in hiring Johnny Depp speaks of his ex-wife, Amber Heard as if she is controlling and abusive.
In his testimony, Mr Depp claimed to feel “pure hatred” towards Ms Heard. After two days of testimony, cross-examination of his lawyers began Wednesday. His testimony will continue for the third day on Thursday.
After the romance of their first year together soured, the couple regularly fought, according to her, with Ms Heard, who frequently released “sarcastic, demeaning, aggressive, violent, and venomous vomit” and sometimes resorted to violence. “It could start with a slap,” Depp said. “He could start by throwing a remote control at my head. It could have been a glass of wine in my face.”
“We need conflict. Violence is needed,” he said. And in the tape played by the former couple in front of the jury on Wednesday, Ms Heard can be heard admitting to “picking a physical fight” with Mr Depp.
Mr Depp also recalled an infamous incident between him and his ex-wife when he discovered “human faeces” on his side of the bed in the apartment he shared with Ms Heard. “It was so strange and grotesque that I could only laugh,” he said. Ms Heard denied that she or any of her friends left human droppings on the bed, saying in 2018 in Mr Depp’s UK defamation trial that the idea was “absolutely repulsive”. Jurors at a rigorous civil trial in Virginia have heard two very different stories about Mr Depp and Mrs Heard’s relationship. So far, Ms Hurd’s lawyers have portrayed Mr Depp as a partner prone to physical and Johnny deep sexual abuse and drug and alcohol use.
On Wednesday, Mr Depp opened up about his drug and alcohol use, saying he became addicted to prescription opioids after receiving Roxycodone due to a back injury. The actor testified that during his drug detox, Ms Hurd denied him medication that would ease withdrawal symptoms because, according to her, it was not yet time for the next dose.
The actor said he rolled on the floor in tears and begged. “I hate to say it, I have to admit it, but it was the worst moment of my life.”
Actress Amber Heard speaks to her lawyers during a libel trial against her in Fairfax County District Court in Fairfax, Virginia, on April 20, 2022.
At the scene – David Sillito, BBC News, Virginia
When Johnny Depp settled into the podium on the second day, he only glanced across the courthouse to where his ex-wife Amber Heard was sitting. She watched intently, occasionally taking a few notes, as Mr Depp began to describe her views on their relationship—a relationship that she considered abusive and abusive. On the first day of his testimony, his initial answers were marked by hesitation and a long search for the right words. On the second day, Johnny Depp immediately became a little more fluent, describing how their marriage fell apart and felt his behaviour became controlling and lessened.
It was, in his words, “an endless parade of insults and looks at me like I was a fool.” “I was not given the right to vote.”
The reason for the long description of his troubled relationship with his mother the day before had begun to make sense. Ms Hurd’s criticism and responses made him realize that he was having an affair with his “mother”.
He smiled slightly as he considered what he had said. He also talked about stardom and the inability to cope with everything written about him. “Your arms are too short to box God,” he said. According to her, her drinking was a means of coping with the pain of the relationship.
According to him, it was Miss Hurd who hit him. He retired by booking extra rooms when they travelled, so they had nowhere to run. As they stood up for recess, he looked straight ahead.
Mrs Hurd looked on; her face was expressionless. His side of the story has yet to be told.
During cross-examination, Ms Heard’s lawyer Ben Rottenborn asked Mr Depp to confirm that his name was not mentioned in the 2018 editorial. “I think it’s very easy to write an article and point to someone without giving their name,” Mr Depp replied. “There are subtle ways of writing things.”
The lawyer also asked why Mr Depp did not sue after Ms Heard accused him of assault two years earlier in May 2016. Mr Rottenborn also presented a divorce document signed by the couple in August 2016, which stated: “Neither party made false accusations for selfish purposes.”
The libel trial is now in its second week. The jury earlier heard testimony from the former couple’s celebrity therapist, who described how Mr Depp and Ms Heard engaged in “mutual abuse,” as well as testimony from medical professionals who treated Mr Depp while he was undergoing an opiate detox. . . Several high-profile witnesses, including entrepreneur Elon Musk and actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, will appear later in the trial, expected to last at least another month.