The courtroom drama between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has shocked fans over recent weeks.
Johnny, 58, is suing Amber, 36, for defamation over a 2018 piece she wrote for The Washington Post in which she talked about surviving domestic abuse, two years after filing for divorce from him, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
While she never mentioned his name in the article, the actor went on to file a £38m lawsuit, claiming it falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser and cost him his lucrative film career.
While Johnny awaited the trial – delayed by the pandemic – he lost his libel lawsuit in 2020 against The Sun for calling him a “wife beater” after the court upheld the tabloid’s claims as being “substantially true”.
He returned to court last month to face his ex-wife in what turned into a sordid spectacle, and famous names were dragged into the drama, including Amber’s ex, Elon Musk, 50, and supermodel Kate Moss, 48. As the trial concludes, Closer looks at some of the most explosive allegations...
She ‘defecated’ in their bed
Johnny claimed Amber was responsible for fecal matter he found in their bed following a fight in which he said he was leaving her.
In the stomach-churning allegations, he said the incident happened following a dinner party held for Amber’s 30th birthday in April 2016, a month before she filed for divorce. “My initial response to that was, I laughed,” he told the court. “It was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh.”
According to Johnny, Amber blamed the faeces on her two dogs. He added, “They’re teacup Yorkies. They weigh about 4 pounds each. I lived with those dogs. I picked up their funk. It was not the dogs.”
His daughter refused to attend their wedding
Johnny blamed Amber for his 22-year-old daughter, Lily Rose’s, absence at their 2015 nuptials.
Discussing her refusal to attend the star-studded bash – which included “dinner, dancing and drugs” written on the schedules – Johnny said, “My daughter Lily-Rose did not come to the wedding. She and Ms Heard were not on particularly great terms.”
The actor – who shares Lily-Rose and son, Jack, 20, with his ex, singer Vanessa Paradis, 49 – claimed Amber monopolised his time, which drove a wedge between him and his children. He also alleged the actress “would tell me what a bad father I was.”
Ex Kate Moss denies he pushed her
One of the biggest bombshells came when it emerged Johnny’s ex-girlfriend, model Kate Moss, would testify.
Johnny and Kate, 48, dated for three years and split in 1997.
After Amber previously referred to an incident where Johnny allegedly pushed Kate down a flight of stairs during an argument in 1994, Johnny’s lawyers summoned Kate.
When she appeared in court via video link last week, she denied any wrongdoing on his part, saying, “We were leaving the room, Johnny left before I did, and there had been a rain storm. As I left the room, I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back. I screamed, because I didn’t know what had happened to me and I was in pain. He came running back to help me and carried me back to my room, and got me medical attention.” She added, “He never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs.”
He details his abusive childhood
The star and his sister, Christi Dembrowski, 61, have testified that their late mother, Betty Sue Palmer – who died in 2016 – was abusive towards them and their father, John Sur, 84, growing up.
He recalled, “When Betty Sue, my mother, would go off on a tangent toward my father – and of course, in front of the kids, it [didn’t] matter to her – he amazingly remained very stoic... he stood there and just looked at her while she delivered the pain, and he swallowed it.”
When asked why he stayed with Amber despite the alleged abuse, he said, “I suppose because my father stayed [in his abusive marriage]. And I didn’t want to fail.”
PR expert: It’s been incredibly damaging – but it may not be the end of their careers’
Closer’s PR and popular culture expert, Nick Ede, says, “Despite the fact that this case has been incredibly toxic and damaging claims have been made against both Johnny and Amber – it won’t be last we will see of them, whatever the outcome.
“Johnny will still be an icon. He’s a brand that sells as, despite all this, he’s kept his lucrative deal as the face of Dior Sauvage. If he wins, his appeal could go stratospheric. Yes, he’s admitted to taking drugs and other things, but others have done the same and thrived. Being a bit of a bad boy has always been part of Johnny’s brand.
“But I think it’s over for Amber’s acting career – maybe that’s also partly because of the sexist world we live in, but I think primarily it’s because she’s just not as established or as popular as Johnny. Amber has said herself that her role in Aquaman was significantly cut down and she’s only had a role in a small independent role since, and she hasn’t got anything else in the pipeline. I don’t think movie studios or brands will see her as a bankable star. However, she could start campaigning, highlighting domestic violence, alcoholism and drug addiction – and find success there.”