Johnny Depp has concluded five days of testimony in his libel case against a British tabloid newspaper, saying his ex-wife Amber Heard had thrown a "haymaker" punch at him on the night he found out he had lost US$650 million [$930m].
Key points:
- Johnny Depp is suing The Sun newspaper and its publisher for an article that called him a "wife-beater"
- Depp has repeatedly denied accusations he attacked ex-wife Amber Heard
- He told London's High Court how he lost US$650 million
The 57-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star is suing The Sun's publisher, News Group Newspapers, at London's High Court after the tabloid labelled him a "wife beater" in a 2018 article.
The court has heard evidence from the newspaper's lawyer that Mr Depp violently attacked his former wife on at least 14 occasions over three years from 2013, when enraged by jealously and having consumed large amounts of alcohol or drugs.
The actor would become, according to Ms Heard, 34, and by his own account, "the monster", The Sun's lawyer Sasha Wass has told the court.
Mr Depp rejects all the allegations that he attacked his wife and says Ms Heard was lying, making up a choreographed hoax as part of an "insurance policy" dossier, and that she had attacked him.
Past managers 'squandered US$650m'
The court was told on Monday that one incident occurred after Ms Heard's 30th birthday party in 2016, which Mr Depp had been late to following a meeting with his business advisers.
At that meeting, he was told his previous managers had lost US$650 million of money he had made from films, which he called a "ludicrous" sum.
He then said that he owed US$100 million at the time [A$143m] because he had not paid tax for 17 years.
Mr Depp told the court Ms Heard accused him of making her look foolish in front of her friends and had attacked him while he was reading in bed, throwing a wild, swinging punch at him.
Appearing in the witness box for a fifth day, Mr Depp was also asked by his lawyer David Sherborne about the transcript of a conversation the couple had in 2016 after Ms Heard had gone public with her accusations.
"No one is going to believe that."
Mr Depp said he believed what Ms Heard was saying was a "reverse confession".
Ms Heard and Mr Depp met in 2011 while co-starring in the film The Rum Diary and married in 2015.
Ms Heard filed for divorce 15 months later when she first said publicly Mr Depp had abused her and the divorce was finalised the following year.
The court has been shown a number of pictures that Ms Heard took of herself with injuries she alleges Mr Depp inflicted.
Ms Wass, The Sun's lawyer, said the photos were taken to show the Hollywood star when he had sobered up and in her witness statement Ms Heard had said she "never imagined" they would form part of a court case.
Mr Depp said he was never shown the pictures.
Depp's assistant takes the stand
The court heard from Mr Depp's assistant Stephen Deuters, who was asked about a text he sent to Heard the day after she says the actor kicked her while he was in a drunken rage aboard a private jet.
He told the court Mr Depp had only made a playful attempt to tap her on the bottom with his foot and that he described it as a kick simply to appease her.
He said he never saw Mr Depp being violent towards her.
The libel case has heard some extraordinary revelations and allegations about the couple's relationship.
Judge Andrew Nicol was told Mr Depp had headbutted, slapped, kicked, threatened and thrown bottles at Ms Heard during heated arguments.
Mr Depp has previously recounted how in one incident, Ms Heard had severed the tip of his finger when she threw a bottle of vodka at him.
He used his damaged finger to scrawl messages across the house using his blood and paint, the court heard.
A few weeks after that incident Mr Depp is accused of repeatedly punching Ms Heard.
The actor said on Monday he could not have done so as he had a cast on his hand because of his damaged finger.
Ms Heard is due to start giving evidence on Friday with the trial expected to last three weeks.
AP/Reuters
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiY2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA3LTE0L2pvaG5ueS1kZXBwLWZpbmlzaGVzLWdpdmluZy1ldmlkZW5jZS1hdC1saWJlbC10cmlhbC8xMjQ1MTgyMtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjQ1MTgyMg?oc=5
2020-07-13 18:03:00Z
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