Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote in 2018
A court in the US has heard that Johnny Depp called Amber Heard a “c**t” and spoke about her “rotting corpse” in a text to a friend.
The message was read out to the court in Virginia as part of the defamation case opposing Depp and Heard, in which the Pirates of the Caribbean star is seeking $50m in damages from his former wife.
The case surrounds an op-ed that Heard wrote for the Washington Post in 2018, in which she discussed the subject of domestic abuse.
Depp and his lawyers argue that the article, entitled ‘I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change‘, falsely implies that Heard was physically and sexually abused by Depp while they were married from 2015 to 2017.
On Wednesday, Depp’s friend Isaac Baruch was called as witness. He was asked by Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft: “Do you recall Mr Depp ever telling you that he hoped that Amber Heard’s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f*****g trunk of a Honda Civic?”
Shown a picture of the message on a screen in front of him, Baruch replied: “Yeah. Well, I say yeah – I’m seeing it here, so obviously, yeah, it was said. It was written.”
He was the asked if Depp had referred to his then-wife as a “c**t” in texts to him, the Independent reports.
Again, Baruch responded: “Well, it’s written there, so yeah, I could see that.”
But he did not agree with Bredehoft’s interpretation of Depp’s words, adding: “That’s not what he says – he says: ‘That c**t ruined such a f*****g cool life we had for a while.’”
Baruch got emotional on the stand, saying it was “not fair” and “not right” what Heard did to his friend.
Baruch got emotional on the stand "It's not fair. It's not right what she did…"
Heard's attorney asks him what if it's true, what if Depp has been physically violent with Heard? Depp's attorney objected, judge sustained. #JohnnyDepp #AmberHeard pic.twitter.com/XNJXfEhHdO
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 13, 2022
Heard herself has filed a countersuit against her former husband, accusing him of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and labelling his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”
The trial is expected to last for six weeks.
Related links:
- Johnny Depp suffers massive defeat in $50M defamation battle with Amber Heard
- Johnny Depp lands first major role since ‘wife beater’ court case
- Paul Bettany says having graphic texts with Johnny Depp made public was ‘unpleasant’
