Johnny Depp returned to the witness stand on Wednesday in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard and offered more explosive testimony about their brief marriage, including that his ex-wife intentionally left excrement on his side of their bed.
“It was so outside, it was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh,” Depp said in the Fairfax, Virginia courtroom.
On day two of his testimony, Depp told the court that as his relationship with Heard unraveled, he wanted to collect his belongings from their Los Angeles penthouse. He said he let his security guards know he planned to go the building. But he received a message from them saying it wasn’t a good time. Depp said he wanted to know why, when he was told he should wait because there was “human fecal matter” on his side of the marital bed. The actor added that he was sent a picture of the feces as proof.
Depp said that when confronted, Heard tried to blame what he called the “fecal delivery” on their yorkies but he said it was clearly human feces.
Depp spent the entire day on the stand testifying about his relationship with Heard. He said the “Aquaman” actress threw a bottle of vodka at him, severing the tip of his middle finger during an argument and then burned his face with a cigarette. Photos of the injuries were shown in court.
The couple was staying in Australia during the filming of “Pirates of the Caribbean 5” in 2015, when the finger-severing incident occurred. Depp said Heard picked up a vodka bottle and hurled it at him. “I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed and I was looking directly at my bone sticking out,” said Depp. The actor told the court it was the closest he’d ever come to a nervous breakdown and in retaliation he began writing on a wall with his own blood.
Depp said he initially lied about how his finger got cut off to everyone except Dr. David Kipper, his private doctor. When asked why he lied, Depp told the court he didn’t want to get Heard in trouble or admit what actually happened. Kipper previously testified that he received a text message from Depp saying he had severed his own finger.
Depp said when he and Heard arrived in Australia she was already in a “tailspin.” The couple had been arguing about post-nuptial agreements and Heard was furious she wasn’t in Depp’s will. He claimed she accused him of being in cahoots with lawyers to trick her. Depp said he tried explaining that he wasn’t trying to screw her over but the conversation turned into chaos and violence. “She was irate and possessed,” said Depp.
Earlier in the day, Depp was asked about allegations that he struck Heard for making fun of a tattoo he had that used to say “Winona Forever,” from when he was dating actress Winona Ryder. He later had it altered to say “Wino Forever.”
Depp insisted claims that he struck Heard were untrue. “That allegation never made sense to me,” said Depp. “I’ve never struck Ms. Heard.”
The actor was also asked if Heard used drugs or alcohol excessively. He told the court Heard could “easily drink two bottles of wine a night” and used ecstasy and mushrooms during their relationship.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million claiming she libeled him in a 2018 op-ed piece in the Washington Post, derailing his career. Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim for defamation for calling her a “liar.”
Depp told the court Disney fired him from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise just days after the piece was posted.
On cross-examination, Heard’s lawyer countered Depp’s testimony by saying Disney decided to move on months before the article was published. Heard’s lawyers also said Depp ruined his own reputation with bad behavior.
The actor’s cross-examination is expected to resume Thursday. Heard is also expected to take the stand in the case which could last several weeks.
Anita Bennett contributed to this report.