Johnny Depp‘s testimony continued on Wednesday afternoon with more bombshell revelations about his marriage to Amber Heard. After lunch, the 58-year-old actor returned to the stand and described in detail about multiple times he was allegedly abused. During the “staircase incident,” the actor claimed Heard “roundhouse” punched him in the cheek.
“[Amber’s sister] stepped in front of Amber, facing Amber, to stop Amber,” he alleged.
The court then heard a recording of Heard and Depp arguing in which she admits to starting “a physical fight” with the actor.
“I didn’t punch you… I was hitting you, it was not punching you. You didn’t get punched, you got hit… I did not f****** deck you, I f****** was hitting you,” the actress can be heard saying. “But you’re fine, I did not hurt you… you’re a f****** baby. You are such a baby, grow the f*** up, Johnny.”
“What was just played on these audio recordings was very much the tone, and the aggression, and the attitude, and the need for a fight from Ms. Heard,” Depp said afterwards.
The actor spoke about another fight Heard supposedly instigated when she started “scratching” Depp in Dec. 2015. He admitted to trying to “restrain” her and that there was “accidental contact, but not a headbutt” as she has claimed.
“There was some kind of contact with our heads, with our foreheads, as would happen when you’re trying to calm someone like that,” Depp testified. “That’s when she accused me of head butting her and breaking her nose. There was no blood. I didn’t hit her nose.”
Depp said he retreated and Heard came into the room several minutes later. The actor said he went into “placation mode” and asked to see her alleged injury, but she wouldn’t show it to him. When Heard disposed of the Kleenex she was holding to her nose, Depp said he picked it up “out of the trash bin” and realized “it was nail polish,” not blood.
Depp testified about two other volatile incidents, one on her birthday in April 2016 — which he believes resulted in human feces being dumped in their marital bed — and a final fight on May 21, 2016. It’s the last of 14 times Heard claims she was abused. However, on that night, Depp said he was 20 feet away from the actress when she put on a performance and claimed she was being hit by the actor.
“That was the last time I saw Ms. Heard until she asked me to break the restraining order… and talk to her in July later,” Depp said. He did not elaborate.
Another recording was played of Heard telling Depp, “I hope to god Jack’s stepfather teaches him more about being a man” as the actor wasn’t one. Depp testified on Wednesday about Heard’s “nonexistent” relationship with his two children, revealing his daughter, Lily-Rose, wouldn’t even come to their wedding due to “many reasons.”
When asked how often Heard brought his two children into their arguments, Depp replied, “Too often.”
“My kids are far more intelligent than I am and they… refused to be around her anymore,” he explained. “They didn’t like the way she treated me, which was written in a very elegant letter by my daughter actually to Ms. Heard.”
Depp learned of Heard’s domestic violence allegations on May 27, 2016 “which is, in fact, my daughter’s birthday.”
“I had saw that she had gone to a court… there were paparazzi everywhere,” he said, calling out an apparent “mark” on her face. “It also happened to be the day that Alice in Wonderland 2 was opening and that’s the day that she chose to go to the courthouse to get a TRO, temporary restraining order, against me.”
When asked about the impact the allegations have had on him, Depp replied, “I felt sick… there was no truth in it.” He said he was “very confused” and “very hurt” by Heard’s “treachery.”
“I don’t know if she wanted me to just be erased, or drop dead, or just let me stick around and allow her to ruin my life for a while and go out of her way to shame me and hurt my kids,” he added, saying the accusations have “controlled my every waking second.”
Heard and Depp settled their divorce in Aug. 2016. According to the actor, he “wanted to fight it” because her abuse claims were false. But he agreed to settle at the advice of his legal team. The couple issued a joint statement at the time:
“Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gains. There was never an intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future.”
When asked if he ever assaulted Heard, the actor replied “never.” When asked if he ever sexually assaulted the actress, Depp replied, “Never. Certainly not.” He said he’s lost “nothing less than everything” because of her false claims, which were reiterated in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed, and effectively blacklisted him from the industry.
Heard’s legal team briefly began their cross-examination late on Wednesday and are honing in on the words the actress wrote in her opinion piece, which is why the actors are in court.
“I’m suing her over defamation and the various falsities that she used to bring my life to an end,” Depp declared.
However Heard’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, argued that “the opinion piece doesn’t contain any details of your time together.” He also pointed to the joint statement Depp signed when they settled their divorce that stated “neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”
In his short 20 minutes, it’s clear Rottenborn — whose name Depp repeated several times — intends to argue that the actor’s career was in free fall well before the op-ed was published. Depp will return to the stand on Thursday where cross-examination will continue.
MORE: Amber Heard accuses Johnny Depp of multiple sexual assaults during marriage
