DEPP UNCORKED ‘WINO’ SLAP: EX
Hit me when I laughed at his retooled tat
Actor Johnny Depp was once so unbalanced and sensitive that he slapped ex-wife Amber Heard in the face just for laughing at his “Wino Forever” tattoo — which he had changed from “Winona Forever” after ending a relationship with actress Winona Ryder — a British lawyer claimed Wednesday.
It was one of several new allegations brought up during the second day of a libel case against The Sun, a U.K.-based tabloid that called him a “wife beater” in a 2018 article.
Sasha Wass, a lawyer representing the newspaper, also told the Royal Courts of Justice in London that Depp once dangled Heard’s tiny dog out a car window and hit her multiple times over the years out of jealousy and as a result of his drug and alcohol abuse.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, sitting in the witness box for the second day in a row, vehemently denied those claims. He has also accused his ex of suffering “extreme mood swings,” repeatedly assaulting him and possibly defecating on his bed once.
Depp, 57, and Heard, 34, have been accusing each other of physical and emotional abuse since ending their twoyear marriage in 2017. The “Aquaman” actress is not a target in the lawsuit, but she’s also attending the trial, which will likely turn into an unprecedented public showdown between two bitterly divorced Hollywood stars.
Wass said the 2013 assault over Depp’s odd tattoo was the first of many incidents of violence in the couple’s tumultuous relationship. The Sun’s attorney claimed Depp had “fallen off the wagon” and was abusing drugs and alcohol at the time, according to The Guardian.
“Ms. Heard laughed at that tattoo,” she said. “You were in fact acting like a wino and an alcoholic and felt very sensitive.”
Depp said he does not remember having an argument about any of his tattoos, but he did acknowledge battling substance abuse.
“I was dispirited, after 160 days or so I had broken my sobriety,” he told the court.
Wass also described an allegation Heard made years ago when Depp allegedly became enraged at a painting by the former model’s ex-partner, artist Tasya van Ree. The lawyer said Depp took the painting off the wall, tried to burn it and then slapped Heard when she tried to stop him.
The “Sweeney Todd” actor denied ever hitting his former partner while acknowledging he “could be jealous” at times. He also described as “absolute, utter falsity” a claim that he once dangled Heard’s Yorkshire terrier out a car window.
“That is not my idea of fun, although my sense of humor is rather skewed,” he said.
During her cross-examination, Wass also read an email that Heard wrote in 2013 but never sent, saying Depp was “like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and his behavior was a “full on disco blood bath.”
The award-winning actor called those claims a “hoax” and accused Heard of “building a dossier” as “an insurance policy for later.” He also said she herself was a drug user and did not support his efforts against his addiction.
“There were many times in our relationship, early on, where not only did she chop the cocaine with a razor blade into lines, she would then take the cocaine on her finger and rub it on her gums,” Depp said.
Heard is expected to testify later in the trial, which is scheduled to last about three weeks.
The Sun and its publisher, News Group Newspapers, have claimed their “wife beater” story was based on 14 incidents in which Heard accused him of violence in multiple locations, including Los Angeles, Australia, Japan, the Bahamas and on a private jet.