Johnny Depp ‘joked’ with Paul Bettany about setting Amber Heard on fire

Johnny Depp swapped ‘joke’ texts with British actor Paul Bettany about setting Amber Heard on fire and ‘f***ing her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead’ or drowning his ‘witch’ ex-wife, a court heard today.

The 57-year-old actor was cross examined on the stand by The Sun’s lawyer and asked about the series of text messages with Bettany and whether he thought they were a ‘respectful’ way to talk about his girlfriend.

He admitted it was not as he was peppered with questions in court about his extensive alcohol and cocaine abuse, and alleged complaints about Heard trying to stop him drinking and taking cocaine.

‘She didn’t like me using alcohol and drugs because she had some delusional idea that they turned me into… this said monster,’ he told The Sun’s QC Sasha Wass.

He is suing The Sun for libel after it labelled him a ‘wife beater’. Depp called the accusation ‘utter falsity’ and ‘fraudulent’ and has claimed Heard, 34, abused him throughout their marriage.

The libel trial will last three weeks and promises to be full of revelations about Depp and his celebrity friends as he fights allegations that he attacked Heard during their five-year relationship.

In other developments at the trial today: 

• The Hollywood legend admitted that he had joked about putting Heard’s dog in a microwave;
• Depp denied holding the tiny Yorkshire terrier Pistol out of a car window and ‘making howling noises’;
• He was accused of slapping Heard while trying to torch a painting by her ex-partner;
• Depp denied slapping his ex-wife three times after she laughed at his infamous ‘Wino Forever’ tattoo;
• Actor allegedly went ‘berserk’ after a woman fondled Heard during an MDMA trip in a trailer park;
• Heard wrote unsent email to Depp in which she compared living with him to living with ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.

Depp said his ‘sense of humour is slightly skewed’ as texts emerged in which he quipped with actor Bettany about ‘shaving Amber Heard’s beaver’ – a reference to a pet beaver they considered buying her.

In an explosive series of messages the pair appear to joke about setting Heard on fire before Depp said: ‘I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.’

The court heard how Depp told Bettany to buy Heard a pet beaver and record himself shaving the animal so that they could post the clip online titled: ‘Johnny Depp shaves Amber Heard’s Beaver.’

Reading from the shocking messages exchanged between Depp and Bettany, Ms Wass said: ‘(Depp says) first of all we buy Amber a pet beaver and then we take pictures of you shaving the pet beaver.

‘All this is to create a domain name “Johnny Depp Shaves Amber Heard’s Beaver”.

‘Clearly there are many spin-offs. You could poke, joke, punch.

‘Do you think that’s a respectful way of somebody, here Paul Bettany, talking about your girlfriend?’ the lawyer asked, to which Depp replied: ‘It is not a respectful way to talk about Ms Heard.’

Later in June Depp allegedly received a text saying: ‘I’m not sure we should burn Amber. She is delightful company and pleasing on the eye. We could of course do the English course of action and perform a drowning test. Thoughts? You have a swimming pool.’

He is said to have responded saying: ‘Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.’

Ms Wass said Bettany replied: ‘My thoughts entirely. Let’s be certain before we pronounce her a witch.’

The actor branded his ex-wife a ‘witch’ simply for trying to help him recover from his addiction, the lawyer said. But he claimed she reacted ‘aggressively’ to his alleged drug abuse and dismissed her claims he became violent while intoxicated as ‘delusional.’

The QC added: ‘This reference to her being a witch was a reference I say to her trying to stop you taking drink and drugs and you resented her for doing that and (she) was the moral police, that sort of thing.’

Depp replied: ‘(Bettany) knew of our arguments and fighting. He knew details. 

‘I was resentful of the fact that Ms Heard was very aggressive and quite insulting about my use of alcohol or, if cocaine came into the picture, she did not like Mr Bettany and I’m afraid she didn’t like me very much either and she was constantly harping on things that didn’t exist.’

‘She didn’t like you when you were constantly high on drugs and alcohol did she?’ Ms Wass said.

‘She didn’t like me using alcohol and drugs because she had some delusional idea that they turned me into… this said monster,’ came the reply.

In a draft email written by Heard and addressed to Depp but never sent, she allegedly lamented the failing relationship and said: ‘I just don’t think I can do this anymore. Half of you I love madly. The other half scares me.

‘The problem is I never really know which one I’m dealing with until it’s too late. The drinking assures me I’m dealing with the abused, scared, insecure, violent little boy…

‘I just can’t tell where the line starts. Also drugs seem to guarantee that I will have to deal with the monster again. Sometimes the hangover the morning after is just as bad as the full on disco bloodbath I’ve come to expect.’

The Texan actor allegedly said in the unsent message that Depp’s friends were ’embarrassed’ about ‘picking up a grown man from his own p*** and vomit.’ 

Depp denies holding Heard’s tiny Yorkshire terrier out of car window in a fit of rage 

The Sun’s lawyer Sasha Wass QC referred to text messages between Depp and his friend Paul Bettany about ‘the fact that Ms Heard was trying to wean you off drug taking’. 

