DEPP CHARGES
Actor launches bombshells at ex in court
Johnny Depp took on perhaps his most dramatic role Tuesday — in a real-life courtroom.
On the first day of his libel case against a British tabloid, the actor took the witness stand to fight claims that he hit Amber Heard during their brief and tumultuous marriage, saying she was the one who repeatedly assaulted him.
The contentious allegations in the Royal Courts of Justice in London marked the beginning of a threeweek trial over Depp’s lawsuit against The Sun, which called him a “wife beater” in a 2018 article.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star and his lawyer, David Sherborne, vehemently denied the newspaper’s characterization and sought to paint Heard as the abuser in their relationship.
“She is a highly complex and aggressive individual who suffered extreme mood swings, would provoke endless circular arguments, and fly into violent rages,” Sherborne said in a written statement to the court.
Depp, 57, and Heard, 34, have repeatedly accused each other of abuse since ending their turbulent, twoyear marriage in 2017.
The “Aquaman” actress, who was also in court Tuesday, is not on trial, but the case will likely turn into a showdown between the “Rum Diary” co-stars. The former spouses were surrounded by paparazzi as they arrived by separate entrances at the neo-Gothic courthouse while wearing face coverings.
Two of the witnesses scheduled to testify in support of Depp are former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder.
The lawsuit stems from an April 2018 story headlined: “Potty — How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”
The eccentric “Sweeney Todd” actor accuses The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, of defaming his reputation. He said the article and Heard’s “sick” allegations hurt his career and have been “a constant issue in my casting.”
The Sun claims the story was based on 14 incidents in which the former actress accused him of violence in multiple locations, including Los Angeles, Australia, Japan, the Bahamas and on a private jet. Depp denies all accusations and has claimed that Heard attacked him with a bottle of vodka, a cigarette and other objects. He also says that she or one of her friends once defecated on his bed.
“As things tended to do, [it] escalated and got physical, ending with a bit of assault. Ms. Heard struck me,” Depp said from the witness box Tuesday.
“Whenever it would escalate I would try to go to my own corner, as it were… before things got out of hand,” he added.
During cross-examination, Depp acknowledged taking multiple drugs over the years — including cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms — starting when he was 11 years old.
Tuesday’s hearing also featured a video recording that was played by The Sun’s lawyer, Sasha Wass, showing Depp kicking kitchen cupboards and swearing before pouring himself a glass of red wine.
The actor said he wasn’t proud of his behavior, but he rejected Wass’ repeated claims that he has an anger management problem.
“I was angry, but that doesn’t mean I have an anger problem,” he said, also referring to an 1989 assault charge and another incident in which he was accused of damaging a hotel room. “I also express myself by laughing. I don’t have a humor problem.”