Hollywood mega-star Johnny Depp has been embroiled in messy legal proceedings against him for the last six years. The legal nightmare started for him in 2016 when his ex-wife actress Amber Heard alleged that Depp had been physically abusive towards her during their brief marriage.
This is the first time Depp has been able to address the allegations leveled against him publicly as his statement was broadcast live on Court TV.
Depp spoke slowly and succinctly about the entire ordeal as he recollected memories from the couple’s brief marriage.
He started his testimony by saying, “Ms. Heard made some quite heinous and disturbing — brought these disturbing criminal acts — against me that were not based in any species of truth. It was a complete shock that it would — it just didn’t need to go in that direction. Nothing of the kind had ever happened … There were arguments and things of that nature, but never did I, myself, reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way nor have I ever struck any woman in my life,”.
Johnny Depp is in the midst of suing Amber Heard for $50 million for defamation for referring to herself as a ‘public figure representing domestic abuse’. In return, Amber Heard is countersuing Depp for double the amount of money; $100 million.
Depp says ever since Amber made her allegations, they have been treated by the public as ‘fact’. He said, in his statement, “since I knew that there was no truth to it whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up, not only for myself in that instance, but stand up for my children”.
He talked at length about the damage the allegations did to his children. Depp stated that while he had been in the entertainment industry for three decades, he had always made sure to keep his personal life very private from the eyes of the press. His priority was shielding his children from the paparazzi. But Amber Heard’s allegations wreaked havoc on not just his life but also of his children as it opened them up to criticism and put them at the center of what became prime media fodder!
Depp stated sadly, “I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children. I didn’t want any of those people to believe that I had done them wrong, or lied to them, or that I was a fraud. I pride myself on honesty, I pride myself on truth — truth is the only thing I’m interested in”.
“Today is my first opportunity to speak about this case full for the first time.” he added. Showing that the actor had waited six years to address the allegations leveled against him publicly.
Depp talked about the deep hurt he has been carrying for the last six years and the irreparable damage done to his reputation. He said he felt as if he had transformed from belle of the ball to a social pariah almost overnight.
The allegations had a personal edge for Depp, who has a history of being abused as a child. Depp said the abuse he and his sister suffered at the hands of their late mother shaped him as a person and he vowed to never repeat the cycle of abuse as a perpetrator.
He did admit to sending text messages wishing Amber ill to his friends. He apologized for saying those things.
It had not always been bitter and abusive, recalls Depp. He shares tender moments the couple shared with one another including times when Amber would display the kind of affection and care that Depp had never experienced before.
He talked about how in the first year of their marriage, Amber would always take off his boots when he got home from work and hand him a glass of wine. This happened so often that it became routine for the couple.
Until one day when Depp came home to find Amber busy with something and took off his boots himself. Amber saw he had done so and was visibly upset. She questioned him as to why he had done it, saying that it was ‘her job’. Depp stated that he found this reaction odd and what he later realized would be the first red flag in their relationship.
The intense trial has called many witnesses to the relationship on the stand in the last few days. These witnesses included Johnny Depp’s longtime friend Keenan Wyatt. Wyatt and Depp met when the former worked as a sound technician on one of the actor’s projects.
Wyatt testified that he too had been on the infamous flight, in which, Amber Heard had claimed to have been physically attacked by an inebriated Depp. He says while Johnny had been drinking on the flight, he had not displayed any sort of violent behavior. According to Wyatt the couple did seem on edge as Depp was quiet during the flight. But according to him, it was Amber who had yelled and that too at Wyatt which made him recoil and sit further away from the actors.
Another testimony came from Depp’s security team’s Sean Bett. Sean shared that he had never felt concerned about Amber Heard’s safety but had instead been concerned for Depp as he had personally seen the bruising on the actor’s face after Amber allegedly assaulted him and even took photographic evidence of the bruise.
Depp’s testimony was cut short and is said to continue the next day.
This entire trial has been a messy affair to begin with. It seems Johnny Depp is no longer willing to be silent over the alleged character assassination he has been subjected to at the hands of Amber Heard.
Hopefully, justice will prevail and a fair outcome will come out of this case!
