London - Movie star Johnny Depp concluded
five days of testimony in his libel case against Britain's Sun
newspaper on Monday, saying his ex-wife Amber Heard had thrown a
"haymaker" punch at him on the night he found out he had lost
$650 million.
The 57-year-old "Pirates of the Caribbean" star is suing the
Sun's publisher, News Group Newspapers, at London's High Court
after the tabloid labelled him a "wife beater" in a 2018
article.
The court has heard evidence from the paper's lawyer that
Depp violently attacked his former wife on at least 14 occasions
over three years from 2013, when enraged by jealously and having
consumed large amounts of alcohol or drugs.
The actor would become, according to Heard, 34, and by his
own account, "the monster", the Sun's lawyer Sasha Wass has told
the court.
Depp rejects all the allegations that he attacked his wife
and says Heard was lying, making up a choreographed hoax as part
of an "insurance policy" dossier, and that she had attacked him.
The court was told on Monday that one incident occurred
after Heard's 30th birthday party in 2016 which Depp had been
late to following a meeting with his business advisers.
At that meeting, he was told his previous managers had lost
$650 million he had made from films, a "ludicrous" sum, he said,
and that he owed $100 million because he had not paid tax for 17
years.
He told the court Heard accused him of making her look
foolish in front of her friends and had attacked him while he
was reading in bed, throwing a "haymaker" wild, swinging punch
at him.
American actor Johnny Depp poses for the media as he arrives at the High Court in London for his libel trial against a tabloid newspaper that accused him of abusing ex-wife Amber Heard. Picture: Matt Dunham/AP
Appearing in the witness box for a fifth day, Depp was also
asked by his lawyer David Sherborne about the transcript of a
conversation the couple had in 2016 after Heard had gone public
with her accusations.
"Either I'm in a secret fight club ... (or) I have been
plotting to do this for three years," Heard said, according to
Sherborne. "No one is going to believe that."
"REVERSE CONFESSION"
Depp said he believed what Heard was saying was a "reverse
confession". "It seemed everything she accused me of was
something she had done to me," he said.
Heard and Depp met in 2011 while co-starring in the film
"The Rum Diary" and married in 2015. Heard filed for divorce 15
months later when she first said publicly Depp had abused her
and the divorce was finalised the following year.
The court has been shown a number of pictures Heard took of
herself with injuries she says Depp inflicted. Wass, the Sun's
lawyer, said the photos were taken to show the Hollywood star
when he had sobered up and in her witness statement Heard had
said she "never imagined" they would form part of a court case.
Depp said he was never shown the pictures.
The court heard from Depp's assistant Stephen Deuters, who
was asked about a text he sent to Heard the day after she says
the actor kicked her in a drunken rage while on a private jet.
"When I told him he kicked you, he cried," Deuters wrote in
the text. He told the court Depp had only made a playful attempt
to tap her on the bottom with his foot and that he described it
as a kick simply to appease her. He said he never saw Depp being
violent towards her.
The libel case has heard some extraordinary revelations and
allegations about the couple's relationship.
Judge Andrew Nicol was told Depp had headbutted, slapped,
kicked, threatened and thrown bottles at Heard during heated
arguments.
Depp has previously recounted how in one incident, Heard had
severed the tip of his finger when she threw a bottle of vodka
at him. He used his damaged finger to scrawl messages across the
house using his blood and paint, the court heard.
A few weeks after that incident Depp is accused of
repeatedly punching Heard. The actor said on Monday he could not
have done so as he had a cast on his hand because of his damaged
finger.
Heard is due to start giving evidence on Friday with the
trial expected to last three weeks.