Johnny Depp says 'childhood pain' made him do every drug under the sun but it was Amber Heard who assaulted him
The legal showdown that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard fans were waiting for finally began on July 7, at the London High Court as both the former spouses arrived for the beginning of the trial of the libel lawsuit that the 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' actor had filed against the News Group Newspapers, publishers of the Sun and executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article which referred to him as a 'wife-beater'. Taking to the witness box on the first day of the explosive three-week libel trial, Depp referred to the pain he suffered as a child which led him to become dependant on "every drug under the sun" by the age of 14.
"My experience of alcohol and stimulants began at a very young age," Depp said after taking the stand. "It was not a particularly stable or safe home life, there was a lot of unpleasantness in the house. I remember my mother used to ask me to get her nerve pills. Around the age of 11, it dawned on me that these pills calm your nerves and I brought them home and took one. That began what was the only way to numb the pain."
He added: "I'm well aware that there's been a lot of pain the way I was raised. When you are trying to figure out what it's all about when success and notoriety and all these things come to you and you don't quite understand why you have them and you don't feel very worthy, it's very confusing."
Sasha Wass, the lawyer representing the newspaper, then listed a series of drugs that the actor had allegedly taken since his childhood, including cocaine, cannabis, LSD, alcohol, cannabis, and prescription drugs. Upon being grilled by her on his notorious drug-taking habit which the lawyer claimed changed his character and made him violent, Depp the said he enjoyed learning about "the counter-culture" and followed in the footsteps of his "literary heroes." "I've always been interested in the counter-culture and many literary heroes of mine have been opium users. It has been a subject that I have learned about. Hunter S. Thompson was an idol of mine. I believe he has a very famous quote that says I don't condone the use of drugs or alcohol to anyone but they've always worked for me," he said.
As part of his questioning, when he was asked, "Have you ever taken drugs with Marilyn Manson?" Depp replied, "Yes. Twice, maybe."
In his witness statement, Depp however claimed that his drug-taking habit did not turn him into a violent man that Heard often referred to in her court deposition as a "monster." In fact, it was Heard who repeatedly physically assaulted him, Depp said. "I do not believe that I have an overbearing, manipulative or controlling personality, or that anyone who knows me well would describe me that way. In contrast, I believe that Amber had an obsessive need to control me and all situations in our relationship. I truly believe that most of the descriptions Amber provides are in fact reflections of her own behavior," he said.
When Depp was giving his testimony, Heard was sitting just a few feet away from him in the courtroom, something that would not have been possible had the actor's bid to ban her from the trial been successful. On July 4, a judge threw out Depp's bid to have Heard banned from the court until she was called by NGN as a witness. If she was banned she wouldn't have been able to witness her ex-husband give evidence against her.
This meant that as he answers questions about their turbulent married life, he will be able to feel "her eyes boring into him," a source told Daily Mail on Sunday.