Johnny Depp is expected to testify Tuesday in his dueling defamation case against Amber Heard.
According to multiple outlets — including Court TV, which has been streaming the trial — Depp will take the stand tomorrow in his $50 million legal battle against his ex-wife. He is suing Heard for defamation in Fairfax, Va., over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post about being a domestic violence survivor. Heard is countersuing Depp for $100 million.
At Monday’s proceedings, the depositions of Depp’s private physician, Dr. David Kipper, as well as Debbie Lloyd, the star’s addiction nurse who traveled with him as he detoxed, were played for the jury as week two of the trial began. Neither Kipper nor Lloyd saw physical abuse between the couple.
Depp’s addiction to opiates and alcohol was a hot topic as Lloyd reviewed her nursing notes from when she was overseeing Depp’s detox from opioids, which he started taking after dental work and which he later became addicted to. Lloyd personally administered Depp’s pain medication and was in Australia when his finger was severed during a fight with Heard. Her role went beyond nurse, however, as she said she attended Depp and Heard’s wedding on his private island in the Bahamas — and served as confidante to Depp who told her Heard was angry when asked her to sign a pre-nuptial agreement prior to the ceremony. Depp also gave Lloyd gifts and send her a text apology with a reference to his penis, it was revealed as their text exchanges were read.
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Lloyd’s pre-recorded testimony included her saying, “I don’t recall” over and over for many of the questions, including whether she witnessed Depp using cocaine. She was hired by Kipper to travel with Depp as he detoxed and coped with the side effects. However, in her nursing notes, she recorded Depp saying Heard would try to start arguments with him when he was trying to detox. Depp also spoke of “tension” with Heard.
In one note, Lloyd wrote that Depp said he was in a “no-win situation” with Heard. Lloyd said she was concerned about him when he argued with Heard because the arguments were “a trigger for him emotionally.” Lloyd oversaw medication management, making a house call to Depp in the wee hours one night and finding him with bloody knuckles after a fight with Heard, who he said he didn’t feel was being supportive. Lloyd said Depp told her Heard would “instigate fights, following him from room to room and not giving him space” when he asked her to.
It was revealed that Heard had her own nurse to help “reduce stress” as the pair started to “work on themselves” and she sought treatment for anxiety.
Lloyd’s notes included things like Depp being agitated on the set. He kicked in the door of the trailer and refused to speak to the director. He was verbally aggressive to other someone else on the set for no reason and was prescribed medicine.
Lloyd’s notes about the Australia fight were also read. That is when Depp was abroad making Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Heard claimed she was held hostage there for three days when she visited, and the tip of Depp’s fingers was severed amid their drama. Lloyd said the couple’s home was a “mess” with writing on the wall and a smashed TV when she arrived. The pinky was located, on the floor by Depp’s chef, and they took Depp to the hospital for treatment. Her notes said Depp told her he cut his finger.
In Lloyd’s deposition, she also revealed that Depp bought her gifts, including a jewelry box. An apology text message he sent her — after kicking everyone out of his home at one point amid his detox – included a reference to his penis, which made Depp chuckle when it was read in court.
“Hey sweetheart, I’m so sorry about today. I thought you were [someone else], whom I’m not particularly enthused about for his loss of loyalty and his loss of memory. He has tried everything to f*** me over as far as travelling with my wife. He also bursts into my f***ing house like it’s godd*** Grand Central Station. I’m truly sorry if I upset you. If you like you can give me some morphine to see if my tongue and penis touch. All my love, J.”
The end of Kipper’s deposition also played. Depp’s doctor said his diagnosis for Depp was “ADHD, bipolar 1, depression, insomnia, chronic substance abuse disorder and chronic reflux.” He hired Lloyd to help with Depp’s detox.
Kipper was also in Australia, detailing how he went to the house to treat Depp prior to the star going to the ER. He witnessed broken glass in the kitchen. Heard was “certainly upset” as it played out but he said she did not seek medical attention for any injuries nor did she appear to have a swollen face or scratches that he could recall.
He also said that in medical notes, Heard told one of his nurses that she had a headache after bumping her head after standing up. She was examined, but no physical injuries were seen and there and no sign of concussion.
Some of his text exchanges with Depp were also read, including writing about Heard’s “hideously and purposely hurtful tirades and her goddamn shocking treatment of the man she was meant to love above all.” He also said “her obsession with herself is far more important. She is so f***ing ambitious!!!! She’s so desperate for success and fame. That’s probably why I was acquired, mate. She has hammered me with what a sad old man has been I am … I’m so very sad.”
Kipper’s notes about Heard, who he also treated were read including one that talked about Heard having a strong family history of drug and alcohol abuse leaving her “particularly sensitive” to Depp’s “behaviors and potential for abuse.” He clarified that “abuse” meant substance abuse — “not physical abuse.” He said Heard had “grown up in that environment” so she was “used to seeing the trauma that it inflicts and is not only able to recognize it but also it affects her.”
One juror was excused on Monday due to a medical issue. Now there are 10, but only seven will deliberate.
Depp, who arrived at court listening to Bob Marley and warmly greeted his fans outside court, is expected on the stand Tuesday. His friend and sound technician Keenan Wyatt is also expected to testify tomorrow.
