Johnny Depp angry at Amber Heard party ‘as he’d lost $650m’

2.4k

View
comments

Johnny Depp’s personal assistant branded Amber Heard a ‘sociopathic show pony’ and ‘Machiavellian overlord’ who was the real abuser in their relationship – and pointed out that she had been arrested for domestic violence in 2009 after a screaming row with her girlfriend, a court heard today.

Heard allegedly grabbed Tasya van Ree’s arm in 2009 during a row before being booked for misdemeanor domestic violence. 

A text from Depp’s former personal assistant Stephen Deuters read out in court referred to a former neighbour of Ms Heard and her ex-partner hearing ‘screaming fights which were so loud, vivacious and frequent that it was a real problem being their neighbour’. 

In one message to a friend, he said: ‘I’ll have you know it’s on public record that Amber Heard has been arrested for domestic violence before.’ 

The court also heard today that Heard photographed Johnny Depp with ice cream spilled on his legs during a private flight before showing it to him the next day and saying: ‘Look at what you’ve become… look at you, it’s pathetic’.

Heard, 34, and her ex-husband Depp, 57, had been on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles in May 2014, where the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is alleged to have been drinking heavily and consuming a cocktail of drugs.

Meanwhile, Mr Deuters claimed today that Heard was the ‘abuser’ in her relationship with the actor, and said he had never seen her with any injuries.

Mr Deuters sent texts calling Heard a ‘sociopathic show pony, Machiavellian overlord, talentless c***’ after she filed for divorce.   He alleged that Heard subjected Depp to ‘years’ of physical and emotional abuse, and said he was ‘extremely surprised and outraged’ when it became public that she had filed for a temporary restraining order.

The former assistant, who is now European president of Mr Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, said in his written witness statement that he did not see any injuries on Heard or hear her mention about being the victim of abuse.   

Mr Deuters spoke after Depp finished giving 25 hours of evidence in London as his blockbuster libel case continues over allegations of domestic violence by Heard. The actor is suing The Sun publisher News Group Newspapers and its executive editor Dan Wootton over an article in April 2018 which labelled him a ‘wife beater’. 

Depp, who spoke about the picture of him with ice cream spilled on his legs, claimed he had been working 17-hour days at the time and had already agreed he was going to go to the Bahamas to detox.

He said: ‘I was obviously on the nod and very tired, falling asleep, and the ice cream then spilled all over my leg and then she took that … and showed me the next day and said ‘Look at what you’ve become … look at you, it’s pathetic’.’

Heard claimed that during the flight Depp had been drinking heavily and threw objects at her, pushed a chair at her, slapped her and kicked her in the back before passing out in the toilet.

Depp claimed Heard ‘began to harangue him’ as he was sketching in a notebook, he then tried to ‘playfully tap her on the bottom with his foot’, at which Heard took ‘great offence’ and ‘continued to verbally berate’ him.    

The Royal Courts of Justice in London also heard today:  

• Depp was asked if he ‘invented’ his version of events that he accidentally headbutted Heard;
• A nurse’s notes revealed Heard was ‘dishevelled’ and had ‘visible bright red blood’ on her lip;
• Heard’s father David sent Depp a text message saying he knew his daughter needed help;
• Depp said smoking cannabis is a ‘calming agent’ for him and wouldn’t put him in a rage;
• Heard told a nurse she was angry with Depp because he was late to her party.

Today, Depp accused Heard of ‘haymakering’ him after her 30th birthday party when they met in a hotel three months later – shortly after she had obtained a restraining order against him. 

Depp – who made the accusation against Heard in a secret recording revealed in court today – said the fight followed her 30th birthday party in April 2016, which he attended after a ‘bad meeting’ with a new business manager who revealed he had lost $650million after it was ‘stolen’ by his previous managers. 

He claimed Heard had been ‘drinking heavily’ and attacked him while he was reading in bed, punching him in the face four times before he grabbed her arms to stop her. The secret recording in which he discussed the alleged attack was made without Depp’s knowledge when he met her in a San Francisco hotel room in July 2016. 

Depp also admitted today that his forehead ‘may have clashed’ with Heard’s when he was trying to ‘grab her arms’ to stop her hitting him – but denied intending to headbutt her. He also said he could not have grabbed Heard by the head and punched her in the face because he was wearing a cast with a ‘little dinosaur’ on his broken finger.  

The former couple were both photographed arriving at court separately this morning, while Heard was also seen leaving Ham Yard Hotel in Soho.

Depp is said to have attacked Heard throughout their tempestuous relationship, which has been described as ‘a crime scene waiting to happen’, and put her in fear for her life – claims he says are ‘a choreographed hoax’. 

Meanwhile Depp’s former fiancée Winona Ryder, who starred with him in the 1991 film Edward Scissorhands, is set to tell the court via videolink later this week that he was never abusive or violent to her.  

Amber Heard was arrested for domestic violence against her then-girlfriend in 2009, court hears 

Depp’s former personal assistant Stephen Deuters claimed that Heard was the ‘abuser’ in her relationship with the actor, and said he had never seen her with any injuries.

Mr Deuters sent texts calling Heard a ‘sociopathic show pony, Machiavellian overlord, talentless c***’ after she filed for divorce. 

In one message to a friend, he said: ‘I’ll have you know it’s on public record that Amber Heard has been arrested for domestic violence before.’  