Depp said: ‘She was quite adamant that I not drink anymore and she was quite adamant that I should stop any use of cocaine and recreational drugs.’

Ms Wass asked: ‘How does that last statement square with your suggestion that she didn’t support your sobriety?’ 

Depp replied that if someone was helping ‘an alcoholic or somebody who is believed to be addicted to drugs… would then themselves stop drinking in front of that person and stop doing drugs around that person’.

He added: ‘I would say that is full support.’

Ms Wass said Ms Heard would have two or three glasses of wine, prompting Depp to say: ‘Two or three bottles.’

The barrister replied ‘that is complete nonsense’ and referred to an incident where Depp was travelling in a car with Heard, her sister Whitney, her pet Yorkshire terrier, Pistol, a driver, and the actor’s assistant Nathan Holmes.

She said: ‘When you were in the car, you were smoking and you opened the window and you were angry and you were aggressive, rather like you were in that clip we saw yesterday – the monster side of your character.’ 

Depp replied: ‘No ma’am, I was not in that mode at all.’

Ms Wass said: ‘And you took hold of Pistol and you held her out of the window and started making howling noises.’ The actor responded: ‘I can say it is a very endearing image, but it is absolute utter falsity, it is fraudulent.’

The barrister then suggested Depp thought this was funny, to which he responded: ‘No ma’am, I don’t think hanging an animal, a small defenceless dog that weighs three pounds out of a window is fun.’

Ms Wass then asked if Depp had laughed at a suggestion of the dog being put in a microwave, to which he replied that was a ‘running joke’ between himself, Heard and others.

The Hollywood legend added: ‘I wouldn’t say that I was the inventor of that particular joke and also I wasn’t the only one who brought anything like that up.’

Ms Wass also asked Depp about an incident in which the dog ‘had eaten some hash, some cannabis – quite a lot’.

The barrister suggested it was about an ounce of hash, but Depp said: ‘I wouldn’t say it was an ounce.’ He added: ‘The puppy got a hold of a little ball of hashish and just scooped it up before I could get to it.’ 

Depp ‘went berserk after another woman fondled Heard during MDMA trip’ 

Depp went berserk and trashed his trailer with Heard inside after a woman touched her sexually, the court heard.

The actor threatened a woman named Kelly-Sue after he suspected she was making sexual advances towards Heard at a party in Hicksville in 2013, it was said.

He said he took her arm and asked her to stop before telling her: ‘Don’t take MDMA if you can’t handle it’ but denied being physically aggressive.

Ms Wass said: ‘You eventually said to her ‘Do you know how much pressure it would take to break your wrist?”

‘No,’ came the reply. ‘It was at nightfall… As the girls were congregating Kelly-Sue began to touch Ms Heard in ways that were beyond what one would accept as normal affection.

‘They were quite sexual and they were quite aggressive and she was clearly very high. I remember (Heard) was just sort of looking at her smiling. I thought it was an uncomfortable situation.

‘I removed Kelly-Sue’s hand from Ms Heard’s body and I told her not to do that. First of all that’s my girl, second of all it’s rude and invasive. She was quite glassy-eyed and she seemed pretty unsure of her surroundings… She seemed very stable on her feet.

‘I remember saying to her if you’re going to take this drug MDMA you should know if you’re able to handle it or not. Don’t take it if you can’t handle it.’ 

Heard allegedly blasted Depp over the altercation when they arrived back at his trailer and made him feel like a ‘bummer,’ he said today.

Giving evidence, Depp said: ‘The argument did start because of this incident with Kelly-Sue because when we arrived back to our trailer.

‘Ms Heard began to yell and scream at me that I had ruined everyone’s weekend and that once again I was the bummer and I had ruined everyone’s good time. So I was demeaned for being concerned.

‘I did get very, I was very upset at being treated yet again as the, pardon the expression, turd in the punch bowl.

‘That was undeserved. I didn’t feel I deserved to be screamed at and treated like garbage for doing something I felt was right and correct so during the height of the argument I punched the glass art deco light above the bathroom mirror.’

The court heard the wrecked trailer had been booked by a wedding party the following day and staff told Depp he ‘couldn’t just pay.’

Ms Wass said: ‘Do you remember a wedding party was due to arrive in a couple of hours and the owners were saying you can’t just pay for it, we have people coming in two hours?’

‘They never said that to me but I spoke to the manager and brought him to the trailer and he saw the damage. He said okay. He replaced it, I apologized and he said ‘no problem,” came the reply.

Ms Wass said that when Depp and Heard returned to their trailer that night they had ‘a big argument’, which Mr Depp said was correct.

The barrister said the row was prompted by two things: ‘The fact that you had consumed a lot of alcohol and drugs that night… and secondly that you were jealous’. 

Depp said: ‘When we arrived back at the trailer, Ms Heard began to yell and scream at me that I had ruined everyone’s weekend and that, you know, once again I was the bummer and that I ruined everyone’s good time, so I was demeaned for being concerned.’ 

