Heard often ‘drank two bottles of wine when Depp was teetotal’
FILM star Johnny Depp’s former estate manager today claimed Amber Heard regularly drank two bottles of wine a night in 2014 while the Pirates Of The Caribbean star was teetotal.
Ben King said he was informed that Depp “had been a drinker” when he was first hired in London in 2014, but was told the actor was in recovery and not drinking alcohol at the time.
He said he saw “a relatively large number of cases of wine” at the property in which Depp was staying with then-wife Heard in London.
“You found it strange given you had been told Mr Depp was teetotal,” said Sasha Wass QC to Mr King, who said he believed Heard was drinking but did not see Depp touch a drop.
“You reached the conclusion that Ms Heard drank two bottles of wine a night?” asked Ms Wass. Mr King replied: “It was a regular occurrence but not every night.”
He said he “made a mental tally” of the number of bottles of wine being drunk, in case he needed to restock, adding that he believed only one person was enjoying the alcohol.
“Apart from the tally-up of the wine, I could see wine glasses in the morning,” he said. Mr King worked for Depp as an estate manager in 2014 in London, in Australia in 2015, and the following year in Vancouver. He said he had never witnessed violence between Depp and Heard, but had seen wine on the floor and smashed glasses during the stay in Australia.
Depp, 57, is suing The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, after he was dubbed a “wife beater” in a 2018 article.
Heard, 34, claims she was subjected to repeated bouts of violence fuelled by drink and drugs, but Depp insists the claims are all invented.
Later today, actress Winona Ryder is due to give evidence in support of Depp, her former fiancé in the early Nineties. The trial continues.