Johnny Depp claimed that his substance abuse was triggered by “constant haranguing” from his ex-wife Amber Heard on his second day of testimony during his libel trial against the actress.
Taking the stand at Fairfax County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Mr Depp alleged that his ex-wife made little digs at him during their marriage which would regularly escalate into fully-fledged arguments.
“I was inspired to reach out for a numbing agent by Ms Heard because of the constant clashes,” he said.
“I had to have something to distance me and my heart from those verbal attacks, I had to have something to be able to maintain me.”
Mr Depp, 58, is suing Ms Heard, 35, after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”.
Though she never mentioned Mr Depp by name, the actor and his lawyers have said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made in 2016 when the couple divorced and she sought a restraining order against him. Ms Heard’s lawyers say the article is accurate and does not defame him.
The two married in 2015 and she filed for divorce a year later.
Mr Depp claimed that Ms Heard’s insults would prompt arguments from which there was “no way in or out”.
“It was sort of a rapid fire, sort of endless parade of insults,” Mr Depp said.
He added: “Ms Heard was unable to be wrong. It just didn't happen. She couldn't be wrong.”
Mr Depp went on to suggest that some of the verbal attacks would later escalate into violence.
“If I stayed to argue, eventually, I was sure it was going to escalate into violence, and oftentimes it did,” he said.
Asked to describe the violence, Mr Depp said Ms Heard would “strike out.”
“It could begin with a slap. It could begin with a shove. It could begin with throwing a TV remote at my head. It could be throwing a glass of wine in my face,” Mr Depp said.
The trial, which is in its second week, is expected to last another month.
Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun, that labeled him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled he had repeatedly assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life.
