Johnny Depp has claimed he’s a victim of domestic violence.
On his fourth and final day on the witness stand in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, the actor’s attorneys played audio from a conversation that took place after Amber had secured a restraining order against him in 2016.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star said he agreed to Amber’s request to meet in a San Francisco hotel room because he thought she might retract her accusation that he had abused her.
In the recording, Johnny proposed that the couple issue a joint letter saying they loved each other and the media had created a storm around them.
Amber resisted the idea and challenged him to go public with his claim that he was the one who had suffered abuse.
The actress said: “Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them I, Johnny Depp – a man – I’m a victim too of domestic violence.”
Johnny said he replied: “Yes, I am.”
In another audio clip from the meeting, Johnny threatened to cut himself with a knife.
He told the court: “That’s psychologically, emotionally where I was. At the end, I was broken … I thought the only answer is here, take my blood, that’s all I’ve got left.”
Johnny launched his lawsuit against Amber in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018.
While Johnny’s name was excluded from the piece, his legal team have argued that the op-ed implied that he “perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
The trial, which is still underway in Virginia, is attempting to determine if Amber’s Washington Post essay defamed Johnny.
Johnny has continuously denied her allegations against him, and is seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, along with attorneys’ fees and court costs.
The trial is expected to last until late May.