Heard was allegedly arrested for domestic violence against her then girlfriend Tasya Van Ree in 2009. She allegedly grabbed van Ree’s arm during a row before being booked for misdemeanor domestic violence. 

A text from Mr Deuters read out in court referred to a former neighbour of Ms Heard and her ex-partner hearing ‘screaming fights which were so loud, vivacious and frequent that it was a real problem being their neighbour’. 

Mr Deuters alleged that Heard subjected Depp to ‘years’ of physical and emotional abuse, and said he was ‘extremely surprised and outraged’ when it became public that she had filed for a temporary restraining order.

The former assistant, who is now European president of Mr Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, said in his written witness statement that he did not see any injuries on Heard or hear her mention about being the victim of abuse.   

Depp’s former personal assistant was ‘regarded almost as family’

Depp’s former personal assistant Mr Deuters was called to give evidence today after Depp finished. Mr Deuters said he has worked for Depp for 16 years, since June 2004.

Sasha Wass QC, for NGN, asked: ‘At the time of his relationship with Amber Heard, you were fulfilling the role of his personal assistant? And you were dealing with his needs, professional and personal?’ Mr Deuters replied: ‘Yes.’

Ms Wass continued: ‘Do you agree that you were more than an employee, you were a friend?’ Mr Deuters said: ‘Yes, I suppose so.’ The barrister then asked if Mr Deuters was ‘regarded almost as family’, to which he said he was.

Ms Wass put it to Mr Deuters that his ‘loyalty to him (Depp) has been rewarded because you are now the European president of his production company’. The former personal assistant replied: ‘Well, I got promoted to that position, yes.’

The barrister suggested: ‘You are financially dependent on Mr Depp for your income. And you are dependent on the Johnny Depp brand for your future income.’

Mr Deuters agreed that was the case. Ms Wass continued: ‘And if Mr Depp or the brand is damaged professionally, you in turn are damaged financially.’ Mr Deuters said: ‘Yes.’   

Depp’s former PA denies buying illegal drugs for the star 

Ms Wass then asked if ‘one of your duties as personal assistant to Mr Depp over the years has been to assist him in obtaining controlled drugs’.

She added: ‘I am suggesting that you involved yourself in obtaining controlled drugs, illegal drugs, for Mr Depp over the period when you were his personal assistant.’ Mr Deuters replied: ‘No, I didn’t purchase drugs.’ 

Asked if he had ever been ‘involved in the arrangements’ for obtaining illegal drugs for Depp, Mr Deuters said that he had but it would be a ‘very rare occurrence’.

Ms Wass QC continued: ‘You did so knowing full well, I presume, that the supply or being involved in the supply of controlled drugs is against the law?’ Mr Deuters replied: ‘Yes.’

The barrister added: ‘And you nonetheless did that because your loyalty was to Mr Depp and to make sure he got what he wanted?’ Mr Deuters said: ‘Yes.’

Ms Wass then read a text from Mr Deuters to Depp on an unknown date, in which he said he was ‘chasing … drugs’.

She also read another from Depp to Mr Deuters which read: ‘Must procure many, many more from Joel. Need them immediately, now. It must be acquired and repackaged as vitamin gel packs and put on a fast horse.’

Mr Deuters denied that the text referred to ‘controlled drugs’, adding: ‘In all likelihood, that would be the marijuana capsules and marijuana candies, which are legal to obtain in Los Angeles, which Mr Depp has a marijuana card for.’

Ms Wass suggested that ‘Mr Depp was very keen on marijuana as a recreational drug’. Mr Deuters said that he was ‘not for the first eight years I was with him’, but said that by 2013 he was.

The QC added that it was ‘not only marijuana, but he was also very keen on cocaine’. Mr Deuters said: ‘I don’t know if I would use the word keen.’ He added: ‘I would say occasional usage (of cocaine).’

Mr Deuters was then shown a picture of Depp, fully clothed, asleep on the floor of his home, which Ms Wass said showed him ‘unconscious or asleep’. The barrister asked: ‘Was this something that was quite a common occurrence?’

Mr Deuters replied: ‘I wouldn’t say common.’ He added he had ‘witnessed it on a rare occasion, but when I look at that (picture) it’s quite distressing to me’.

Ms Wass then said: ‘You were involved in passing drugs from Nathan Holmes that Mr Holmes had supplied to Mr Depp and you were ‘that man’ if you like?’

Mr Deuters said he did not recall a specific incident, but said it was ‘perfectly possible’, adding: ‘I would go and pick up maybe post from the production office… I wouldn’t always be aware of the specifics.’

Ms Wass said: ‘That was part of your job, illegal but part of your job.’ Mr Deuters replied: ‘I don’t recall… specifically Australia (in 2015) passing on any illegal substances.’

He added: ‘(In) the UK is probably the only time it has happened on a rare occasion.’

Former PA found it ‘remarkable’ how much Depp could drink without getting drunk

Lawyers for NGN allege that Mr Deuters also witnessed a number of incidents where Depp attacked Heard and that he was aware of his domestic abuse towards her.

Mr Deuters revealed that he knew about Depp’s attempts get clean of alcohol and drugs and found it ‘remarkable’ at how much the actor could drink. Mr Deuters added: ‘He could drink a lot, he has a strong constitution. He would drink but he would never get drunk, which was quite remarkable.’

