Five days into Johnny Depp‘s libel trial against The Sun, and it feels like we’re just getting started.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star took the stand yet again, this time directly answering more claims of abuse by Amber Heard. The Aquaman actress previously claimed Johnny had pushed a chair at her, kicked her, and threw things at her on a private flight from Boston to Los Angeles in 2014 — before eventually passing out.
Related: Johnny Confirmed Story Of Amber S**tting In Their Bed
The court saw another photo taken by Amber of the Oscar nominee passed out from the occasion — this one still gripping a pint of ice cream on his lap, the melted dessert spilling onto his jeans. (You can see the pic on DailyMail.com.) So… why would someone take a photo of this? Surely not for evidence in a trial years later…
Actually, Johnny says this was part of the emotional abuse he faced at his ex’s hands. He explained:
“I was obviously on the nod and very tired, falling asleep, and the ice cream then spilled all over my leg and then she took that… and showed me the next day and said, ‘Look at what you’ve become… look at you, it’s pathetic.'”
There’s such a thing as tough love, but if this story is true it sounds less constructive and more like bullying. Especially if it’s also true, as Johnny claims, that he had already agreed to go to a detox in the Bahamas.
Depp’s entire version of the flight flips the script on Amber’s, as he says the then-28-year-old “began to harangue him” as he was sketching in his notebook. He says rather than “kick” her he started to “playfully tap her on the bottom” with his foot — at which his wife took “great offense” and “continued to verbally berate” him.
As we’ve heard in leaked phone calls between the bitter exes, this was not the only accusation where she allegedly abused him.
Related: Johnny Claims Amber Called James Franco ‘Rapey’ Before Cheating With Him
Johnny told the court on Monday about an incident two years later after her 30th birthday party in April 2016, the same day he was told by a business manager that his previous managers had stolen $650 million from him. Something tells us the man was not in a party mood. But Johnny says it was Amber who was “drinking heavily” and punched him four times while he was reading in bed — before he was able to “grab her arms” to stop her.
This is obviously not the first time we’ve heard claims of domestic violence against Amber. In previously released audio of their conversations, she even admitted hitting him — and disturbingly told him no one would believe him.
Further helping Johnny’s side was the testimony of a few other witnesses. First, his former personal assistant Stephen Deuters agreed Amber was the “abuser” in the relationship, saying she subjected him to “years” of physical and emotional abuse. He also claimed he’d never seen any injuries on Heard — or heard her mention being abused — in all his time working closely with the couple. Deuters is now the European president of Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil, something the attorney for the defendant referred to as a reward for his loyalty. Hmm.
For some additional context, alleged text messages between Depp’s then-assistant and Heard leaked in 2016, showing Deuters acknowledging his boss’ abusive behavior. Deuters claimed they were fake, though one computer forensic analyst believed them to be real.
Next, in a sworn video statement, Trinity Esparza, head of the concierge company at the Eastern Columbia Building where the couple lived, attested she saw Amber throughout the week after her first public claim she’d been abused by Johnny — and that, wearing no makeup, she had no marks on her face. Then on Friday, May 27 she suddenly “had a red cut underneath her right eye and red marks by her eye.”
So if this timeline is accurate, Johnny couldn’t have done this??
What’s more, Esparza claimed she saw even more injuries on Amber’s face and neck on June 4, two weeks after her husband had left the penthouse apartment. She described a bruise on Ms. Heard’s left cheek and finger-shaped bruising on either side of her neck. Whoa. But if Johnny, who was apparently “out of the country” during this period, wasn’t around Amber at all during this time, who was? Esparza said she only ever saw one person with her at the time: Elon Musk.
Hopefully they can pull up security footage displaying the bruise marks appearing on the days Esparza claims…
The building’s security officer, Alejandro Romero, confirmed Elon Musk had visited “several times a week,” usually arriving around 11 p.m. and staying at least past 1 a.m. — and that staff was convinced they were having an affair. It’s clear Depp’s attorneys are not afraid of the tech billionaire’s lawyers, as this line seems to suggest Musk as a possible alternate perpetrator of the abuse. Wow.
Finally, there’s Johnny’s ex Winona Ryder, who will testify via video this week. In a little preview of what’s to come, the Stranger Things star released a written statement, released by The Times:
“We were together as a couple for four years. I counted him as my best friend, and as close to me as family. I obviously was not there during his marriage to Amber, but, from my experience, which was so wildly different, I was absolutely shocked, confused and upset when I heard the accusations against him. The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations.”
If that sounds familiar, it’s VERY close to the statement she released ahead of the other Johnny/Amber trial, the defamation case. But consistency in these testimonies is a good thing. And consistency across the sentiments so many of Johnny’s exes is an even better thing.
What do YOU think about the latest in this messy trial??
[Image via Lia Toby/Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.]
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