Ms Wass suggested that the owners of the trailer park were ‘very upset’ the following morning because a wedding party was due to arrive in a few hours.

But Mr Depp said: ‘I spoke to the manager, brought him to the trailer, showed him the damage and then he went to his office and returned with a replacement bulb.’

Ms Wass referred to Depp referring to Heard as a ‘lesbian camp counsellor’, which the actor said he had not said. But the barrister took Depp to text messages between him and Heard in which he used the phrase.

The actor replied: ‘Yes, I used those words … in a text. I used that in a text, but the words were never uttered.’

Ms Wass asked if he agreed that it was a ‘highly offensive reference to her’.

Mr Depp replied: ‘Yes, it is.’ He added: ‘That was a very ugly thing to do.’

Depp denies trying to set fire to painting by Heard’s ‘lesbian lover’ 

Depp denied allegations that he slapped Heard while trying to torch a painting by her ex-partner Tasya van Ree. 

Heard claims that the 57-year-old actor hit her several times after an argument about the artwork, which was hanging in her bedroom, and tried to set it on fire.

The fight is said by The Sun to be the first instance of domestic abuse inflicted by Depp during their relationship.

Ms Wass asked if he remembered arriving at Heard’s home in Los Angeles ‘drunk and having consumed a cocktail of cocaine and cannabis’. Depp replied: ‘Not off hand, no.’

The barrister asked: ‘Would you describe yourself as jealous?’, to which Depp replied: ‘I am, yes. I can be jealous.’

She said: ‘You were very jealous and accusatory of Ms Heard, suggesting that she was having, or continuing, her affair with Tasya van Ree – it became an obsession of yours that night.’ 

Depp said: ‘I remember we had several arguments about Ms van Ree, I won’t elaborate, I will let you…’

The Sun’s lawyer then read out part of Depp’s witness statement in which he said he had asked Heard to remove the painting ‘as a courtesy’ to him.

Ms Wass asked: ‘When you asked her to remove the painting, according to your recollection, what did she say?’

‘Ultimately, no’, the actor replied. He then denied allegations put to him by Ms Wass that he tried to remove the painting and to set fire to it, saying each time they were ‘not true’. 

Depp denies slapping Heard after she laughed at his infamous ‘Wino Forever’ tattoo   

The 57-year-old actor was cross examined on the stand by Ms Wass who alleged that he slapped Heard in 2013 after she laughed at the tattoo during a period where he was drinking heavily.

Depp originally got the tattoo reading ‘Winona Forever’ in tribute to his then girlfriend Winona Ryder, and changed it after they broke up in 1993.

Today, Depp was asked by Ms Wass QC if he had taken cocaine at the time of the alleged slapping in March 2013. Depp said it was ‘difficult to recollect’ but it was ‘possible’.

Ms Wass put it to Depp that the actor first hit Heard in early 2013 – one of 14 separate allegations of domestic violence, all denied by Depp, relied on by The Sun in their defence. 

The barrister asked Depp about a tattoo he had done on his arm during his relationship with actress Winona Ryder, which read ‘Winona Forever’ and which he had changed to ‘Wino Forever’ after they split.

Ms Wass asked if he thought it was a joke at the time, to which he replied: ‘Yes, it seemed fitting.’

She then probed the actor further about the alleged incident in March 2013, which Depp agreed was at a time when he had ‘fallen off the wagon’ following about 160 days of sobriety.

The barrister put it to Depp that he had slapped Heard three times after she laughed at the ‘Wino Forever’ tattoo during a period where he was drinking heavily.

Ms Wass said: ‘You have had a tattoo on one of your arms when you were having a relationship with Winona Ryder and after you separated from Winona Ryder and after you separated from Ms Ryder you took the last syllable of her name and it read ‘Wino Forever’. That presumably was a joke at the time.’

She asked: ‘You don’t really like to have your nose rubbed in it that you’ve failed do you?’

Depp said: ‘I suppose the image of having my nose rubbed in something is I would say not a very nice way of dealing with someone who, especially if you think someone has a drink problem, rubbing their nose in it is in my opinion the wrong way to go. That’s what people have done to dogs for years.’ 

Ms Wass continued: ‘It was when Ms Heard laughed at the tattoo that read Wino Forever because at that stage you were in fact acting like a Wino, like an alcoholic, and you were acting very sensitive about it. Do you agree?’

‘I would say I was initially very disappointed in myself that after 160 days having broken my sobriety,’ Depp replied.

She said: ‘Do you accept that Ms Heard was making a joke out of your tattoo, ‘Wino Forever’?’

Depp replied: ‘I don’t recall any conversation.’ 

Ms Wass continued: ‘I suggest that that provoked disappointment, firstly, in you, and then anger in you, but you don’t remember.’ Depp replied: ‘I don’t recall any argument about any of my tattoos.’

Ms Wass said: ‘You then, Mr Depp, slapped Ms Heard across the face.’

The actor responded: ‘That is not correct, it’s untrue. It didn’t happen.’ 

Ms Wass said: ‘You slapped her more than once, because after you slapped her the first time, she didn’t react, she just eyeballed you, she just stared at you, and that made you more angry and you slapped her again.’ 

Depp answered: ‘That is patently untrue.’

Ms Wass then put it to the actor that he slapped his former wife three times in total during the incident, to which he replied: ‘I’m sorry but that is not true, you are mistaken.’

The barrister said Depp told Heard ‘for the first time about the person you have been calling ‘the monster’, your alter ego, the person who took over when you were under the influence of drink and drugs’. 

Depp replied: ‘No, ma’am.’

Ms Wass also told the court that Heard had told Depp ‘that she knew all about addiction because her father and, indeed, also her mother had also been drug users’. 

Depp said that was true and that he became ‘very close’ with Heard’s father and mother. But the actor denied that Heard had said ‘she could help him’ with his drug use.

The actor was read extracts from an exchange of text messages between him and Heard on March 12, 2013, in which he wrote: ‘Just thought you should know, there exists a book entitled Disco Bloodbath. That is all.’

The court heard Heard replied: ‘We need that book… is it about last Friday night by any chance?’ Depp then said: ‘How can you make me smile about such a hideous moment?’

The message ended: ‘I f****** love you, you c***.’

In a written statement about the incident, Depp said: ‘I understand from my solicitors that the defendants also allege that on 8 March 2013, Ms Heard and I were in her home in Los Angeles.

‘They state that I was getting drunk and high on drugs and was angry that Ms Heard had hung up a painting given to her by someone she had formerly dated.

‘Allegedly my team and Ms Heard asked her sister to come over to try to intervene with me, which she did.

‘After Ms Heard’s sister left, they state that I hit Ms Heard so hard that blood from her lip ended on the wall.

‘They state that I subsequently sent Ms Heard a text message referring to that evening as a ‘disco bloodbath’ and a ‘hideous moment’ and that the morning after this incident I tried to set fire to the painting.

‘I cannot remember if I was with Ms Heard at her home on March 8, 2013.

‘I know that at some point around this time I did ask Ms Heard to remove a painting that she had received from her former wife from the bedroom, as a courtesy to me.

‘I do not recall the exact date I asked Ms Heard to do this. I do not remember Ms Heard’s sister being asked to come over either by Ms Heard or by any member of my team when this happened.

‘I certainly did not hit Ms Heard at all, then or ever, and her accusation that I hit her so hard that blood from her lip ended up on the wall is precisely the kind of picturesque but absurd lie she often tells.

‘Insofar as I exchanged texts with Ms Heard on March 12th, 2013 (and I do not remember whether I did or not), my intention in apologising would have been, as always, to placate Ms Heard.

‘The words ‘disco blood bath’ and a ‘hideous moment’ would not have referred to any physical abuse. I also did not try to set fire to the painting in question at any point in time.’ 

Depp admits ‘partaking of cocaine’ during ‘Peruvian period’ with his assistant – and claims Heard used to ‘chop cocaine into lines for me’

New pictures offer a peak into Depp’s ‘Peruvian’ lifestyle on the second day of the 57-year-old actor’s libel trial.

One image shows a glass table littered with mountains of alcohol and drugs, with four lines of cocaine cut for use next to a credit card and tube. 

A skull and crossbones pillbox with ‘Property of JD’ written across the top, which Depp said ‘probably’ contained drugs, is to one side.

There are also two glasses of whisky – one half drunk, the other pint-sized – a rolled-up cigarette and a Keith Richards CD to hand.

Another picture shows Depp lying on the floor, allegedly passed out. 

The images, taken by Heard at her LA home in 2013, were shown to the High Court on the second day of Depp’s blockbuster libel trial.

Depp was due to be filming a documentary about Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards when he started ‘snorting more and more lines of cocaine’, the court heard.

He was cross examined by The Sun’s lawyer today, who asked the Hollywood legend if he was carrying cocaine in the pillbox.

The actor replied: ‘I would say I probably was.’

Barrister Sasha Wass QC said the photo showed ‘four lines of cocaine next to a credit card with a straw on top of the credit card’.

Ms Wass said when Heard’s sister Whitney Henriquez arrived at the house ‘she was confronted by the sight of Heard, who had obviously been crying’.

She then suggested that Heard and Ms Henriquez ‘remained with you for about four hours trying to persuade you to go to the film set’ for the Keith Richards documentary.

Depp said: ‘It was a day where Keith Richards and Tom Waits were performing together in the studio.’

But he added that ‘to me, it was more important to try to fix things, patch things up with Ms Heard’.

The court also heard how Depp had told screenwriter Stephen Deuters he thought his ‘Peruvian period’ had upset his former spouse.

He allegedly messaged Mr Deuters: ‘Amber is extremely upset and we’re dying… Do you want to speak with her while we’re there and give her some perspective on me and what I am and what I’m not? She thinks my Peruvian period has made me a monster and that I am ruining the relationship.’

‘So the Peruvian period is a reference to cocaine?’ Ms Wass asked, to which Depp replied: ‘Yes.’  

Ms Wass also suggested that, when Depp’s assistant Nathan Holmes arrived, he ‘refused to leave’ and ‘you were snorting more and more lines of cocaine’. 

Depp said he was ‘definitely partaking of the cocaine’ and said ‘Ms Heard’s sister Whitney was partaking of the cocaine as well’.  

He also claimed Heard would ‘normally’ chop cocaine into lines for him – which Ms Wass said never happened because Heard was ‘extremely disapproving’ of cocaine.

The actor said in court: ‘Well she poured me the whisky and cocaine was visible in front of her, and I have experienced many times with Ms Heard that she would in fact chop the cocaine up for me so that I could do the line and then she would press her finger into it and ingest it orally.

‘I’m not suggesting that she did that in this case (on a particular occasion put to him by Ms Wass), but I am suggesting that it was a normal duty that she felt obligated to do.’

Heard wrote unsent email to Depp where she called living with him living with ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ 

Ms Wass also read aloud an email written by Heard to Depp, which was never sent to him, in which she said the actor lived ‘in a world full of enablers’.

The email began: ‘I just don’t know if I can do this anymore. It is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Half of you I love madly, and the other half scares me. I can’t take him. I wish I could, but I can’t. The problem is, I never really know/understand which one I’m dealing with until it’s too late.

‘The drinking assures me that I am dealing with the monster. The abused, scared, insecure, violent little boy. I just can’t tell where the line starts.’

The barrister said: ‘Your answer to Ms Heard’s allegation that you were a serial domestic abuser was that this is a hoax.’

Depp replied: ‘Hoax is probably the best word one could use because the allegations, all of the allegations, are patently untrue.’

He added: ‘From hearing you read out this (email), that was not sent to me, and from some of the information I have garnered from my experience yesterday and having studied the case, I will suggest, ma’am, that it appears to me that Ms Heard was building a dossier very early on that appears to be an insurance policy for later.’

‘She is sociopathic, she is a narcissist’: Johnny Depp’s day one testimony about Amber Heard at blockbuster libel trial 

Yesterday Depp claimed he decided to divorce Heard after she defecated in their marital bed ‘as a prank’, and alleged that the actress had abused him throughout their marriage. 

Later in the trial, video was played appearing to show Depp throwing a wine bottle to the floor in a ‘drunken rage’ at Heard after telling her ‘you wanna see crazy? I’ll give you f***ng crazy’. 

During the first day of a three-week trial yesterday, the High Court was given a glimpse of Hollywood as a string of celebrities including Keith Richards, Sir Elton John, Marilyn Manson and Hunter S Thompson were mentioned.

Depp was quizzed on his drinking and drug abuse, his alleged violent outbursts and his attitudes towards women. 

In a written outline of the actor’s case, his barrister, David Sherborne, said the article made ‘defamatory allegations of the utmost seriousness’ against Depp, accusing him of committing serious assaults on Ms Heard and ‘inflicting such serious injuries that she feared for her life’.

Mr Sherborne said: ‘The articles amount to a full-scale attack on the claimant as a ‘wife beater’, guilty of the most horrendous physical abuse. The claimant’s position is clear – Ms Heard’s allegations are complete lies.

‘The claimant was not violent towards Ms Heard, it was she who was violent to him.’

He added: ‘The marriage was at times physical, at her instigation, and on occasions he found it necessary to defend himself from her violence. He is not a wife beater and never has been.’ 

The video shows the pair appearing to argue in the kitchen they shared together while Depp repeatedly slams cupboard doors and kicks at a cabinet. He is also heard shouting ‘motherf*****’ during the 90 second video.

Depp is seen to grab a bottle of red wine which he pours into a large glass, described by The Sun’s lawyer as  a ‘mega-pint’, while in a heated discussion with Heard.

He then appears to throw a wine bottle to the floor moments after telling Heard ‘I’ll give you f***ing crazy’. The footage ends when the actor appears to notice he is being filmed and grabs the device from the kitchen counter.

The video was shown yesterday on day one of the High Court legal battle, during which Depp told the court he was ‘having a moment’ and was ‘violent with some cupboards’ but said that ‘Ms Heard was not struck’.     

Depp on the start of his relationship with Amber Heard  

Depp started his account of his relationship with Heard by describing how he first met her when she auditioned for The Rum Diary, and later reconnected with her when they were promoting the film.

In one of his witness statements filed as part of his libel case Depp said: ‘She was then extremely friendly to me and keen to tell me about the break-up with her former partner that she had recently gone through. 

‘If I had known then what I know now, I would have seen the red flag warning signs, but I did not. 

‘She was beautiful, seemingly incredibly interested in me and my work, and I fell for it. She bombed me with what appeared to be love.