Mr Deuters added that both he and others around Depp were concerned about his addiction to opiates, particularly in 2014 and that discussions had taken place on admitting him into rehab.

The court heard that Mr Deuters accompanied Depp and Heard on a private flight from Boston to Los Angeles in 2014, where the actor is alleged to have been drinking heavily and consuming a lethal cocktail of drugs.

He is then accused of attacking Heard and kicking her in the back, causing her to fall over and shouting obscenities at her.

Mr Deuters claimed that all he could see from where he was sitting on the plane was Depp sitting at a table drawing or writing on a notebook while Heard was arguing with him, becoming increasingly aggressive.

‘She was the animated one and he was the quiet one,’ he added.

Ms Wass asked Mr Deuters to explain a number of texts, which have been disclosed in court, outlining what took place on the flight, which forms a key part of the Sun’s case that Depp physically and emotionally abused Heard.

On May 30, Depp sent a series of texts to friend and fellow actor Paul Bettany. In one, he said: ‘I’m gonna properly stop the booze thing, darling… Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA this past Sunday… Ugly mate… No food for days… Powders… Half a bottle of whisky, a thousand Red Bull and vodkas, pills. 2 bottles of Champers on the plane and what do you get… ??’

Mr Deuters claimed that he could not understand why Depp sent the text and did not recall him drinking two battles of champagne or consuming any drugs.

Depp ‘made a playful attempt’ to tap her Heard on her bottom but did not deliberately kick her, says actor’s PA

Mr Deuters also told the court that Depp ‘made a playful attempt to tap her (Heard) on her bottom’ with his shoe but did not deliberately kick her to make her fall over.

Ms Wass alleged: ‘That was a proper kick to her back, you saw him (Depp) kick her as she was trying to get away from him. He was behaving like a monster.’ ‘I don’t recall that,’ replied Mr Deuters.

Mr Deuters was asked about whether Mr Depp was ‘screaming obscenities’ during the flight, as he said he was in his text to Paul Bettany. Mr Deuters replied: ‘I don’t recall.’

Asked if that was ‘something you are likely to forget’, Mr Deuters said: ‘No, I would remember that.’ 

He added that ‘it’s loud on those planes so you can’t hear… there’s no conversation to be had’.

Mr Deuters said he could ‘see him (Mr Depp) clearly’ from where he was sitting, ‘but I would not be able to hear. If something was being shouted… I would be able to see it, but I would not be able to hear it’. 

Ms Wass suggested Depp was ‘very aggressive and shouting at Ms Heard’, and said the actor had called Heard ‘a go-getter sl*t and a whore’. Mr Deuters denied it.

Ms Wass then asked if a word like ‘sl*t’ was the ‘sort of language Mr Depp would use to describe women’. She asked Stephen Deuters: ‘He would never use offensive language to describe women?’

Mr Deuters said he would not, prompting Ms Wass to ask if he ever used the word ‘whore’. He replied he did not. Ms Wass then asked: ‘C***?’ Mr Deuters replied: ‘No, never.’

Returning to the flight, Mr Deuters said ‘there was clearly talking going on between them, that was apparent but it didn’t seem to be a sort of screaming-obscenities slanging match.’

He added that there appeared to be an argument from Heard’s ‘body language’. Ms Wass asked if Depp ‘kicked Ms Heard in the back’.

Mr Deuters replied that Depp did not kick Heard in the back, but that he had slowly raised his foot towards her ‘back or bottom’.

Ms Wass said: ‘I suggest this wasn’t a playful attempt, this was a proper kick to her back, an assault and you saw that.’ Mr Deuters said: ‘No, I didn’t see that.’

Ms Wass asked if Depp was ‘behaving like a monster’ on the flight. Mr Deuters replied: ‘A monster? No. He was very quiet.’ He added: ‘I could tell he had a problem (with) the opiates because it was right before he kicked them.’

Ms Wass said: ‘But you have forgotten the ‘powders’ that he mentioned.’ Mr Deuters said: ‘I certainly don’t recall powders on the plane.’

Depp’s PA is allegedly heard saying: ‘No, I’m going to stay with this f****** idiot in case he gets sick’

The court was again played a recording allegedly made during the flight from Boston to LA, and Ms Wass put it to Mr Deuters that he could be heard on the recording saying ‘we have an hour’ and also ‘no, I’m going to stay with this f****** idiot in case he gets sick’.

Mr Deuters said that was not the kind of language he would use, before saying he did not recall ‘any sort of passing out’ on the flight.

Ms Wass then read out part of an email which was written by Ms Heard to Depp after the ‘Boston plane incident’, but never sent to him, which has previously been referred to in court.

She asked if Mr Deuters had seen Depp pass out, to which he replied: ‘Yes, I don’t recall specifically. One memory comes to mind in 2011, in a trailer after a long day of filming.

Ms Wass asked if Mr Deuters had seen Depp vomiting, which he said he had seen ‘once or twice, it wasn’t a regular thing’ and ‘certainly not’ on the plane.

She also asked if Mr Deuters had ever seen him being carried by one of his security guards, or if he’d seen the actor’s assistant have to break a locked door because he had passed out, and Mr Deuters said he did not remember having seen either of those things.

Mr Deuters was then asked about a text exchange between himself and Ms Heard after the flight from Boston to LA, in which he had written: ‘He is up. In the bathroom moving slowly.

