Johnny Depp’s security guard spoke about Mr Depp and Amber Heard’s honeymoon as he testified at the couple’s defamation trial via video link from his home in Essex, UK.
The trial between Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard began on April 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, following Mr. Depp’s lawsuit against his ex-wife in March 2019. Mr. Depp argues they published it in a December 2018 issue in the Washington Post defamed a comment entitled “I spoke out against sexual violence – and faced the wrath of our culture. That needs to change.”
Malcolm Connelly said he initially worked as a security guard for Mr Depp, his children and his ex Vanessa Paradis.
He said he first met Ms Heard in 2010 when she was in the UK to promote the film Drive Angry with Nicholas Cage, before meeting Mr Depp. He protected her for a week and said she was “pleasant”. He added that he didn’t see her again before she appeared on The Rum Diary with Mr. Depp.
Mr Connolly describes the early stages of Mr Depp and Ms Heard’s relationship as “lovey-dovey” and that Ms Heard is “lovable, charming… as she usually is”.
He then said things started to change and that she became “more lively” and “demanding.”
“I could tell that Amber wanted to pull the pants on in the relationship, it was pretty obvious,” he said, and that she “could get frosty on the fly.”
The security guard went through some incidents where Ms Heard threw things like a lighter and a soda can at Mr Depp. He said Mr Depp stood with his hands up to show he had nothing to harm anyone with.
He added that he noticed scratches or bruises on Mr Depp, usually on his face. Mr Connelly said he was trained in the UK prison service to notice such things.
Mr Connelly testified that he took a picture of Mr Depp and Ms Heard on their honeymoon and said Mr Depp was “not happy”.
A photo of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard on their honeymoon on the Orient Express from Bangkok to Singapore
(court documents)
While he said he never saw any injuries on Ms Heard, he said for Mr Depp it “started with a scrape every once in a while but got more and more”.
A photo of Mr Depp and Ms Heard on their honeymoon on the Orient Express from Bangkok to Singapore was shown in court. Mr Connelly said he took it and noticed Mr Depp had a puffiness under his eye.
“He ran into a door, or a door ran into him,” he said.
Mr Connelly was accompanying the couple to Australia in 2015 when Mr Depp severed his finger. Mr. Depp was shooting the fifth film “Pirates of the Caribbean” at that time.
He said when he got to where Mr Depp was staying he noticed an SUV outside without a driver. He approached, heard “muffled” screams, and opened the door to find “chaos.”
There was “yelling and shouting” and Mr Depp “nursed a hand,” he said, adding that Ms Heard was “angry” and Mr Depp was shouting back.
He urged Mr Depp to leave the situation, but when they came outside, Ms Heard reappeared and “yelled” at Mr Depp: “Fuck off you bloody coward”.
“His finger was just a mess,” Mr Connelly said, adding that it looked like a “cartoon”.
“It’s all flapping around…I could see bones,” he said.
When asked to describe Ms Heard’s behavior, he said it was “crazy” and “wild”.
During cross-examination by Ms Heard’s lawyers, Mr Connelly said he was paid directly by Mr Depp for the past two years.
He said they exchanged gifts and when asked if Mr Depp gave him gifts worth $8,500, Mr Connelly said: “He gave me a lot more than that,” which caused a laugh in the courtroom, including Mr Depp.
Mr Connelly was then asked if he was loyal to Mr Depp.
“Yes, of course I am loyal to Mr Depp,” he said. “I would be faithful to you if I worked for you.”
Referring to what happened at the home in Australia, Ms Heard’s lawyer said Mr Depp tried to urinate “in the foyer” and “had his penis out”.
“I think I would remember if I had seen Mr Depp’s penis,” Mr Connelly said, prompting another laugh from Mr Depp and the court-goers.
The court was then played a recording of Mr Depp from their time in Australia. He could be heard screaming “how you kidding me” and “feeling sick”. Mr Connolly confirmed that Mr Depp was angry at the time.
In her 2018 comment, Ms Heard wrote: “Like many women, I was molested and sexually abused when I was college-age. But I was silent – I didn’t expect that filing complaints would bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim.”
“Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic violence, and I felt the full brunt of our culture’s anger at women speaking out,” she added at the time.
While Mr Depp is not named in the piece, his legal team argues that it contains a “clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser”, which they say is “categorically and demonstrably false”. Mr Depp is seeking “not less than $50 million” in damages.
Ms Heard has filed a $100 million counterclaim against Mr Depp for harassment and immunity from his allegations.