Johnny Depp’s texts to Paul Bettany about ‘burning’ Amber Heard to be read aloud at ongoing trial
The trial of the year has started as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are said to be giving their best performances to win the $50 million defamation case that commenced at a Virginia court on Monday, April 11. It has been said that the high-profile drama will unveil several secrets, and one of them is a text exchange between Depp and Paul Bettany from 2013.
“I’m not sure we should burn Amber. She is delightful company and pleasing on the eye. We could of course do the English course of action and perform a drowning test. Thoughts? You have a swimming pool,” Bettany had allegedly sent this to Depp while referring to the ‘Aquaman’ actress. The ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ star replied, “Let’s drown her before we burn her,” before Bettany added: “My thoughts entirely. Let’s be certain before we pronounce her a witch.”
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The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star is suing Heard for a Washington Post op-ed in which she claimed herself to be a domestic violence survivor. Without naming her ex-husband, the 35-year-old actress had written in the piece, titled — ‘I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change’ — “Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age. But I kept quiet — I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim. Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”
Depp’s legal team argued that the essay contained a clear indication toward their client and sued her in 2019. In 2020, Heard countersued the 58-year-old actor, with whom she tied the knot in 2015 before divorcing him in 2017.
Reportedly, the alleged text exchange was also presented in Depp’s 2020 lawsuit against the British tabloid The Sun, which he eventually lost. The alleged messages are part of the current trial as well along with the 1,530-item Exhibit List. A source familiar with Heard and her team has said, “He threatened to ruin her career and inflict global humiliation upon her, and after losing in the UK, this is his last gasp attempt. A jury verdict against Johnny will send a message to the millions of women out there who suffer from intimate partner violence every single day, that they can move safely on with their lives. And it will allow Amber to move on as well.”
Meanwhile, it has been said that the first day of the trial began with high-voltage drama as Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez accused the ‘Never Back Down’ star of being the aggressor during the course of their relationship. Vasquez also alleged that Heard is "obsessed with her public image" and added: “She has been living and breathing this role for years now and she is preparing to give the performance of her life.”
Heard’s attorneys fired back accusing Depp of putting her through emotional, verbal, and physical abuse. Attorney Ben Rottenborn claimed that the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ actor wants to "haunt her, to wreck her career.”