‘It was not until much later that I understood that she had an agenda, namely to get married to me in order to progress her own career and/or to benefit financially, and she knew how to bring it about.

‘For example, at the time, she repeatedly told me how much she admired my films; however, later in our relationship she admitted that she had never seen any of my films. She knew what she wanted and I was an easy target.’

Depp said their time together was ‘incredibly unhappy’, adding: ‘She is a calculating, diagnosed borderline personality; she is sociopathic; she is a narcissist; and she is completely emotionally dishonest.

‘I am now convinced that she came into my life to take from me anything worth taking, and then destroy what remained of it.’

Depp said the pair sought the help of a marriage counsellor who he says confirmed to him that Heard had a ‘borderline, toxic narcissistic personality disorder and is a sociopath’.

Depp on his ‘rage-filled fights’ with Heard  

According to Depp’s statement, Heard ‘continuously belittled’ him and called him a ‘fat old man’. He said he found it ‘devastating and heartbreaking’ to hear Heard call him a ‘horrible father’.

In addition to the alleged verbal abuse, Depp accused Heard of attacking him, and claimed she repeatedly punching him in the face and severing his finger by throwing a vodka bottle at him.

In one of his witness statements, he said ‘rage-filled violent incidents on planes were common with Amber’.

Depp said the pair were on a private chartered flight in late 2014 or early 2015 when Heard became ‘verbally aggressive’. He said she called him a ‘pussy’ and ‘spineless’ for ‘running away’ from fights with her.

‘Then she became physically violent and repeatedly punched me in the face. As I moved towards the back of the plane to get away from her, she followed me into the plane’s bedroom and punched me again in the face and the head,’ he wrote in his statement.

‘I pushed her away from me, onto the bed. I then grabbed a pillow and locked myself in the bathroom, where I slept for the duration of the flight’.

Depp described a period of time in Australia in March 2015 when he says Heard severed his finger – an injury which she says came about after he smashed a telephone into a wall.

‘Amber severed my finger with the second of two thrown vodka bottles at me in the early afternoon of Sunday March 8. Amber claims this was on the second day of a ‘three-day hostage situation’,’ he said.

Depp added: ‘Amber claims that during these three days, I subjected her to a variety of what sounds like torture and other abuse. These sick claims are completely untrue.’

Depp said Heard did not sustain any injuries at all that weekend, while he meanwhile sustained ‘grievous’ injuries including the severed finger ‘and a cigarette stubbed out on my cheek’.

He said that after she threw the bottle that cut off his finger tip, she put a lit cigarette out on his cheek.

‘The severity of these injuries brought about the personal realisation of the severity of the abuse that Ms Heard had inflicted upon me for so long. I couldn’t believe that we had come to this. I wondered what more she could do to me,’ he said.

The court also heard of an incident where Heard shouted at Depp in 2015.  

Depp’s barrister David Sherborne read an extract from a tape in which Heard said to her husband: ‘You got hit… but I did not punch you. I did not f****** deck you. I f****** was hitting you’.

Heard then went on to say ‘you are a f****** baby’, to which Depp said: ‘Because you start physical fights.’ Heard replied: ‘You are such a baby. Grow the f*** up.’   

Depp explained that both he and Heard recorded conversations during their relationship.

In her witness statement, Heard had said that she recorded their conversations ‘to remind Johnny of what he would do when using drugs and alcohol because he wouldn’t remember, or deny what he had said’.

Lawyers for The Sun allege that Depp’s violent outbursts were driven by alcohol and drugs, which left Heard with injuries and in fear for her life. They maintain that this justifies their article.

He admitted writing actor Billy Bob Thornton’s name in blood and paint on a mirror after one fight. ‘There was an incident once where Amber lied to me about Billy Bob Thornton, so I wrote his name,’ he told the court.  

‘The monster’ and how Elton John helped him go sober

Ms Wass said Depp began using the term ‘the monster’ to describe his drunken alter ego, as she revealed how Elton John helped him go straight.  

The lawyer referred to an email Depp sent to Sir Elton on March 22, 2012 with the subject ‘100 days’.

The email read: ‘My dearest Elton, 100 f****** days of clarity for an old reprobate t**t like me. No one would ever have believed it possible but for a select few, most importantly you.’

The message also referred to his ‘brain and liver resembling Mrs Thatcher’ – referring to the former prime minister – and spoke of the ‘eternal savagery against myself’.

It concluded: ‘I would have been swallowed up by the monster were it not for you.’

Sasha Wass continued that ‘the monster’ was Johnny Depp’s ‘alter ego’ and said the reference to it was ‘not a coincidence’.

But Depp said it was ‘a simple fact’ that he ‘would have been swallowed up by the monster were it not for you (Sir Elton John)’.

He explained that he meant he ‘would have been consumed by this poison – the monster here is death’.

Ms Wass continued: ‘You had a relationship with alcohol which was toxic… this is the story of your adult life, isn’t it? The fight between sobriety and alcohol and drug abuse.’   

