The possible ramifications in the Johnny Depp vs. ex-wife case 1:08
(CNN) — Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are facing a contentious libel trial in a Virginia court, the trial of which continues on Monday.
Depp is suing Heard, his ex-wife, for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure who advocates domestic violence.” Though Depp wasn’t named in the article, he claims it cost him lucrative acting roles.
Both Heard and Depp, who met in 2009 and were married from 2015 to 2016, have accused each other of physical violence during their relationship. Both have denied the other’s claims.
The former couple settled their divorce in August 2016 and released a joint statement, which read in part, “Our relationship has been very passionate and volatile at times, but always bound by love.”
The trial, which began on April 11, is expected to take six weeks. Heard has not yet testified.
Depp began testifying on April 19 and is expected to be questioned by Heard’s attorney on Monday.
This is some of what has surfaced so far during Depp’s testimony.
frequent discussions
According to a complaint she filed that year, Heard claimed in 2016 that Depp “verbally and physically abused” her, which alleged that Depp injured her face after she threw a phone at her Los Angeles home had.
Depp denied the allegation and was not charged with any crime.
The actor explained Tuesday that the couple had been at odds frequently, but said, “I never got to the point of hitting Mrs. Heard in any way, nor have I ever hit a woman in my life.”
Audio recordings of some of their intense conversations were played in court, including one in which Heard spoke about hitting Depp.
Amber Heard speaks with one of her attorneys in Fairfax County Circuit Court on April 19.
“You weren’t hit; you were beaten I’m sorry I hit you like that, but I didn’t hit you,” Heard reportedly said.
Laurel Anderson, a clinical psychologist who worked as a marriage counselor with Depp and Heard in 2015, testified in a video released on April 14. Anderson said the ex-partner “involved in what I saw as mutual abuse”.
Depp has also claimed he has occasionally engaged in physical defense and has spoken of an incident in which Heard said he injured his nose. Depp told the court that his head was connected to Heard’s forehead as he tried to “restrain” Heard.
“There was no intentional headbutt,” the actor said.
a severed finger
Depp testified that his finger was cut by broken glass in 2015 after Heard allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at him. He went to see a doctor, but stated in court that he told other people at the time that he had injured his finger by hitting it with a door.
“I didn’t want to reveal that it was Mrs. Heard who threw a bottle of vodka at me and then cut my finger,” he said during his testimony. “I didn’t want to get her in trouble. I’ve tried to make things as peaceful and easy as possible for everyone. I didn’t want to put her in that mix.”
Johnny Depp shows the middle finger of his hand, which was injured in 2015, in court.
Depp said he underwent multiple surgeries to fix the finger and contracted methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during his recovery. MRSA causes staph infections, which are resistant to some antibiotics and often difficult to treat.
dr David Kipper, who treated Depp, confirmed parts of Depp’s story in a statement made in court this week.
Heard’s attorneys have cited statements Depp made to emergency room doctors at the time to argue that Depp cut his own finger. The actor denies it.
He was also questioned about his actions after the injury, including when he used his injured finger to write on the walls in a mixture of blood and paint. Depp confirmed this in court.
text messages
Heard’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, on Thursday produced multiple text messages in evidence that Depp had sent to friends and associates, one of which referred to Heard’s “decomposing corpse.”
Depp said he was “embarrassed” by the messages read in court and said he sometimes uses “dark humor” to express himself.
Johnny Depp during his April 21 testimony.
Other text messages in which Depp spoke about his drug and alcohol use were shared with friends including actor Paul Bettany and musician Marilyn Manson.
Pirates of the Caribbean
While Depp’s lawsuit focuses on the damage done to his once-lucrative career, some talk turned to Pirates of the Caribbean, the popular franchise in which Depp starred in five films over 15 years.
Rottenborn, Heard’s attorney, argued that prior to the release of Heard’s comment, Depp was aware he was “probably off” the sixth film or that Disney would drop or reduce his role in it. Depp denied it.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
“I would be a real simpleton if I didn’t think there was an impact on my career as a result of Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mention my name or not,” Depp said at the booth.
Depp admitted in his testimony that he hadn’t seen the first film in the “Pirates” series. However, he said that he “believed in the character with all my heart”.
However, when asked by Rottenborn, “If Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on earth would make you want to work with Disney again on a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, would it?”
“That’s right, Mr. Rottenborn,” Depp replied.
Depp added of his career: “One day you’re like Cinderella, and then in the blink of an eye you’re Quasimodo. I didn’t deserve that, neither did my children, nor did the people who believed in it have supported me over the years.”