Following two days of testimony in his $50 million (£38.2 million) defamation case against his ex-wife, lawyers for Amber Heard cross-examined Johnny Depp for a full day on Thursday. The trial has been postponed until Monday when it will resume at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia for the third week.
Depp is suing Heard for hinting in a 2018 op-ed that he abused her. Even though she did not name him, he alleges that her accusations have made it impossible for him to get film jobs, transforming him from “Cinderella to Quasimodo” in Hollywood.
The actor has testified about growing up with a violent mother, claiming that his relationship with Heard mirrored that, describing her as “bullying” him. Heard’s lawyers confronted him on Thursday regarding obscene text messages.
In court, private facts about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship are being revealed, including what their former marital counselor calls “mutual abuse” between the actors.
Depp, 58, issued Heard, 36, for defamation after she penned an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018 in which she discussed surviving domestic abuse. The $50 million case was initially filed in 2019, but it was postponed due to the epidemic until a jury was chosen on April 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, and opening remarks began the next day.
Depp lost his widely publicized U.K. libel action against British newspaper The Sun for labeling him a “wife-beater” in November 2020. The outlet’s allegations were found to be “substantially truthful” by the court.
The couple met while filming The Rum Diary in 2011 and married in 2015. Heard filed for a domestic violence restraining order against him in May 2016, alleging he of beating her. Depp rejected the allegations, and the couple reached an out-of-court settlement in August 2016.
Depp has stated that his “objective is the truth” as he works to clear his reputation in the trial, which is being broadcast live on many platforms. Heard, who has yet to take the evidence, said in a statement before the trial that “perhaps when this case closes, I can move on and so can Johnny.” I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Johnny, and it hurts me tremendously to see him suffer.
While most of the material, in this case, had previously been made public in the 2020 U.K. case, Heard’s claim of sexual assault and other types of domestic violence was not publicly known until the opening remarks.
Domestic violence by Depp “takes many forms,” including physical, emotional, verbal, and psychological torture, according to the Aquaman actress’ attorney, Ben Rottenborn. He went on to say that she “did endure sexual abuse at the hands of Depp…
You will hear about the brutality that she underwent in the most vivid and horrible ways.” That’s something she’ll tell you straight. She’ll take the witness stand and tell you that. “It took place.” Depp’s spokeswoman dismissed the charge, calling it “fictitious” and “for the sake of publicity.”
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