‘Will let you know when en route how he is in the car. He is in some pain, as you might guess.’

Ms Wass asked: ‘What pain are you saying he might be in in this text message to Ms Heard?’

Mr Deuters said: ‘To the best of my recollection, I suppose if he went to the bathroom and then fell asleep, potentially he is hungover or potentially … I recall sometimes before he stopped using the opiates, it would affect his stomach.

‘It could cause quite unpleasant feelings in that area, I don’t know … I can’t say specifically.’

Ms Wass then read out another part of the exchange in which Mr Deuters said Mr Depp had ‘been sick’ and asked him: ‘Do you think that, having seen what he said he had done by way of drink and controlled drugs, that he may have just overdone it?’ 

Mr Deuters replied: ‘It’s possible, yes.’ He added: ‘The behaviour wasn’t the behaviour of a drunkard … nevertheless the consumption could be quite impressive, if you will.

‘So not necessarily behavioural, but physical, yes.’ 

Depp’s PA tells Heard that the actor ‘doesn’t want to be a f***-up anymore’

Ms Wass continued to question Mr Deuters on parts of the text exchange between him and Ms Heard.

One message read: ‘Hey. He’s up. He’s much better. Clearer. He doesn’t remember much, but we took him through all that happened. He’s sorry. Very sorry. And just wants to get better. Which allows us to make him follow up on that promise.’

The next read: ‘He’s teary. He doesn’t want to be a f***-up anymore – his words.

‘He’s got bad indigestion this morning but otherwise alright. He’s gone back to sleep for a bit. Spoken to C (Christie, Mr Depp’s sister).

‘We’re going to set him up with Dr Kipper on weds hopefully. He won’t be skipping it this time.’

Mr Deuters said in his answers that he supposed Depp was sorry because of the conflict and that he probably meant the actor wanted to get better with respect to the opiates he was addicted to at the time.

He added: ‘Our concern around that time was very specifically the opiates … that was our worry and that is what we were trying to help him with.’

Ms Wass then read out a message from Mr Deuters to Heard which read: ‘There feels like a sea change in him this morning. He just spoke about how bad he feels and he wasn’t talking physically.’

The barrister said: ‘Did you understand why he felt so bad?’ To which Mr Deuters replied: ‘Because I’m sure that he loved her and he wanted to make the relationship work, and I’m sure that any conflict was very painful and upsetting to him.’

Mr Deuters added that his reference in the texts to Depp being ‘incredibly apologetic’ and knowing that he had ‘done wrong’ was probably because he felt bad having broken ‘promises with regards to sobriety’. 

Depp penthouse employee ‘saw marks on Heard after Elon Musk overnight stay’ 

Trinity Esparza said she saw ‘no visible injuries whatsoever to Ms Heard’s face’ three days after Mr Depp, now 57, allegedly hit his ex-wife, 34, in the face with her own mobile phone on May 21 2016.

She said the first time she saw any marks on Ms Heard’s face that week was on May 27, the day the Aquaman actress appeared in court to obtain a restraining order against Mr Depp, which ‘disturbed’ Ms Esparza.

She also said that the following week, another resident in the building found a gift card – which she said fell out of a large plant sent to the building for Ms Heard – which read: ‘I had a wonderful weekend with you. E.’

Ms Esparza said in her witness statement that she saw ‘a number of marks on Ms Heard’s body’ – including bruises on her neck, plasters on her arm and a mark below her left eye – on a day in June or July 2016, shortly after Mr Musk had left the building looking ‘like he had just woken up with messy hair’.

The witness was giving evidence by videolink from California on Monday in Mr Depp’s trial against The Sun newspaper over an April 2018 article which labelled him a ‘wife beater’.

Ms Esparza, who owns the company that provided concierge services at the Eastern Columbia building where Mr Depp owned five apartments, said she had worked as the front desk supervisor for around six years and ‘frequently saw and interacted with Ms Heard in person’ for more than a year.

In her statement, she said she ‘saw and interacted with Ms Heard on May 23, May 24 and May 25 with a clear and unmarked face’.

Sasha Wass QC, representing The Sun’s publisher News Group Newspapers, said to Ms Esparza: ‘Isn’t it more accurate to say you saw her earlier in the week and you didn’t notice it?’

Ms Esparza replied: ‘That is not accurate, I saw her very clearly.’

She said she was not on duty on May 21, when Mr Depp is alleged to have arrived at the penthouse ‘drunk and high’ then became ‘enraged’ and threw Ms Heard’s mobile phone at her ‘like someone throwing a baseball’.

Ms Esparza said she saw Ms Heard on May 23 when she was walking through the lobby.

She said in her statement: ‘I looked her right in the face as we said hello and I saw no visible injuries whatsoever to Ms Heard’s face.’

Ms Esparza said she had ‘another encounter with Ms Heard in close proximity’ on May 24 and ‘once again, I did not see any visible injuries to her face’.

She added she saw Ms Heard again the next day and ‘did not see any bruises, cuts, swelling, red marks or any other injuries of any kind to Ms Heard’s face or body’.

Ms Esparza said she next saw Ms Heard on May 27, walking towards her ‘with a sad look on her face’.

The witness said: ‘Now, for the first time that week, she had a red mark underneath her eye.

