Amber Heard's libel testimony: From Depp's rape fantasy to hostage situation, 5 shocking allegations by ex-wife
As fans of Johnny Depp wait for the verdict of the dramatic libel lawsuit against News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun, as well as its executive editor Dan Wootton after being branded by the newspaper as a 'wife-beater' in one of their 2018 articles, it might be interesting to revisit the testimony of the actor's ex-wife, Amber Heard. The July case revealed shocking details about Depp and Heard's stormy private lives as the court heard allegations of severe domestic abuse, drug abuse, and extramarital affairs. Both the stars gave evidence against each other before Judge Andrew Nicol during a three-week hearing at London's High Court. After watching days of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star taking the stand and giving testimony, it was Heard's turn to give her witness statement and Heard did not hold back.
Here are a few highlights of her testimony:
Depp called her a 'w**re'
She said that while her former spouse initially insulted her by calling her names, it only got worse over time as he began using racial epithets, even telling her she "deserved" to be assaulted by Mexican and Black men.
"He demeaned me anytime I tried to wear anything that could be seen as sexy, calling me a 'w**re', 's**t', 'fame-hungry' and 'an attention w**re', but it got worse over time," she said. "He started saying things like 'well I'm going to have to watch you get raped' and 'I hope you get railed by a bunch of f**king fellas.' Sometimes he used racial epithets about the men I would be — or deserved to be — assaulted by, saying things like 'a slimy Mexican' or 'a fucking gang of big Black mother f**kers are going to f**k you and get their big c**k in you.'"
She also claimed that Depp had a lot to say about her looks. "His verbal abuse was often sexualized, but it was also about my looks and related to my work, saying things like 'no one will hire you when your t**s and a** sag' or calling me 'fat a**,'" she said. "Sometimes I would react and give it back to him, calling him 'old man' or 'limp d**k'. He would often refer to my verbal insults as 'right hooks' or 'sucker-punches'. For the most part, it wasn't worth responding because it only antagonized him."
Depp attacked her on a plane
On a flight from Boston to Los Angeles in May 2014, the 'Aquaman' actress said, Depp kicked her in the back during an argument. "At one point, I got up to move elsewhere on the plane and he said, 'are you f**king walking away from me?' and he kicked me hard in the back," she said. "He kept verbally abusing me, saying things like 'when we land, I can call some Black brothers who can f**k you if you’re so desperate for it.' Soon after the incident, on 25 May, Johnny texted me to say: 'Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret. Of course, I am sorry. I really don’t know why, or what happened. But I will never do it again. I want to get better for you. And for me. I must. My illness somehow crept up and grabbed me. I can't do it again. I can't live like that again. And I know you can’t either. I must get better. And I will. For us both. Starting today. I love you. Again, I am so sorry. So sorry... I love you and feel so bad for letting you down...Yours.'"
Depp held her hostage in Australia
Her harrowing recount of the "hostage situation" during the time she was visiting Depp in Australia while the actor was filming 'Pirates of the Caribbean' goes like this: "It is the worst thing I have ever been through. I was left with an injured lip and nose, and cuts on my arms," Heard alleged that during a fight, the actor grabbed her neck and shoved her against the fridge, tore off her nightgown and pushed her against a bar.
"He was pressing so hard on my neck I couldn't breathe. I was trying to tell him that I couldn't breathe. I remember thinking he was going to kill me in that moment," she said. Heard also alleged Depp "would blame all his actions on a self-created third party instead of himself, which he often called 'the monster'", among suggestions that when they were together he would force her to dress modestly.
Depp accused her of having affairs with co-stars
"He accused me of having affairs with each of my co-stars, movie after movie: Eddie Redmayne, James Franco, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Costner, Liam Hemsworth, Billy-Bob Thornton, Channing Tatum; even women co-stars like Kelly Garner," Heard said at the time, adding: "He also accused me of having affairs with stars I auditioned with, like Leonardo DiCaprio. He would taunt me about it — especially when he was drunk or high — and had derogatory nicknames for every one of my male co-stars he considered a sexual threat. For example, Leonardo DiCaprio was 'pumpkin-head'. Channing Tatum was 'potato-head.'"
Depp tried to push her sister down a flight of stairs
Heard admitted to striking Depp for the first time in March 2015, after years of alleged abuse because she was defending her sister, Whitney. After being questioned whether she had punched Depp “with a closed fist,” Heard conceded she had done so after he hit both of them. “He was about to push her down the stairs and the moment before that happened, I remembered information I had heard that he pushed a former girlfriend — I believe it was Kate Moss — down the stairs," she said. “I will never forget this incident. It was the first time after all these years.”