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Johnny Depp‘s cross-examination continued Monday as he took the stand for a fourth day to testify against ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he has accused of ruining his reputation and career with false accusations of domestic violence.
From co-stars to lovers to foes, jurors (and the world at large) have watched the former couple battle it out through their lawyers, as each fights to paint the other as the more toxic individual in the relationship.
So far, Depp has testified that he has never physically abused Heard or any other woman. He’s maintained that Heard was an instigator in the relationship, who would push him to become embroiled in profane arguments. He also said that Heard punched, kicked and threw objects at him over the course of their relationship.
Last week he detailed for the court his version of the couple’s now-infamous trip to Australia, where they were staying while Depp filmed the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Depp told the court that Heard threw a vodka bottle at him, which shattered on his hand and severed the top of his middle finger.
Through his testimony, Depp has repeatedly maintained that he bears the characteristics of a “Southern gentleman” and that he has not been addicted to illicit drugs or alcohol.
However, Heard’s lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, presented secretly recorded video that showed a visibly intoxicated Depp violently slamming kitchen cabinets and smashing glasses in his Hollywood home.
Rottenborn also shared text messages Depp sent to various friends (including WandaVision‘s Paul Bettany) in which he called Heard a “slippery whore” and suggested that they drown and burn Heard before having sex with “her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead.”
Some of the most shocking evidence was presented at the end of Thursday’s cross-examination, when Rottenborn played for the jury a five-minute audio clip of one of Depp and Heard’s last in-person meetings in 2016.
In the recording, Depp can be heard repeatedly trying to convince Heard to cut him with a knife and threatening self-harm.
“Do you want to cut me somewhere?” he asks.
“Please don’t hurt yourself,” she says.
“If you don’t, I will,” he replies.
Several times throughout the clip, Heard repeatedly asks Depp not to cut himself and tells him she will not cut him, either.
The legal battle between the two stars has captured the attention of spectators around the globe, with both Heard, 36, and Depp, 58, claiming to be victims of violence. The initial court case began when Depp filed a $50-million defamation lawsuit over a Washington Post op-ed penned by Heard in late 2018 about domestic abuse.
Heard did not mention Depp by name in the article, but the actor alleges his reputation and career were still “devastated” as a result.
Depp’s lawyers have already called on several witnesses, including friends, the couple’s therapist and the doctor and nurse who claim they treated the Pirates of the Caribbean actor for substance abuse issues.
In opening statements delivered by the former spouses’ legal teams last week, Depp’s lawyers claim Heard is “choosing to lie about him for her own personal benefit.”
Heard’s lawyers argued the opposite, claiming freedom of speech allowed the Aquaman actor to pen the Washington Post op-ed.
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