Johnny Depp returned to the stand on Monday for cross-examination in his $100 million defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard’s op-ed that she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018.
On Monday, the court and the jury heard several recordings related to the former couple, and Johnny Depp was cross-examined by Amber Heard’s lawyer, Ben Rottenborn. It has to be noted that it was not clear who recorded the audio clips that were played in the court, but it was one of the parties.
The audio that was played in the court where Johnny Depp was heard saying to Amber Heard that walking away for him is necessary, especially when it comes to both of them because the next move if he does not leave or walk away is going to be a bloodbath like it was on the island and he does not want that, adding that it’s not worth it. Johnny Depp adds that they can just have an understanding on this one and Amber Heard, in response to him, is heard saying that if there was a choice between a bloodbath and walking away, she would choose to walk away and Johnny Depp asks her then why has the bloodbath been chosen so many times?
Amber Heard’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, mentioned that it was not the first time the former couple had discussed bloodbath and it had appeared in the trial, as in 2013, Johnny Depp texted Amber about a novel called "Disco Bloodbath," which was published in 1999 and is about a murder involving the "Club Kids," a group of friends. Amber Heard answered by saying that they were in desperate need of the book. In the clipping it can be heard that she wants him to stay while he wants to leave and is asking for some space.
During Monday’s cross-examination, Johnny Depp was heard very little as Ben Rottenborn played a couple of more audio clips or read text exchanges between Johnny Depp and a couple of his close circle, including Amber Heard, agent Christian Carino, security guard Malcolm Connolly, assistant Kevin Murphy, etc. Ben Rottenborn also asked Johnny Depp if Amber Heard was not the only one who had a problem and disapproved of his habit of drinking, to which the actor replied that if anyone had a problem with him drinking, it was him. He added that the only person he has abused is himself.
The text exchange between Kevin Murphy and Johnny Depp was read aloud where Johnny Depp mentioned that he was shocked to have a discussion with Vanessa Paradis for five-plus hours where he got to know that his daughter Lily-Rose Depp hates him because she thought that he was drinking, to which he added that she was right, but he could not admit it to her or else he would fucking die in her eyes.
There was also a cross-examination of Johnny Depp when it comes to Amber Heard’s career as an actress, as it was heard previously in an audio clip that Johnny Depp mentioned that he gets jealous and irrational when she does movies and they fight a lot more than usual. On Monday, Ben mentioned a text exchange where Amber Heard informed the actor that she was in a coffee meeting, which seemed to have frustrated Johnny Depp, as he replied asking what "species" of meeting it was and added that no goddamn movies, no movies. Why did I deviate from the agreement?
After reading the text, Ben asked Johnny Depp if he did not want Amber Heard to attend the meeting, and Johnny replied that it seemed as though he had an agreement to do something together, and he was asking her about what species of meeting. Johnny Depp added that it was not an angry text, it’s about why did she deviate from an agreement they had and added that it’s not about her doing films and how does he think Amber Heard got Aquaman? Ben questioned whether Johnny wanted to control her career, and he stated that it was untrue.
Ben Rottenborn also read a series of unflattering articles (12) about Johnny Depp which were published before Amber Heard’s op-ed was published, dating back to 2014, and Johnny Depp dismissed them by stating that they were hit pieces generated by Amber Heard’s publicity team. The article headlines centered on Johnny Depp’s drinking habits, a series of flop movies, his career, and his lifestyle from various publications including Vanity Fair, THR, The Rolling Stones, "Vodka for breakfast, 72-hour drug binges, and spending sprees that beggar belief: Alison Boshoff uncovers why Hollywood is reeling over what's being termed Johnny Depp's 'career suicide letter,'" according to an article written by Alison Boshoff for the Daily Mail in 2018. "Who is Alison Boshoff, and how does she know?" Johnny Depp asked.
Through reading the negative headlines of the articles, Ben Rottenborn tried to demonstrate that it was the actor’s history of bad behavior that harmed his career, not the 2018 op-ed. During the cross-examination on Monday, Johnny Depp apologized once again for the language that he had used in the text messages that were showcased and read aloud in the court and said that he was ashamed that these words had to be spread around the world like peanut butter.
Source: Daily Mail UK
