Johnny Depp & Amber Heard Trial – Part 1

The Relationship

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2009.  Both were in relationships with other people at the time.  Johnny was with longtime partner, Vanessa Paradis, a French actress, whom I’m sure Tori is familiar with because she, too, is French.  Vanessa and Johnny have two children together, Lily-Rose and Jack.  Amber was dating photographer Tasya Van Ree.  In 2011, Amber told Vogue, “Working with Johnny was torture.  It was better than I ever imagined, which is really saying something.”  In 2012, Johnny and Vanessa “amicably separated” after 14 years together.  Shortly after this, Johnny and Amber began dating.

In March of 2014, the two got engaged.  The engagement was confirmed after Johnny Depp showed the ring on his left hand and told the press, “The fact that I’m wearing a chick’s ring on my finger is probably a dead giveaway.  Not very subtle.”   The couple married in 2015 and had two separate ceremonies – one at Depp’s home in Los Angeles and one at his private island in the Bahamas (MUST BE NICE).

The marriage, however, only lasted 15 months.  Amber filed for divorce in May 2016 citing irreconcilable differences.  The same month that she filed for divorce, she was granted a restraining order against Johnny over allegations of domestic violence.  She alleged that he had thrown a cell phone at her during a fight and that it hit her on her face near her eye.  She stated that he had screamed at her, hit her, violently grabbed her face and pulled her hair.  She had photographic evidence of a bruise on her face that she submitted to the court when filing for the restraining order. 

She stated in her filing, “During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me.  I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him.”  She also wrote that she was living in fear that Johnny would return to the house unannounced to terrorize her physically and emotionally.  Johnny denied all the allegations of abuse and his lawyers alleged in a 2016 document that Amber was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution alleging abuse.” 

In August of 2016, TMZ shared a video of Johnny Depp throwing a wine bottle and a glass in the couple’s kitchen with Amber in the room.  The video shows Johnny yelling, slamming cabinets and kicking doors.  The full video clip shows Amber egging him on and smirking at the camera when she decided to finish filming him.  Later that month, the divorce was settled.  A joint statement at the time of the divorce from Johnny and Amber said, “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love.  Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.  There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”  At the time of the divorce, Amber pledged to donate $7 million from Johnny to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.   

In December of that year, Johnny requested $100,000 in court sanctions from Amber.  Court documents from Johnny’s legal team said that Amber was continuing to needlessly litigate a case that had been settled, all while parading in front of the media in a desperate attempt to extend her fifteen minutes of fame.  Johnny also asked to deduct the same from his next equalization payment if Amber failed to contribute that amount to his attorney’s fees and costs as sanctions.  Amber’s attorney had said that the move was “just another lame attempt by Mr. Depp and his team to not pay my client the money she is owed.”  

In January of 2017, Amber responded to Johnny’s request in court sanctions and assured the court that she was committed to a quick resolution of their divorce.  She made a statement that Johnny was delaying the resolution of the matter and that she wanted her life back.  A judge ruled that she did not have to pay his attorney’s fees and the divorce was finalized that month.  As a part of their settlement, the restraining order against Johnny was dismissed with prejudice.  A case dismissed with prejudice means that it is dismissed permanently and it cannot be brought back to court. 

In the divorce settlement, Amber was given custody of the dogs.  Johnny retained sole possession of all of his properties, including the private island in the Bahamas.  He was also granted his collection of classic cars and motorcycles. 

Libel Trial: Johnny Depp vs The Sun 

Johnny Depp sued The Sun in June of 2018 for $39 million for calling him a wife beater.  The headline for the article was “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”  The trial took place in London and lasted 16 days.  Amber alleged 14 instances of abuse during the trial.  Johnny described her allegations as “sick” and a “hoax” while claiming that Amber was the aggressor.  

On the first day of testimony, Johnny revealed that he had begun using drugs at a young age when he was not in a particularly stable household.  He told the court that his mother would ask him to “go and get her ‘nerve pills’” and that it was around the age of 11 that it dawned on him that they were calming her nerves, so he took one and that began his drug use.  Johnny also told the court that he had been in recovery from drugs and alcohol during “significant parts” of his marriage to Amber and accused her of encouraging him to relapse instead of supporting his sobriety. 

