A nasty legal trial is presently engulfing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. And the drama continues to spiral out of control. Every day, more information about their tumultuous marriage and their infamous divorce emerges. Let us look at some of the most disturbing accusations they made in public against each other.
How the friction between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard began:
The couple met while filming The Rum Diary in 2011 and married in 2015. Heard filed for a domestic abuse restraining order against Depp in May 2016, alleging him of beating her. Depp rejected the allegations, and the couple reached an out-of-court settlement in August 2016. Depp agreed to pay her $7 million as part of their divorce settlement in January 2017. However, later in March 2019, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor filed a defamation complaint in response to an op-ed in which Amber claimed to have been a victim of domestic abuse. While she didn’t specify Depp by name, their separation had been a hot topic in the media for the past two years.
Related: Johnny Depp or Amber Heard: Whose career is in danger?
The Depp-Heard trial’s most shocking revelations:
1. Sexual assault charges on Johnny Depp:
Attorney Ben Rottenborn testified in court that Heard had been the victim of domestic violence, which included physical, emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse. He also stated that she was sexually assaulted by Depp in the most heinous manner.
2. Text messages about Amber’s rotting corpse:
The jury has heard many of Depp and Heard’s previous messages. one of them was an exchange between Depp and his longtime friend Isaac Baruch, when Depp wrote, “Hopefully that c—‘s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f—–g trunk of a Honda Civic!!” Other texts from Depp that were presented in court included one about drowning and burning Heard, with the addition, “I will f—- her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead.”
3. Depp’s reason for staying in an abusive marriage:
Johnny Depp and his sister Christi Dembrowski have stated that their late mother Betty Sue Palmer, was violent towards them as well as their father John Sr.
Stating why he persisted in his marriage with Heard amid the allegations of abuse, Depp said: “I suppose because my father stayed [in his abusive marriage]. And I didn’t want to fail. I thought maybe I could help her. I thought maybe I could bring her around. It wasn’t my girl, she had become my opponent.”
Related: Full account of why Johnny Depp stayed in a toxic relationship with Amber Heard.
4. Depp’s acceptance of substance abuse:
Depp admitted to doing drugs with prominent friends like Paul Bettany and Marilyn Manson while addressing his earlier issues with drug addiction. When asked if he has done drugs like cocaine with musician Manson, Depp said, “We’ve had cocaine together maybe a couple of times,” and joked, “I once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so that he would stop talking so much.”
5. Depp’s display of his healing finger:
One of the most controversial aspects of this trial has been the severing of Depp’s right middle finger. Depp alleges it occurred when Heard hurled a liquor bottle at his hand while it was resting on a bar counter. However, to keep Heard’s name out of the incident, he claimed he lied in the hospital and pretended that it was caught in an accordion door. Depp showed the courtroom his now-healed damaged finger and described it as “funny-looking.”
6. Heard’s acceptance of starting physical fights:
Heard confessed to starting a physical fight in audiotapes played by Depp’s legal team, where she fought with him that she didn’t “punch” him but “hit” him. “You didn’t get punched; you got hit. I’m sorry I hit you like this, but I did not punch you,” she told Depp. “I did not f—–g deck you. I f—–g was hitting you. But you’re fine. I did not hurt you. I was hitting you,” she could be heard saying.
7. Depp’s jealousy of Heard’s co-stars:
Depp was probed by Attorney Rottenborn about his “insecurities” over Heard’s friendship with her co-stars. He also mentioned a tense exchange between Depp and Heard about a movie part with James Franco, with whom he believed she was having relations. Depp admitted that occasionally, he did feel jealous when Amber was out with others. Heard’s attorney also played an audiotape of Depp saying to her, “I become irrational when you’re doing movies. I become jealous and f—ing weird and we fight a lot more.”
What can we expect next on the Amber-Depp trial:
According to reports, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk could be called to testify in the coming days of the trial. Apart from Musk, it’s expected that actor James Franco will be requested to appear. Ellen Barkin, Depp’s former girlfriend, could also be called to the stand about Heard’s allegations of abuse, and Paul Bettany could be asked to speak about his messages with Depp, which were revealed in one of the sessions.
Related: List of celebrities who support Johnny Depp or Amber Heard.
