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Inside Jonny Depp's final day of cross-examining Amber Heard in her defamation trial.

Jonny Depp trial.

By Jaelan RoyalPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Johnny Depp finishes final day of testimony in defamation trial

On Monday, Johnny Depp returned to the stand for the final day of his defamation trial against Amber Heard, fielding questions about his departure from Pirates of the Caribbean 6, past text messages and email exchanges, and audio recordings.

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in retaliation for her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. Despite the fact that Heard never mentioned Depp by name in the piece, his lawyers insisted that the references to him and her public abuse allegations were clear, claiming that the op-ed harmed his career and reputation.

After a year of marriage, Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016, acquiring a domestic violence restraining order against him and criticizing him for physically and verbally abusing her during "violent and volatile" occurrences while high on drugs and alcohol. Depp has called the allegations "heinous" and "not based in any species of truth " Heard was also said to be abusive to him, according to him.

EW has compiled a list of highlights from Day 8 of the trial, including a warning from Judge Penney Azcarate to attendees about loud laughter in the courtroom and allegations that Heard "despised" her ex-friendship husbands with actor Paul Bettany.

Heard accuses Depp of burning her with a cigarette in an audio recording

Amber can be heard trying to accuse Depp of flicking his cigarette out on her in new audio released in court, which he rejected on Monday. "Put your f--king cigarettes out on someone else," Heard says in the audio. "You f—king have consequences for your actions." Depp responds in the audio, "Shut up, fat ass." The actor denied that he put out a cigarette on his ex-wife, but allowed that ashes might have flicked in her direction. "There's no way under the sun I would flick a cigarette at her or burn her," he said. "That's ludicrous."

Depp felt 'betrayed' by Disney over his Pirates 6 exit

Depp returned to the subject after testifying about his departure from Pirates of the Caribbean 6, saying that he'd never come back to the franchise. He stated that he felt "betrayed" by Disney, the film's studio, for allegedly severing relations after Heard's domestic abuse charges.

Depp said "there was a deep and distinct sense of feeling betrayed by the people that I've worked hard for" in court Monday. Captain Jack Sparrow "was a character that I had built from the ground up" and had "put a lot of myself [into]," he testified, adding, "I didn't quite understand how after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship with Disney that… suddenly, I was guilty until proven innocent."

Depp's claim that he doesn't watch his own films elicits laughter and a warning from the judge

Depp cited Alice in Wonderland and, after a few seconds of struggle to recollect others, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them when his legal team questioned him about other film series he'd been associated with. The actor claims that he doesn't see his own movies, which contributes to his terrible recall. "I don't watch them. I feel better not watching them. What was the question again?" Depp said, eliciting laughter in the courtroom. Judge Azcarate did not take too kindly to the outburst, telling attendees, "Order in the court, or I will have you removed. Understood?" Depp previously provoked laughter in the courtroom last week, when he testified that he once gave his friend Marilyn Manson drugs "so that he would stop talking so much."

Johnny Depp testifies during his defamation trial against Amber Heard. Credit: STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Depp says Heard 'despised' his friendship with Paul Bettany, claims she made Bettany's teenage son cry

Depp's lawyer revisited his texts with friend and former costar Paul Bettany, with whom Depp said he had an "instant connection" because of his dry English humor. When asked about Heard and Bettany's relationship, Depp described it as "abominable," accusing Heard of making Bettany's 18-year-old son cry while on an island with Bettany and his family. "Ms. Heard despised Mr. Bettany mainly because we had become such close friends," Depp testified. "For her, he was a threat and would take me away from her. If Paul Bettany were getting the attention from me, that was a showstopper. It would cause all kinds of unpleasantries."

He recalled: "We were on the island with Mr. Bettany, his wife, and his four children. Ms. Heard and Mr. Bettany got into some debate over lunch and I just remember that whenever Mr. Bettany tried to make a point, she would talk over him. It got quite rude. She got mean and she got loud. And then his 18-year-old boy, he entered the conversation. [The topic] was something he studied in school. He knew all about it and voiced his opinion and Ms. Heard demeaned that young man to the point where he burst into tears and walked away. It was at that point that I had spoken to Ms. Heard and said, 'That behavior is unacceptable. You have no right to demean that boy. You cannot always be right. You should try being wrong sometime.' I thought it was best that she leave the island."

Heard suggests no one would believe Depp's account of abuse in the audio recording

In court, more shocking recordings of Depp and Heard's disputes were played. In one, Heard expresses his dissatisfaction with their relationship's ups and downs. "It takes you 20 seconds at most to go, 'F--- that. I hate you. I don't want to be with you.' If you don't want to be with me in life then you need to actually do it and forget that five hours ago, you said the opposite… Does that seem normal to you? You told me that you couldn't imagine your life without me and now you're throwing your ring on the floor. Does that seem normal to you?" Depp testified that he "wanted out" of the marriage but Heard "wouldn't let me leave" in response to the audio.

In another, the two mentioned "the abuse thing" and say that it's a two-way street. When Depp said he'd go public, Heard suggested that no one would believe him to be a victim of abuse as a man. "Tell the world, Johnny," she says in the audio. "Tell them, 'I, Johnny Depp, a man, I'm a victim too of domestic violence,' and see how many people believe or side with you.

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Jaelan Royal

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