‘Either later that day or the following morning, I saw media reports that Ms Heard had obtained a restraining order against Mr Depp for domestic abuse stemming from the May 21 alleged incident.

‘After seeing the news reports, Ms Heard’s battered face and domestic abuse allegations, I was disturbed.’

She said she knew ‘Mr Depp left on May 21 and had not yet returned’.

Ms Esparza said she decided to review CCTV footage from the previous few days and ‘that is when I realised with certainty that the story in the media did not add up’.

She said she ‘came across a video that made me even more sceptical of Ms Heard’s allegations’ – footage from May 24 of Ms Heard’s sister Whitney Henriquez apparently throwing ‘a fake punch into the visibly unmarked face of Ms Heard’, before the pair and their friends ‘all threw their heads back in laughter’.

Ms Wass said: ‘I suggest that there was no fake punch in the way that you have described.’

Ms Esparza replied: ‘There was a fake punch.’

Describing the incident when Mr Musk is suggested to have stayed at the apartment, Ms Esparza said: ‘On that late June or early July morning, Elon Musk came down from the only elevator that goes to the penthouses and asked me to fob him to the garage.

‘It was around 9am in the morning and he looked like he had just woken up with messy hair.’

She added that she did not recognise Mr Musk, but was told who he was by a resident who described him as his ‘hero’.

Ms Esparaza claimed Alejandro Romero, one of the concierges at the building, told her he had observed Mr Musk visiting Ms Heard ‘many times … for more than a year at that point’.

She added that Ms Heard came down later that day, saying she had lost her keys.

Ms Esparza said: ‘When we were standing next to each other, I could see a number of marks on Ms Heard’s body.

‘She had three small round bruises on the left hand side of her neck and two Band-Aids on her arm. Ms Heard also had a faint mark on her left cheek, below her eye.’

In response to questions from Mr Depp’s barrister, David Sherborne, Ms Esparza confirmed that she ‘absolutely’ did not have any ‘reason to be nasty’ to Ms Heard.

Asked about Ms Heard’s claim in her witness statement that she saw Ms Esparza ‘only rarely’, the concierge replied: ‘What is rare? She lived in the building, I saw her often.’

She also confirmed that she had seen Ms Heard from about ‘arms’ distance away’ at the time she says she didn’t see any visible injuries.

Mr Sherborne concluded by asking: ‘Had you seen the injuries, would you have said that her (Ms Heard’s) skin was flawless?’ To which the concierge replied: ‘No.’

Depp’s PA says he is a ‘domestic abuse survivor myself’

Mr Deuters was asked by Ms Wass about a further part of the exchange, in which he wrote: ‘He was appalled. When I told him he kicked you, he cried.

‘It was disgusting. And he knows it.’

He said that it wasn’t his job to be a ‘relationship counsellor’, adding: ‘As a domestic abuse survivor myself I don’t do well with confrontation, I always seek to mollify.

‘I wasn’t comfortable in this position or sending these texts, all I said was to say what I thought people wanted to hear, to be quite honest.’

He said that when Heard complained on the flight that Depp had kicked her, which he said was ‘visible’ to him but he couldn’t hear, that he and one of Depp’s security team intervened.

Ms Wass put it to Mr Deuters that, on the face of it, the text exchange was a ‘clear admission’ that Depp had kicked Heard and did not remember doing so.

He replied: ‘I understand that is how they could be interpreted, yes.

‘He (Mr Depp) said placate her, say what she wants to hear. Often I find myself in that unfortunate position.’

Mr Deuters said ‘kicked’ was the word Heard had used so he continued to use it, adding: ‘I obviously regret that, I didn’t realise what was being put together at the time.’

Depp’s PA is questioned over TMZ article in which he allegedly claimed texts were ‘suspicious’ 

Mr Deuters was then asked about an article on US entertainment website TMZ after the text message exchange between him and Ms Heard was leaked to the media, in which he was quoted as saying the texts were ‘suspicious’ because they didn’t have a date.

He responded that he ‘never spoke to TMZ’ and never had a conversation with anyone about those texts other than one of Mr Depp’s lawyers at the time – who he told that the messages were ‘taken out of context’.

Mr Deuters said he saw the article when it came out and it was ‘very distressing’.

Ms Wass asked why he did not contact TMZ about the article at the time and tell them it was inaccurate, and he said: ‘It didn’t occur to me. I didn’t really want to be involved at all.

‘I felt my goodwill was being thrown back in my face. In retrospect I would have loved to have had the courage to say that to TMZ.’

Earlier, Depp began his fifth day of evidence in the case by being asked about an alleged incident of domestic violence against Heard shortly after he lost the top of his middle finger in Australia.

Depp says he could not have grabbed Heard by the head because he was wearing a cast

Depp’s barrister David Sherborne asked Depp about an alleged incident in Los Angeles on March 23, 2015, when he is said to have grabbed Heard by the hair with one hand and hit her ‘repeatedly in the head with the other’. 

Depp said: ‘I flew back from Australia to LA to have surgery on the finger and, at that time, they had put a pin in it, in the broken bone, the fractured bone, but to no avail.’ He said he ‘ended up getting MRSA, it’s quite a painful disease’.

Depp explained he was wearing a cast on his hand with a ‘little dinosaur’ on it because he had decided if he was going to have to wear one he should have the children’s ‘wraparound’ on it as it was ‘more fun’.

