An archive photo of Johnny Depp, Amber Heard (courtesy AFP)
Strong points
- “I am sorry but it is not true,” Johnny Depp said in court.
- “You are wrong,” he said.
- “I didn’t hit Ms. Heard,” replied the actor
London:
Hollywood actor Johnny Depp on Wednesday denied allegations that he had slapped his ex-wife Amber Heard while facing a second day of interrogation during his defamation trial in London.
the Pirates of the Caribbean The star is suing the British tabloid The Sun for a 2018 article that claimed he was a “female drummer”.
Depp, 57, and Heard, 34, appeared in court as counsel for the publisher of The News Group Newspapers (NGN), questioning him about allegations of violence during the couple’s time was together.
NGN challenges the defamation claim and said there is “overwhelming evidence” that he attacked Heard while under the influence of drinks and drugs between 2013 and 2016.
The former couple met for the first time on the set of the 2011 film The Rum Diary, married in 2015 but divorced two years later.
Lawyer Sasha Wass, representing NGN, told Depp that he slapped Heard three times after he made fun of a “Wino Forever” tattoo on his arm in March 2013, while he was drinking heavily.
“I am sorry but it is not true, you are mistaken … I did not hit Mrs. Heard,” replied the actor.
The tattoo originally said “Winona Forever” and referred to actress Winona Ryder, with whom he had had a previous relationship. He changed it after they broke up.
– “I never abused Heard”: Depp –
NGN relies on 14 separate allegations of domestic violence in its defense, all denied by Depp.
The case was opened Monday in the High Court. Depp insisted on a witness statement who had “never mistreated Ms. Heard, or, in fact, any other woman” in her life.
He said that Heard, an actress, was calculating, sociopathic, narcissistic and emotionally dishonest, with a diagnosed personality disorder, and intended to destroy his life.
Much of the interrogation involved his use of alcohol and drugs, but he insisted that he had no “bad side” and lost control under the influence, as the said Heard.
His legal team called Heard’s allegations “complete lies”. They said she was a “complex person,” prone to wild mood swings under a variety of prescription and other medications.
Instead of Depp being the abuser, she had verbally and physically attacked him, and he had to defend himself from time to time, they argued.
“He is not a female drummer and never was,” said his lawyer, David Sherborne.
Depp contends that the Sun article, which was published despite a previous public denial of violence, caused “significant damage to the reputation” of his career.