During his cross-examination, he was asked if he had ever encouraged his daughter, Lily-Rose to try weed when she was 13.  He said that he never encouraged her to use marijuana.  He said, “My daughter was 13 years old and, as we all know, at 11, 12, 13 years old, when you go to high school parties, you are approached by people who will want to give you drink because you are drinking.”  He went on to say that he told her, “Listen, sweetheart, if you are at a party and someone hands you the joint, take the joint from that person and pass it to the next person – don’t experiment with drugs with people you don’t know.” 

He explained that he had asked Lily-Rose to come to him when she felt “ready” because he didn’t want her first experience to be with people she didn’t know and taking things that she couldn’t trust and that it was a safety issue.  He said that when she later came to him wanting to try marijuana, he consulted with her mom, Vanessa Paradis, who also talked to her about it. 

Johnny also accused Amber of punching him in April of 2016, the same night he found out that he owed the U.S. government millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.  He had found out that his former business managers had stolen money from him.  He wasn’t aware of the amount of money he had made from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and ended up owing back taxes, because he was unaware of his financial status.  The news of this debt came to him on the day of Amber’s 30th birthday party and he showed up late.  Amber had previously claimed that Johnny had pulled her hair and thrown things at her that night, but at the trial, he claimed that she was the one who was violent and throwing “haymaker” punches at him. 

During the trial, Amber Heard’s ex-assistant accused her of exploiting her sexual assault story.  She testified that Amber used her sexual assault story in her own accusations against Johnny Depp.  Kate James worked for Amber from 2012-2015 and she testified that she had described her rape at machete-point to Amber and said that Amber used that same story as her own in her witness statement.  

The trial also revealed that Elon Musk offered Amber 24/7 security after she had told him that Johnny had abused her.  A text from Musk to Amber read, “The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again…anyway, sorry for being an idiot.  The radio silence hurts a lot.  It only matters because I really like you.”  

His attorneys for this case were Jenny Afia and David Sherborne.  Amber Heard was a testifying witness for the paper.  For this trial, Johnny requested recordings that Amber had of the two of them, but she refused to send them.  Amber testified in this trial and when compared to her testimony in their divorce proceedings, the stories didn’t match.  

Unfortunately, Johnny Depp lost the case against The Sun and the judge said in the ruling, “Although he has proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel, the defendants have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true.”  After losing the libel trial, Warner Bros. requested that Johnny resign from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series.  He said of this during the trial, “I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mentioned my name or not.” 

In 2021, Johnny and his legal team contested the 2020 ruling and brought “fresh evidence” in regard to Amber’s charity donations in the divorce settlement.  He claimed that she had not made the payments, but ultimately, he was denied permission to appeal the ruling.

Depp Vs Heard – Defamation Case

In March of 2019, Johnny Depp filed a $50 million lawsuit against Amber Heard alleging that she had defamed him in her Washington Post op-ed.  In the op-ed, Amber never mentioned Johnny by name, but she didn’t have to.  It was obvious who she was accusing.  In her op-ed, she stated, “I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”  She stated that she was told by friends and advisers that she would never work as an actress again, that she was dropped by a global fashion brand and that her role as “Mera” in the Justice League and Aquaman movies was in question. 

After the libel trial took place in London in the summer of 2020, Amber Heard countersued Johnny Depp for $100 million alleging that he orchestrated a “smear campaign” against her.  She said that his lawsuit was a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”  In her filing, she asked the court to grant her immunity from Johnny’s complaint and asked for compensation for damages he caused.  

The defamation case against Amber Heard started on April 11, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia.  The Washington Post has printing facilities in the state of Virginia which allowed Johnny Depp the opportunity to sue there instead of in California where both parties work and reside.

During the seven week trial, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard took the stand and were questioned by their own attorneys and cross-examined by the opposing attorneys.  The attorneys representing Johnny Depp were Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez and the attorneys for Amber Heard were Ben Rottenborn and Elaine Bredehoft.  The judge in this trial was Penney Azcarate. We are going to discuss some of the highlights of their testimonies next.  