Depp on his drug use  

Depp told the High Court his drug use started ‘at a very young age’, beginning when he took one of his mother’s ‘nerve pills’.     

Sasha Wass, QC, representing The Sun, listed a series of drugs she claimed the actor had been taking since his childhood, including cocaine, cannabis, LSD, alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs. 

The lawyer spent the entire morning grilling the actor over his notorious drug taking, which she claimed changed his character and made him violent.

Asked about his interest in drugs, the actor claimed he enjoyed learning about ‘the counter-culture’ and followed in the footsteps of his ‘literary heroes.’

The actor said: ‘I’ve always been interested in the counter-culture and many literary heroes of mine* have been opium users. It has been a subject that I have learned about.’ 

After admitting that he had regularly taken ‘every drug known to man’,  Depp replied: ‘My experience of alcohol and stimulants began at a very young age. It was not a particularly stable or safe home life, there was a lot of unpleasantness in the house.’

He added: ‘I remember my mother used to ask me to get her nerve pills. Around the age of 11 it dawned on me that these pills calm your nerves and I brought them home and took one. That began what was the only way to numb the pain.’

The Sun’s lawyers and Heard allege that drugs and alcohol turned Depp into a ‘monster.’

Ms Wass claimed: ‘We see you now very charming, polite and softly spoken but there’s another side of you Depp that’s less charming? There’s a nasty, angry side to your character.’

Depp replied: ‘I’m well aware that there’s been a lot of pain the way I was raised. When you are trying to figure out what it’s all about, when success and notoriety and all these things come to you and you don’t quite understand why you have them and you don’t feel very worthy, it’s very confusing.’

Depp denied that he had a tendency towards ‘destructive and violent’ behaviour or that he had problems managing his anger. 

Depp on his celebrity friends

Depp revealed that he considered Keith Richards a ‘friend and icon’ along with Hunter S Thompson and Marilyn Manson.

He told the court: ‘I have been very close to all three of them, they have been wonderful friends.

‘Keith Richards has been a role model for me. He’s one of my favourite guitarists and a great role model, yes.’

Depp also revealed that he spent £3 million ($5 million) firing the ashes of late author Hunter S Thompson from a canon, prompting Mr Justice Nicol to express surprise at the amount as he asked the actor to repeat the figure.

Depp added: ‘Hunter S Thompson was an idol of mine. He extolled the virtues of psychedelic drugs.’

Borrowing a quote from the late author, there was laughter in court as Depp declared: ‘I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.’

When asked about Manson, Depp admitted that they had taken drugs together but that their friendship was mainly based on music.

When asked by Ms Wass about his interest in drugs, Depp replied: ‘I have always been interested in the counter-culture and many literary heroes of mine, including Chaucer, who was an opium addict and Thomas De Quincey, author of ‘Confessions of an English Opium Eater, were into this subject.

‘It is a subject, as there are many other subjects, that I also have an interest in.’ 

Depp also claimed he ‘dabbled in drugs’ with the Avengers’ Paul Bettany – who played ‘Vision’ in the recent superhero franchise.

Ms Wass asked Depp: ‘You would supply Paul Bettany with whatever medication of controlled drugs he asked for, is that right?’ 

Depp replied: ‘If he was feeling anxious or he was feeling unpleasant, I would give him what he asked for.’

Ms Wass asked: ‘You would give him cocaine?’

He replied: ‘Yes, ma’am.’ 

Depp on trashing a hotel while staying with Kate Moss

The court heard Depp had wrecked a New York hotel room in 1995 causing $10,000 worth of damage while his then-girlfriend, understood to have been Kate Moss, was present.

‘Why did you trash this room?’ Ms Wass asked.

‘It had been a particularly bad couple of days and that day turned out to be the… apex of an unpleasant time,’ Depp replied.

‘I asked you a little while earlier, I asked you if you thought you had problems with anger management?’ the lawyer asked.

‘I don’t. I was angry, doesn’t mean I have anger problems. I was expressing my anger,’ Depp responded.

‘Right, so just so we’re speaking the same language, you express your anger through destructive behaviour?’ Ms Wass said.

‘I have at times in my life,’ Depp replied.

‘Yes, and this was not the only time by any means was it?’ the QC asked.

‘No,’ came the reply.

‘I also express myself by laughing, I don’t have a humour problem.’

Asked what had thrown him into such a rage that he caused $10,000 worth of damage, he said: ‘I had a friend who had been a friend for a very long time and he had for lack of a better word screwed me over if you will.’

‘And your then-girlfriend was there. Did you consider at the time she might be rather frightened by that?’ the lawyer asked.

‘She was in the bedroom asleep,’ Depp claimed.

‘She slept through the whole thing?’ Ms Wass asked.

‘Yes,’ Depp replied.

Reading from an interview about the incident, Ms Wass said: ‘It says after a spat with his then-girlfriend. What was all that about? The suggestion of the interviewer is that you had a spat with your girlfriend.’

‘That was the assumption of the media at the time because it makes for better press doesn’t it, but rather than assaulting a human being I assaulted a couch,’ Depp replied.