The actor confirmed he was wearing the cast at the time of the alleged incident in the Eastern Columbia building. Mr Sherborne asked: ‘And with that cast on, would you have been able to grab her hair with one hand and punch her repeatedly with the other?’ Depp replied: ‘No sir.’

Mr Sherborne then asked Depp about an alleged incident during the couple’s honeymoon in July 2015 on a train in South East Asia. Depp confirmed that he and Heard were accompanied by security guard Malcolm Connolly for the entire trip, and said they ‘became quite friendly’ with the railway staff.  

He said the staff accommodated them by putting them in a separate dining car to avoid people taking photos of them during meals, and that Mr Connolly was always present in that car. Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Were you violent at all to Ms Heard during that train journey?’. To which the actor replied: ‘No, not at all.’ 

Depp says his forehead ‘may have clashed’ with Heard’s when he was trying to ‘grab her arms’

Mr Sherborne continued by asking about an alleged incident at the couple’s LA penthouse on December 15, 2015, which the court heard was ‘the night before Ms Heard was due to be filming for an appearance on the James Corden show, The Late Late Show’.

The barrister said Depp is alleged to have inflicted ‘a litany of violence’ on Heard on that occasion, before the actor is said to have headbutted his ex-wife.

Mr Sherborne said Depp’s evidence was that ‘your foreheads may have clashed’ when the actor was trying to ‘grab her arms’ to prevent her hitting him. Depp explained that he grabbed Heard to ‘lock her arms’ to stop her attacking him. 

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Were you violent to Ms Heard in any way?’ Depp replied: ‘No, sir.’ Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Did you intend to headbutt her?’ The actor said: ‘Not at all.’

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Did you deliberately strike her nose causing it to be ‘bashed up’, I think is her (Ms Heard’s) phrase?’ Mr Depp replied: ‘No, sir.’

Depp is asked if he ‘invented’ his version of events that he accidentally headbutted Heard

Mr Sherborne then referred to a recording of a conversation between Depp and Heard, made without the actor’s knowledge, when they met in a San Francisco hotel room in July 2016, shortly after Heard had obtained a restraining order. 

The recording refers to the ‘headbutt’ incident in December 2015, in which Depp can be heard to say: ‘I headbutted you in the f******… forehead. That doesn’t break a nose.’

The barrister asked if ‘Ms Heard asked for’ the meeting, to which Depp said: ‘That’s correct.’ Mr Sherborne then asked: ‘Do you remember in the restraining order how far it said you need to keep away from Ms Heard?’

Depp replied: ‘I believe it was something like 150 feet.’

Mr Sherborne referred to the suggestion by Sasha Wass QC, representing News Group Newspapers (NGN), that Depp had ‘invented’ his version of events that he had accidentally headbutted his ex-wife. The barrister asked if ‘you have invented this (account) since December 2019’? Depp replied: ‘Certainly not, no.’

Mr Sherborne later referred again to the ‘secret recording’ of Depp and Heard’s meeting in San Francisco in July 2016, in which Depp can be heard to say ‘you f****** haymakered me, man’.

The actor also says to Heard that ‘you came around the bed to f****** start punching on me’, the court heard.

The barrister asked what a ‘haymaker’ was, to which Depp replied: ‘It’s just a type of wild swinging… kind of a roundhouse punch, as it were. It’s a bit of a wild swing, but effective if it reaches the target.’

Mr Sherborne asked Depp if he remembered Heard denying she hit him in response, to which the actor replied: ‘No I don’t remember her denying that she hit me.’

The barrister then said it was suggested to the actor by Sasha Wass QC in cross-examination that by going to bed and reading on her birthday, he had made her angry.

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Mr Depp, did you deserve to be punched because you were reading in bed on her birthday?’

Depp replied: ‘Under the circumstances of being harangued and forced into some argument or altercation, I didn’t think that it was the wrong thing to do. I thought it was best to remove myself from the argument because it seemed ridiculous to me.’

The actor was then asked if that was something he did only once during arguments, to which he said: ‘No sir, quite a lot.’

Mr Sherborne also told the court that Heard said it was ‘unbelievable to imagine’ that she had either been ‘in a secret fight club’ or ‘plotting to do this for three years … just saving it up for the right time’ when she was not asking for any money, adding ‘no-one is going to believe that’.

Depp said he had no idea what ‘secret fight club’ referred to as he had never heard the term.

The actor said: ‘I thought it meant a couple of scenarios, the secret fight club I didn’t understand.

‘I thought it was a very odd alternative to the secret fight club and it seemed to me in a strange way … it was almost as if it was a reverse confession, if you will.

‘It seemed like everything she would accuse me of was something that she had done to me, so I started to see this kind of pattern, a mirroring, and when she said that I was real taken aback, for sure.’

Nurse’s notes reveal Heard was ‘dishevelled’ and had ‘visible bright red blood’ on her lip 

Mr Sherborne referred to notes of nurse Erin Boerum who had discussed the alleged incident with Heard in the aftermath. 

The barrister said Ms Boerum was a friend of Heard, who attended her birthday party and had seen the actress on December 17 while delivering medication.

The nurse said Heard was ‘dishevelled’ and had ‘visible bright red blood’ on her lip, which she told Ms Boerum was from the injury sustained in the argument.

