp told the court the reason he stayed with Heard was “complicated,” hypothesizing his behaviour stemmed from his own mother’s abuse against his father.
Actor Johnny Depp stands during a break in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022.
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He said Heard threatened suicide “many times” when he tried to leave, and also shared details of a particularly nasty fight that happened shortly after he asked Heard to sign a postnuptial agreement in 2015.
Although he claims he had been sober for “many months” at that point (with the exception of marijuana) he said he drank two or three shots of vodka.
As he was drinking, he said Heard threw two bottles of vodka at him. The first bottle missed the actor, but the second bottle, he claims, made contact with his hand, severing the top of his finger.
Depp said in the middle of his “nervous breakdown” he started to write “little reminders from our past” on the walls in his own blood, including “little lies I had caught her in.”
Depp also accused Heard of extinguishing a lit cigarette on his right cheek during the same incident.
The court also heard audio clips of the ex-spouses arguing. In one clip, Depp accused Heard of punching him, while Heard accused Depp of running away from the fight into other rooms of the house.
Johnny Depp displays the middle finger of his hand, injured while he and his ex-wife Amber Heard were in Australia in 2015, as he testifies during his defamation trial against Heard at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., April 20, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein / Pool via Getty Images
“I didn’t punch you, by the way,” Heard said in the clip. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you. I didn’t punch you.”
“Don’t tell me what it feels like to be punched,” Depp replied.
Depp also shared that after one altercation, where he claims Heard scratched him on his face, she returned to the room with what appeared to be blood on a tissue and she claimed he broke her nose.
Depp said when he retrieved the tissue from the garbage it appeared to be red nail polish on the tissue, not blood.
“Each time one of these incidents would occur it seemed to get worse and worse,” Depp said, referring to the level of alleged abuse.
Actress Amber Heard arrives at the courtroom for the defamation trial against her at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022.
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Before turning to cross-examination, Depp detailed some of the effects Heard’s allegations had on his career and reputation.
“I don’t know if she wanted me to be erased, or drop dead, or wanted me to stick around and allow her to ruin my life and go out of her way to shame me, and hurt my kids, and hurt people I’ve known for many, many years,” the actor told the court.
He said that as Heard’s allegations made their way through the media, he began to notice a change in how people treated him.
“You notice people looking at you differently. And then you notice calls stop coming from agents and producers.”
Cross-examination started at the end of the day on Wednesday, with Heard’s lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, quickly getting under Depp’s skin by narrowing in on the op-ed piece and a joint statement released by both actors, casting much of Depp’s other testimony aside.
The lawyer emphasized that in 2016 Depp signed a document stating “Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain,” contradicting what Depp now claims happened.
Testimony earlier this week heard Depp detail his troubled childhood at the hands of an abusive mother, the history and frequency of his substance use and the timeline of his relationship with Heard.
Speaking frequently of the impact the case and its details have had on his children, Depp said he’s also suffered from a personal fall-from-grace.
“One day you’re Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds you’re Quasimodo.”
The legal battle of the two stars has captured the attention of spectators around the globe, with both Heard, 35, and Depp, 58, claiming to be victims of violence. The initial court case began when Depp filed a $50-million defamation lawsuit over a Washington Post op-ed penned by Heard in late 2018 about domestic abuse.
Heard did not mention Depp by name in the article, but the actor alleges his reputation and career were still “devastated” as a result.
Depp’s lawyers have already called on several witnesses, including friends, the couple’s therapist, and the doctor and nurse who claim they treated the Pirates of the Caribbean actor for substance abuse issues.
In opening statements delivered by the former spouses’ legal teams last week, Depp’s lawyers claim Heard is “choosing to lie about him for her own personal benefit.”
Heard’s lawyers argued the opposite, claiming freedom of speech allowed the Aquaman actor to pen the Washington Post op-ed.
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