During a pre-recorded deposition played in court, Johnny Depp’s doctor confirmed that the actor didn’t pay him for a period of time and that he was worried about Mr Depp’s drug and alcohol use.
Dr David Kipper works with wealthy patients who pay a regular fee to always be able to get access to a doctor.
During his deposition on 22 February 2021, which was played in court on Monday, Dr Kipper was asked if he recalled not being paid for three months.
“I recall not being paid. I don’t remember how long – it always turned back around,” he said, adding that he couldn’t be specific.
Dr Kipper confirmed that he was concerned for Mr Depp’s health in June 2018. When asked if he was worried that Mr Depp could be taking drugs or consuming alcohol that wasn’t part of the protocol, the doctor said “I was concerned that that could be potentially an issue”.
He added that he never saw Mr Depp abuse his former wife Amber Heard and that he never witnessed any evidence of abuse by Ms Heard.
Dr Kipper noted that he found that Mr Depp was suffering from bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia, substance abuse disorder, and depression.
The doctor was present when part of Mr Depp’s finger was cut off in Australia, saying that while he cleaned his wound, he didn’t accompany him to the hospital. He told others to look for the fingertip and that a chef found it in the kitchen.
Dr Kipper said Ms Heard was upset but that she didn’t seek medical attention from him or private nurse Debbie Lloyd, adding that he didn’t witness any injuries to Ms Heard.
The defamation trial between Mr Depp and Ms Heard began on Monday 11 April in Fairfax, Virginia following Mr Depp’s lawsuit against his ex-wife in March 2019, arguing that she defamed him in a December 2018 op-ed published in The Washington Post.
The title of the op-ed is “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change”.
Ms Heard partly wrote that “like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age. But I kept quiet — I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim”.
“Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out,” she added at the time.
While Mr Depp isn’t named in the piece, his legal team argues that it contains a “clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser”, which they say is “categorically and demonstrably false”. Mr Depp is seeking damages of “not less than $50m”.
