Johnny Depp testified he’s never “struck a woman in his life” in his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
The actor launched a lawsuit against his ex-wife 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 former couple are currently squaring off at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star took to the stand on Tuesday to give evidence, and told the courtroom that Amber was bringing “heinous and disturbing” allegations against him and it was “diabolical” that his children had been exposed to them while at school.
He said: “It was a complete shock… it just didn’t need to go in that direction as nothing of the kind had ever happened.”
“(In) the relationship there were arguments and things of that nature, but never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life.”
The 58-year-old said at the time the accusations had “permeated” the entertainment industry and had become a “quote, unquote fact”.
He said: “It’s been six years of trying times, very strange when one day you’re Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds you’re Quasimodo.”
“I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who have believed in me all these years. I pride myself on honesty… on truth. Truth is the only thing I’m interested in.”
“Lies will get you nowhere, and lies build upon lies… I’m obsessed with the truth so today is the first opportunity that I’ve been able to speak about this case in full.”
Johnny said the case would be “exposing” both for him and his ex-wife.
He told he courtroom: “It never had to go in this direction. I can’t say I’m embarrassed because I know I’m doing the right thing.”
The actor said he had initially thought his relationship with Amber, who he met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2011, had been “too good to be true” but had noticed things that “might be a bit of a dilemma at some point”.
He said Amber developed a “routine” when he came from work of giving him a glass of wine and taking his boots off, and that she had become upset when he once disrupted it.
Johnny explained that after the success of the first Pirates Of The Caribbean film he was forced to increase his security to protect his family.
He said: “I’ve had worse jobs… (but) you realise that anonymity has left the building. It does mean you have to think creatively when you have little kids on how to take them to the park or the swings. It becomes a strategic mission.”
“Security guards kind of multiplied because you need to protect your street, your house, your kids. Endless.”
Johnny also opened up about his use of various substances, which he said had never been “for a party” but rather to “numb myself of the ghosts, the wraiths” from his youth. He said his “substance abuse” had been “grossly embellished” by Amber and that many of her allegations were “plainly false”.
The actor told the court his drug-taking had started at the age of 11, where he took his mother’s nerve pills “to escape feeling so much”.
He said: “(It’s) a pretty young age to do that, I can’t say that I’m proud of admitting to that but I have to say that I knew not what else to do. I’ve never used (the word) party in my life, I’ve never taken any substance for a party.”
“I have taken these substances over the years, on and off, to numb myself of the ghosts, the wraiths that were still with me from my youth. The characterisation of my ‘substance abuse’ that’s been delivered by Ms Heard is grossly embellished and, I’m sorry to say, but a lot of it is just plainly false.”
The trial continues at Fairfax County District Courthouse today.
“i didn’t deserve that. nor did my children. (..) i pride myself on honesty. i pride myself on truth. truth is the only thing i’m interested in.” – johnny depp about amber heard. #justiceforjohnnydepp pic.twitter.com/Weqed3rISx
— b ✧⡱ (@j0hnnycdpp) April 19, 2022