Ms Boerum also examined Heard’s face and scalp and said she was unable to see bruises or clumps of hair missing. 

Mr Sherborne then asked Depp to explain part of his evidence about Heard suffering chapped lips.

The actor replied: ‘It was normal that she had pretty dry lips, she was constantly using lip balm and… she would pick the dryness, the dry skin.

Mr Sherborne said: ‘And what would happen when she did that?’ To which Depp replied: ‘Well just like anything, it would bleed if you are pulling the scab off.’

Heard’s father David sent Depp a text message saying he knew his daughter needed help 

Depp was then asked in court about a text message he received from Heard’s father, David Heard, in the aftermath of the alleged incident, in which he said he knew his daughter needed help with her temper, as the actor did for his problems with drink and drugs.

In the text, Mr Heard also wrote: ‘But I still love you like a father or brother.’ 

David Sherborne asked: ‘If Lily-Rose… if your daughter told you that her husband had slapped her repeatedly, punched her, deliberately smacked her in the nose, grabbed her by the hair, dragged her upstairs by the hair, pulled chunks of her hair out, would you still send a text to him saying ‘I love you like a brother or father’?’

Depp replied: ‘Definitely not.’

Depp reveals he was in a bad mood after just discovering he had lost $650million

Mr Sherborne then asked about an argument after Heard’s 30th birthday party at the couple’s LA penthouse on April 21 2016, which the actor attended after a ‘bad meeting’ with his new business manager.

Depp said: ‘I was in the early stage of learning from my recently acquired new business manager that the former business managers had (taken) quite a lot of my money. They had stolen my money.’

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘How much money had they taken from you?’

The actor replied: ‘It was put to me this way, because I had no idea about money or amounts of money.

‘Since Pirates (Of The Caribbean) 2 and 3, I had – and this is ludicrous to have to state, it’s quite embarrassing – apparently I had made $650million (£510 million) and when I sacked them, for the right reasons, I had not only lost $650million, but I was $100million in the hole because they (the previous business managers) had not paid the government my taxes for 17 years.’

Mr Sherborne said: ‘So, as you said, a bad meeting.’ Depp replied: ‘Very unpleasant and ugly, yes.’

Depp says smoking cannabis is a ‘calming agent’ for him and wouldn’t put him in a rage 

Depp was asked if he had smoked any cannabis between leaving the meeting with his new business manager and attending Heard’s birthday party.

The actor said: ‘It is possible that from the meeting, which was in my office in the conference room, that on my way down to Ms Heard’s dinner, it is possible that I would have smoked some cannabis in the car on the way.’

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘If you had smoked some cannabis, what effect would it have had on you?’ The barrister asked if smoking cannabis would have put him ‘in a rage’. Depp replied: ‘No, it’s a calming agent for me.’

Heard tells nurse she was angry with Depp because he was late to her party 

Mr Sherborne then referred to notes taken by nurse Ms Boerum, who attended Heard’s party on April 21, 2016.

Her notes read that Heard ‘appeared irritable and upset, she reports being angry with her husband because he’s late’.

The notes continued that ‘JD arrives at 10.15pm… appears in good spirits’, that the actor was ‘coherent… and sociable’ and that the couple ‘appeared affectionate to one another’ during the dinner.

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Does that accord with your recollection?’ Depp said: ‘Yes, sir.’ 

Depp took ‘great offence’ after Heard’s friend iO Tillett Wright photographed his daughter

Depp was asked why he stopped speaking to Heard’s friend iO Tillett Wright.

He told the court: ‘Mr Tillett Wright is a very close friend of Ms Heard’s and had become quite friendly with my daughter Lily-Rose who, I believe she was 14 or 15 maybe.

‘Mr Tillett Wright is an activist for the LGBT community and (he) was doing a series of photographs with a small interview with the subject and (he) had chosen my daughter Lily-Rose to be the subject of this essay or whatever he was doing.

‘It was to be about sexual preference and things of that nature and Mr Tillett Wright didn’t once ask myself, or the mother of our children Vanessa Paradis, for permission to interview or take photographs of my daughter and my daughter was represented, essentially, by Mr Tillett Wright’s writing and words, and I took great umbrage – I took great offence to that.’

Depp re-confirms he has ‘never hit a woman’ in his life

Mr Sherborne asked Depp about a text he sent to his sister in which he said he wanted Ms Heard replaced on a film, in which he wrote: ‘People don’t actually believe her lies???’

The barrister asked Mr Depp to explain what he was saying to his sister, to which he replied: ‘Well I was referring to the notion that something like these accusations coming out so strongly, and five years of ‘fear for her life’.

‘I just thought it was impossible, how can people buy it, that story, and yet they did.’

Mr Sherborne then said: ‘You explained to this court on Friday that in your 57 years you have never hit a woman.’

To which Depp replied: ‘That is correct.’

Depp says Heard would say ‘whatever was on her mind’ 

Mr Sherborne referred to Depp’s ex-girlfriends Kate Moss, Ryder, Ellen Barkin and Vanessa Paradis, and said Ms Barkin, who gave a deposition in support of Heard in another case, claimed he threw a bottle but not at her and did not say he hit her.

The barrister said it was suggested by Ms Wass in cross-examination that Heard was very different to Ms Paradis as she was a ‘strong, independent woman’.

