Johnny Depp is accused of slapping Amber Heard after she laughed at his tattoo

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Johnny Depp has been accused of slapping Amber Heard three times after she laughed at his infamous ‘Wino Forever’ tattoo on the second day of his libel case in London.

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

Depp, who is suing The Sun after it labelled him a ‘wife beater’, originally got the tattoo reading ‘Winona Forever’ in tribute to his then girlfriend Winona Ryder, and changed it after they broke up in 1993.

The 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, 34, during their five-year relationship.

Today, Depp, was asked by The Sun’s lawyer Sasha Wass QC if he had taken cocaine at the time of the alleged slapping in March 2013.

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.

When asked if he was taking cocaine in March 2013, Depp said it was ‘difficult to recollect’ but was ‘possible’.

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.

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

Mr 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.’ 

‘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.