Both Johnny and Amber testified about the beginning of their relationship.  Johnny talked about how at first, Amber was too good to be true.  He would come home from work and she would remove his boots for him and pour him a glass of wine.  He told the jury that one day when he got home, she was on the phone so he took his own boots off and she said, “That’s my job.”  He then talks about how it wasn’t up to him when he went to bed, if she was ready for bed, then he needed to be ready for bed.  When Amber spoke about the beginning of their relationship, she said more than once that she was with the love of her life and that they were happy.

Johnny also testified about his drug and alcohol abuse and that he didn’t use them for partying, he used them to numb the pain.  He claims that Amber would use this as a weapon against him.  He spoke about the abuse he suffered as a child and how he learned about “nerve pills” from his mother.  He said that when he was as young as five-years-old, his mother would ask him to bring her nerve pills from her purse.  He would notice that after she took them, she would calm down.  He said that around age 11, he would bring her a pill when she asked for one and then take one himself because he wanted to feel calm, too.  

Johnny said that his mother was violent and unpredictable and was abusive to him, his siblings, and his father.  He described his father as being a kind and quiet man who was non-confrontational.  He said that his father would just take the pain and abuse from his mother.  

Johnny testified about the abuse he allegedly suffered from Amber.  He said that his only ambition in life is to be a good father, but that Amber would tell him that he was a bad father.  He said, “Bits of your brain, bits of your heart, a valve gets shut off,” when describing how he felt when Amber talked about him as a father.  He said that Amber has a “need for conflict, need for violence.”  He says that while Amber wanted to fight, he would suggest separating when conflict arose.  Johnny was asked why he stayed in the relationship despite the abuse and he said that it was probably because his father stayed in his relationship and that Amber would threaten suicide if he were to leave.

During his testimony, Johnny said that it was his idea that they record their conversations.  He claims that he started doing this because Amber wouldn’t remember what she had said to his face the night before.  He says that he always told her when he was recording, but Amber would not always let him know.  He said that it was fine, but not fine – meaning he had nothing to hide, but it’s not actually okay. 

Now we’ll highlight the main abuse allegations and how their testimonies differed.  

Starting with Amber’s description of the first time that Johnny allegedly abused her.  She told the court that it was over Johnny’s Winona Ryder tattoo.  A little background on Johnny and Winona before moving on with Amber’s account.  Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were together from 1989-1993 and were one the of the 90’s most iconic celebrity couples.  During their relationship, Johnny got a tattoo that said, “Winona Forever,” but once they broke up, he had it changed to “Wino Forever.”  Amber testified that she and Johnny were on the couch and Johnny had been drinking and doing cocaine and she asked what his tattoo said on his arm.  He told her wino, she said that she laughed because she thought that he was kidding.  She says, though, that because she laughed, he slapped her.  She said that she laughed again because she couldn’t believe he had hit her.  Amber claimed that Johnny hit her three times that night.  Johnny said in his testimony that none of that happened.

Next, Amber Heard testified about the 2016 leaked video we talked about earlier that TMZ had leaked.  Amber claimed that she recorded Johnny that day “because he wouldn’t remember.”  The video leaked in 2016 was a small clip of the full video.  In the released clip, TMZ didn’t show the end where Amber smirked and laughed at the end.  When Ben Rottenborn questions Johnny about this, he asks him if he poured himself a “mega pint” of wine.  Johnny says that he poured himself a large glass of wine and that Amber recording this incident was “most interesting” because of her behavior at the end.  He also stated that he assaulted cabinets that day, but not Amber Heard.

The next abuse allegation was from Amber’s birthday in April of 2016.  Johnny arrived about an hour and forty minutes late for her birthday dinner and she was very upset.  Johnny alleges that Amber squared off with him about his tardiness, but Amber alleges that Johnny shoved her.  Johnny says that he knew she wanted a fight so he told her to go ahead and hit him and she did.  He told her to do it again, she did, then he grabbed her by the shoulders and walked her over to the bed and sat her down.  He then says that he told her not to follow him and he left to go back to the other house.