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Johnny Depp‘s cross-examination continued Monday as he took the stand for a fourth day to testify against ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he has accused of ruining his reputation and career with false accusations of domestic violence.
From co-stars to lovers to foes, jurors (and the world at large) have watched the former couple battle it out through their lawyers, as each fights to paint the other as the more toxic individual in the relationship.
So far, Depp has testified that he has never physically abused Heard or any other woman. He’s maintained that Heard was an instigator in the relationship, who would push him to become embroiled in profane arguments. He also said that Heard punched, kicked and threw objects at him over the course of their relationship.
Monday’s cross-examination of Depp began with several audio clips. In the first clip, Heard told Depp to “Go put your cigarettes out on someone else.” In the audio, Depp responds calling Heard a “fat ass.”
In another audio recording, jurors listened to Depp telling Heard that if he does not walk away from an argument, there will be another “bloodbath.”
“I’m not asking you to stay over walking away. I’m not asking you to have a bloodbath over walking away. I’m asking you to work it out,” Heard said in the audio clip.
Actor Johnny Depp testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 25, 2022.
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Further audio played in court included yet another argument between the couple, where Depp yells at Heard, calling her “a f-king c-nt.”
Audio continued to be submitted as evidence, with Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn directing the court’s attention to several short clips.
A text message from Depp to his agent was also read in court. In the message Depp says “She will hit the wall hard!!!! I can only hope that karma kicks in and takes the gift of breath from her.”
Actress Amber Heard listens in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 25, 2022.
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Afterward, another text message from Depp to his security guard was read aloud in which Depp wrote he would bite off and swallow the nose of anyone who would ask about his relationship with Heard after their divorce.
Judge Penney Azcarate talks to attorneys in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 25, 2022.
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Texts from Depp to his doctor in 2015 were submitted as evidence. In the lengthy message, Depp writes Heard is “as full of sh-t as a Christmas goose.” In the message, he complains about how “ambitious” Heard is and speculates he was “acquired” to advance her career.
“I cut the top of my middle finger off,” Depp writes in the same message to his doctor, though the actor testified this was not an admission of self-mutilation, but rather “just the way it was worded.”
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Last week he detailed for the court his version of the couple’s now-infamous trip to Australia, where they were staying while Depp filmed the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Depp told the court that Heard threw a vodka bottle at him, which shattered on his hand and severed the top of his middle finger.
Court was witness to various text messages and audio recordings in which Depp called Heard degrading names and appeared rageful.
After a brief morning break, Depp returned to the stand for questioning from his own counsel.
Depp testified he felt a “blinding hurt” when his ex-wife penned the Washington Post article at the centre of this trial. Depp added Heard’s article impacted his involvement in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, claiming the allegations against him have prevented the characters in the franchise from having a proper goodbye.
On the stand, Depp testified about the now-infamous text messages from Depp to WandaVision‘s Paul Bettany. In the messages, Depp called Heard a “slippery whore” and suggested that they drown and burn Heard before having sex with “her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead.”
Depp said while he is not proud of the language used in the messages, the claims were never serious. He claimed the messages about burning Heard’s body were references to “dry British humour,” namely Monty Python.
Throughout his testimony last week, Depp has repeatedly maintained that he bears the characteristics of a “Southern gentleman” and that he has not been addicted to illicit drugs or alcohol.
However, Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, presented secretly recorded video that showed a visibly intoxicated Depp violently slamming kitchen cabinets and smashing glasses in his Hollywood home.
Some of the most shocking evidence was presented at the end of Thursday’s cross-examination, when Rottenborn played for the jury a five-minute audio clip of one of Depp and Heard’s last in-person meetings in 2016.
In the recording, Depp can be heard repeatedly trying to convince Heard to cut him with a knife and threatening self-harm.
“Do you want to cut me somewhere?” he asks.
“Please don’t hurt yourself,” she says.
“If you don’t, I will,” he replies.
Several times throughout the clip, Heard repeatedly asks Depp not to cut himself and tells him she will not cut him, either.
The legal battle between the two stars has captured the attention of spectators around the globe, with both Heard, 36, 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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