Actor Johnny Depp spoke in court in Fairfax, Virginia on Tuesday in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard. In her approximately three-hour testimony, which will continue on Wednesday, the Oscar-nominated star spoke in detail about Heard’s domestic violence allegations, her history with drug addiction and their relationship.
“My goal is to tell the truth”, said Johnny Depp at the beginning of his speech. The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actor is suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard, for $50 million in Fairfax County, Va., court over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she wrote about his experience of domestic violence.
In this text, the 35-year-old actress did not name Johnny Depp, 58, whom she married in 2015. But she did mention the domestic violence charges she had brought against her husband in 2016.
Questioned by one of his lawyers, Johnny Depp assured Tuesday that he had filed a complaint to “restore the facts”, declaring himself “obsessed with the truth”.
“It’s strange how one day you are Cinderella, so to speak, and, in a split second, you are Quasimodo”, lamented the actor who added that he wanted to “defend (his) children”, exposed to the media on these charges.
Depp acknowledged in his testimony that he and Heard had arguments during their relationship, but said: “I myself have never reached the point of hitting Mrs Heard in any way and I have never hit any woman in my life”.
He also described his parents’ tumultuous relationship and the verbal and physical abuse he and his siblings suffered from their mother. He also alleged that his first experience with taking substances was when he was around 11 years old and taking his mother’s prescription pills. “to escape the chaotic nature of what we were experiencing“.
Depp claims Heard’s op-ed resulted in financial losses for him, including his removal from future “Pirates of the Caribbean” films after leading the franchise for 15 years.
Depp and Amber met on the set of “The Rum Diary” in 2009, tied the knot in 2015 and continued to be embroiled in a contentious split for months, with accusations of misconduct being filed by both parties.
In court last week, lawyers for his ex-wife described Johnny Depp as a “monster” when he drank or took drugs, pushing him into outbursts that culminated in physical and sexual abuse.
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