Mr Sherborne asked: ‘Was Ms Heard someone who would never tell you off?’

Depp said: ‘No, no she was absolutely … whatever was on her mind, she would say. There was an understanding of truth between us.’

The actor was then asked if Ms Paradis was ‘submissive’, to which he replied: ‘Not remotely, no.’

He added ‘She wasn’t afraid to confront me on any subject matter’, before telling the court they were together for ‘a little over 14 years’.

Mr Sherborne reminded his client that Heard said she would take photographs to be able to show Depp what he had done because he would not remember the next day.

He said Heard said in her witness statement that she never imagined showing them as part of a court case, and then asked the actor if she had ever shown them to him.

Depp said there was one photograph his ex-wife had shown him, which was of him on the flight from Boston, at a time when he had been working 17-hour days, and that he had already agreed he was going to go to the Bahamas to detox after that.

He added: ‘I was obviously on the nod and very tired, falling asleep, and the ice cream then spilled all over my leg and then she took that … and showed me the next day and said ‘Look at what you’ve become … look at you, it’s pathetic’.’

Mr Sherborne said: ‘Did Ms Heard ever show any photographs of any injuries to you … to demonstrate what you had done?’ The actor replied: ‘No, sir.’

Depp then said he had never seen any of the photographs Heard had taken of her injuries before this court case started.

Depp says he asked his assistant for drugs for him and Heard

Before Mr Depp finished giving his evidence, Mr Justice Nicol asked about what have previously been referred to as ‘the Australia drugs texts’, sent between the actor and his then assistant, Nathan Holmes, in February and March 2015.

The judge asked: ‘At that time, where was Mr Holmes? Was he in Australia, was he in the United States?’

Depp replied: ‘I believe Mr Holmes was in Australia. I believe he was in Australia prior to my arrival so as to get the house set up.’ 

The judge then asked: ‘Were you asking Mr Holmes to acquire drugs for yourself and for Ms Heard?’

Mr Depp said he was asking for drugs for both of them.

The judge then thanked Mr Depp for giving evidence over five days and the actor left the witness box. As he left, he smiled and said to one of the court ushers: ‘I’m gonna miss you.’

Depp’s ex-fiancée Winona Ryder will tell court he was never abusive or violent to her

Meanwhile Depp’s former fiancée Winona Ryder, who starred with him in the 1991 film Edward Scissorhands, is set to tell the court later this week that he was never abusive or violent to her.

Ryder, who is due to give evidence via videolink on Wednesday, wrote in a statement: ‘We were together as a couple for four years. I counted him as my best friend, and as close to me as family. 

‘I obviously was not there during his marriage to Amber, but, from my experience, which was so wildly different, I was absolutely shocked, confused and upset when I heard the accusations against him.  

‘The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations.’

Stranger Things actress Ryder was in a relationship with Depp during the early 1990s, and he famously tattooed ‘Winona Forever’ on his arm – before changing it to ‘Wino Forever’ following their split.

What Depp is being questioned about at the High Court during the libel case

Depp has been questioned since Tuesday over 14 alleged domestic violence incidents, and his Hollywood lifestyle, past relationships with Ryder, Vanessa Paradis and Kate Moss, and his well-documented use of drink and drugs. 

The court has heard disputed accounts of a three-day trip to Australia, when Depp lost the top of his middle finger, and the so-called ‘defecation incident’ in which faeces were found in the couple’s bed after Heard’s 30th birthday.

Depp finished giving evidence today after around 25 hours in the witness box at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. 

NGN’s lawyers have said Depp first hit his ex-wife in early 2013 during a heated argument over a painting – which he allegedly tried to set alight – by Heard’s ex Tasya van Ree and attacked her on a number of other occasions before the couple split in May 2016.

The publisher claims Depp is a ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ character who snapped when he was drunk and on drugs and turned into ‘the Monster’ – an ‘alter ego’ he assumed when he would ‘lose control and become a violent thug’.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star has admitted giving misleading evidence about his drink and drug use before a flight from Boston to LA in May 2014 and ‘accidentally’ headbutting Heard during a row at their home in December 2015, but says his ex-wife’s allegations are ‘complete lies’ and that she was ‘the abuser’ in the relationship.

He accuses Heard of severing the top of his middle finger with a vodka bottle in Australia in March 2015 and of ‘building a dossier very early on’ in their relationship to align herself with the #MeToo movement.

The court also heard evidence last week on Friday afternoon from LAPD officer Melissa Saenz who attended the couple’s penthouse after the actor allegedly hit Heard in the face with her own mobile phone in May 2016, who said she ‘did not see any injuries’ or damage to the apartment.

Paradis, 47, and Ryder, 48, were originally due to give evidence this week, as was alleged Harvey Weinstein victim Katherine Kendall, 50, who accuses Mr Wootton of ‘deliberately misusing’ her quotes and ‘using the #MeToo movement’ to damage Depp.

Heard’s evidence was expected to begin on Friday morning – but it is not clear when the Aquaman actress will give evidence as Depp’s cross-examination has taken almost two days longer than scheduled.

The three-week trial, which is due to finish on July 27, will also hear evidence from current and former employees of Depp and Heard, as well as her sister and friends by video-link from LA.

The actor is suing NGN and Mr Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 with the headline: ‘Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?’

NGN is defending the article as true, and says Depp was ‘controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs’.