Actor Johnny Depp testified Tuesday that his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard is motivated by his desire to clear up “heinous and disturbing” allegations of abuse his ex-wife made against him six years ago and to prevent his friends and acquaintances from thinking he was a liar and a “fraud.”
“My goal is the truth,” he said in a Virginia court. “My goal is the truth.”
Wearing a suit and with his hair pulled back in a ponytail, Depp spoke of how his world turned on a dime in 2016 after Heard filed for divorce and then sought a restraining order against him, alleging physical abuse.
“It’s very strange when one day you’re Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds you’re Quasimodo,” he said on the stand, speaking in halting tones. “I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who have believed in me for all these years.”
Depp said that while his and Heard’s relationship had included “arguments and things of that nature ... never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life.”
Depp is alleging that Heard defamed him in a 2018 essay she wrote for the Washington Post in which she represented herself as a victim of domestic abuse. Though Depp was not mentioned by name in the essay, his lawsuit contends it clearly referenced him.
Depp’s testimony came during the second week of the civil trial, which kicked off April 11 with jury selection at Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court. The trial, which is being broadcast live via Court TV, is unfolding there because servers used to publish the Washington Post website are located in Fairfax County.
Heard was also present in court and listened to her ex-husband’s testimony with a neutral expression on her face. The trial is currently calling witnesses on Depp’s behalf, though they are being questioned by the defense attorney as well. Heard’s witnesses will come later.
Depp’s statements followed testimony from his friend and sound engineer and his former security chief, neither of whom said they witnessed any abusive behavior by the actor. The sound engineer said Heard “snapped” at him on a plane flight, abruptly yelling, “How dare you talk to me. Get away from me,” after he tried to tell her Depp cared about her.
Depp, 58, and Heard, 35, began dating in 2012 after meeting on the set of 2011’s “The Rum Diary,” which filmed in Puerto Rico. That same year, Depp separated from Vanessa Paradis, his girlfriend of 14 years and the mother of his two adult children, Lily-Rose and Jack.
Depp and Heard married in February 2015, then Heard filed for divorce in late May 2016. Days after filing, Heard accused Depp of abuse and was granted a temporary restraining order. Depp attorney Laura Wasser alleged at the time that Heard was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.”
Heard claimed in her court filing that during the “entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me. I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him.” She said the actor had “a short fuse” and an “exceptionally scary” temper.
Heard’s court filing came after an alleged domestic dispute on May 21, 2016, in Los Angeles, a day after the death of Depp’s mother. A friend of Heard’s called police in New York, who then alerted the LAPD. Officers who arrived on the scene found no evidence of a physical altercation and reported that Heard told them the altercation was only verbal. “At this point, we have no crime,” an LAPD spokesman told The Times in 2016.
At Heard’s court hearing on May 27, 2016, she produced a photo showing herself with a bruised face.
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(L.A. Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.)
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