Ms Barkin, who was asked whether Depp’s behaviour ‘seemed out of control’ while she gave evidence in a separate US libel trial Depp has brought against Heard, said: ‘He threw a wine bottle across the hotel room in Las Vegas while we were shooting Fear and Loathing.’

When asked if his behaviour changed when he used drink and drugs, the court heard Ms Barkin had said: ‘He was not the same, he was high.’

Depp recalls River Phoenix’s drug death 

Depp recalled the night young starlet River Phoenix tragically died of a heroin overdose at the famous Viper Room nightclub he owned in West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.

Ms Wass, acting for The Sun, said: ‘River Phoenix was a young actor who collapsed and died in your club.’ 

Depp replied: ‘He passed away on the sidewalk just inside my club, yes.

‘From what I understand River began to feel unpleasant, he began to sweat and he went out of the door and once out of the door he collapsed.’

Ms Wass said: ‘You’re surrounded I suggest by people who will never really say no to you.

‘They will do anything you ask including supplying drugs to you.’

The actor replied; ‘No. There are people who work for me and work with me.’

Depp claimed he had suffered pain from feeling unworthy of his celebrity status when questioned about a ‘nasty, angry side to his character.’

‘We see you now as very charming and polite and softly spoken, but there’s another side to you Depp that isn’t so charming,’ the lawyer said.

‘I’m afraid that wouldn’t be for me to judge,’ he said. 

Depp on Vanessa Paradis 

Depp was asked about his excessive drinking towards the end of his 14-year relationship with Vanessa Paradis.

He told the court: ‘I would definitely say that towards the end of my relationship with Ms Paradis, the mother of my children, it was a very painful time – to break up with someone that you have been with for 14 years and that you have two children with.

‘So it was a very painful time and I was more than likely trying to numb myself as much as possible.’

He said he wasn’t sure if he was abusing drugs at that time, but was abusing alcohol ‘for sure’.

Depp said the family was ‘on the verge of falling apart’ and that Ms Paradis was ‘very, very sad’.

He added: ‘I didn’t like making her sad and I didn’t like making my children sad.’

Sasha Wass asked: ‘Did you smash things when you were living with Ms Paradis?’

Depp replied: ‘Over 14 years I imagine that I might have, over 14 years I imagine that she might have.’

Ms Wass then asked if the police were ever called to the former couple’s home in France, to which he responded ‘no, never’.

He responded to a further question about Ms Paradis’ approach to his drinking by saying: ‘Ms Paradis never had a problem with my drinking, and when I was with Ms Paradis for those 14 years, I didn’t touch cocaine, I didn’t touch marijuana.’

He added that he had even stopped drinking spirits when they were together, but consumed a lot of red wine. 

He also referred to her in one message as the ‘pain the a**e French ex albatross’ .

Depp on threatening photographers with a plank

Depp was also asked about a number of incidents in his past, including one in London in 1999 when he ‘chased off photographers with a piece of wood’ outside a restaurant. 

The barrister read a statement from the actor’s publicist which was included in a newspaper report of the incident, in which he said the paparazzi ‘intentionally provoked him ( Depp)’.

Ms Wass asked: ‘So you are provoked quite easily, aren’t you?’

Depp replied: ‘Not necessarily, no.’

Ms Wass said: ‘This was about somebody trying to take your photo.’

The actor replied: ‘It is a little more than that, but essentially you are correct.’

He explained that his then-partner Vanessa Paradis was ‘very pregnant’ at the time and he was concerned about her ‘being turned into somebody else’s circus’, adding: ‘I thought it was disrespectful.’ 

Ms Wass referred to another incident where Depp had allegedly acting violently. 

Referencing a 2018 news story about Depp being sued for punching a crew member on the set of the film City of Lies, Ms Wass said: ‘The headline is Depp punched crew member in drunken tirade. [It says] you took drugs onset.

‘It says Johnny Depp allegedly punched a crew member – Gregg ‘Rocky’ Brooks.

‘He claims he punched him twice in the ribs during a foul mouthed tirade outside Los Angeles. He also says he took drugs onset. Depp’s bodyguard was forced to remove the actor form the set. Is this article correct?’

Depp replied: ‘No. Mr Brooks brought a case against me. It’s ongoing.’

He explained that the altercation was sparked by the ‘aggressive’ behaviour of the alleged victim.

‘He very nastily and very aggressively told one of the extras – it was a little African American woman – and he said get the f– out of my way,’ Depp said.

‘I approached him and said what gives you the right to think that she’s less than you? What gives you the right to speak to her in such a disrespectful manner? It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in. So there was a bit of a banter.’ 

Depp on spending £24,000 a month on wine  

Ms Wass referred to Depp enjoying red wine ‘hugely’ and an interview in which he described as ‘nonsense’ that he spent around £24,000 on wine ‘because the truth is it was considerably more than that’.

Depp said ‘it was’, but pointed out that he did not drink all of that wine himself.