Johnny Depp ends testimony and releases new audio with Amber Heard

The actor Johnny Depp concluded his testimony this Monday (25) in the defamation lawsuit he opened against his ex-wife Amber Heardsaying he was a victim of domestic violence in his relationship and was “broken” the moment the marriage fell apart.

Depp’s fourth day on the witness stand in a Virginia courthouse ended with his lawyers playing audio of a conversation that took place after Heard got a restraining order against him in 2016.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star said he agreed to Heard’s request to meet in a hotel room in San Francisco because he thought she could drop her accusation that he had abused her.

On the recording, Depp proposed that the couple issue a joint letter saying they loved each other and that the media had created a storm around them. The suggestion was an attempt to find a “peaceful agreement,” Depp said.

Heard, known for her role in “Aquaman,” resisted the idea and challenged him to go public with her claim that he was the one who was abused. “Tell the world, Johnny,” she said. “Tell them that I, Johnny Depp – a man – am also a victim of domestic violence.”

Depp said he responded, “Yes, I did.”

The 58-year-old actor is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million. Heard counter-sued for $100 million, saying Depp defamed her by calling her a liar.

In another audio of that meeting in San Francisco, Depp threatened to cut himself with a knife.

“That’s psychologically, emotionally where I was,” he said. “In the end, I was broken… I thought the only answer is here, take my blood, that’s all I have left.”

The case is based on a December 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post. The article never mentioned Depp by name, but his lawyer told jurors it was clear Heard was referring to him. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2017.

Earlier on Monday, Heard’s lawyers presented news that they said showed that Depp’s behavior had already derailed his lucrative film career well before Heard’s article.

Headlines included “Why are all Johnny Depp movies doing poorly at the box office?” and “Where did it all go wrong for Johnny Depp?” The articles, published before Heard’s article, claimed that Depp drank vodka for breakfast and was late for film sets.

Depp said that, as a longtime Hollywood actor, he was the subject of sensationalism.

The actor testified that Heard slapped or pushed him when the couple disagreed and once threw a bottle of vodka into his hand, severing the top of his right middle finger.

In a separate legal case in England, Heard denied throwing a bottle and cutting Depp’s finger. She said that she threw things just to get away when he was hitting her, and once punched him because she feared he would push her sister down the stairs.

Depp, once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, said he never hit Heard or any woman and that Heard’s allegations cost him “everything”. A new “Pirates” movie has been put on hold and Depp has been dropped from the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise, a spin-off of “Harry Potter.”

Heard’s lawyers argued that she told the truth and that her opinion was protected by free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. In opening arguments, Heard’s lawyers said that Depp physically and sexually assaulted her while she was abusing drugs and alcohol.

A state court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, is overseeing the trial, which is expected to last through the end of May.

Less than two years ago, Depp lost a defamation case against The Sun, a British tabloid that branded him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Amber Heard.

Depp’s lawyers said they opened the US case in Fairfax County, outside the nation’s capital, because the “Washington Post” is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant.