Amber Heard's lawyer focuses on Johnny Depp's texts: "Let's burn Amber"
Attorneys for actor Amber Heard sought to undermine Johnny Depp's libel lawsuit against her Thursday by spending hours in court focused on the actor's drinking, drug use and texts he sent to friends — including one about wanting to kill and defile his then-wife.
Heard's lawyers referenced Depp's history of trashing hotel rooms and his smashing of a bathroom sconce during an argument with Heard. Depp is also facing a lawsuit filed by a member of a film crew who alleges he was assaulted in 2018.
The attorneys are trying to derail Depp's libel lawsuit against Heard that alleges that she falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser and ruined his lucrative acting career. They argue that Depp did indeed abuse Heard, both physically and sexually, and claim that Depp can't deny it because he was often drunk and high on drugs to the point of blacking out.
"I, of course, pounded and displayed ugly colors to Amber on a recent journey," Depp said in a text message to a friend, the actor Paul Bettany, in July 2013, which was shown to jurors.
"I am an insane person and not so fair headed after too much of the drink," Depp continued. "Weed, pills ... Fine!!! Booze??? My capacity is too large and I won't stop ... Ugly and sad ... Oh, how I love it."
Heard lawyer J. Benjamin Rottenborn also focused on another exchange that year between Depp and Bettany in which Depp wrote: "Let's burn Amber!!!"
Bettany responded: "Having thought it through I don't think we should burn Amber."
Depp texted: "Let's drown her before we burn her!!! I will (expletive) her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she's dead."
Depp has previously apologized to the jury for the vulgar language in the texts and said that "in the heat of the pain I was feeling, I went to dark places."
Rottenborn also showed the jury one of Depp's texts to Bettany in 2014 in which he referenced whiskey, pills and cocaine.
The texts were sent during a period in which Depp said he had stopped drinking. And they were sent around the time of a private flight from Boston to Los Angeles, during which Heard had said that Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her.
Rottenborn presented texts that Depp sent to Bettany that said he drank "all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA this past Sunday … Ugly, mate … No food for days … Powders … Half a bottle of Whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane …"
Depp had previously testified that he took two oxycodone pills — an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time — and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering. He also disputes that he was drunk on the flight, saying he drank only a glass of champagne as he boarded the plane.
But Rottenborn also showed the jury Depp's expressions of contrition following the flight.
"Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret," Depp wrote to Heard. "Of course, I am sorry. I really don't know why, or what happened. But I will never do it again … My illness somehow crept up and grabbed me … I must get better. And I will. For us both. Starting today. I love you. Again, I am so sorry. So sorry."
The jury also saw a written apology from Depp to Heard's father in which the actor said he "(messed) up and went too far" in a fight with Heard. But Depp noted on the stand that the message did not say the fight was physical.
Multiple audio recordings of the couple's conversations were played in court. In one, Heard told Depp he vomited in his sleep. In another discussion, it sounds as if Depp said he had head-butted Heard.
"I was using the words that Ms. Heard was using," Depp countered. "But there was not an intentional head-butt. And if you want to have a peaceful conversation with Ms. Heard, you might have to placate just a little bit."
Depp has been on the stand in Fairfax County Circuit Court since Tuesday afternoon. The actor has spent much of that time describing the couple's volatile relationship and denying that he ever abused Heard.
Depp said that Heard often violently attacked him. And he argued that his movie career suffered after she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post, which prompted his libel lawsuit against Heard.
Heard never mentioned Depp by name in the article, but Depp's lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made when she sought a 2016 restraining order against him.
Depp said the accusations and the article contributed to an unfairly ruined reputation that made him a Hollywood outcast and cost him his role in the lucrative "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise.
When cross-examination began Wednesday, Rottenborn pointed to evidence that Disney made that decision months before the article's publication. Her attorneys have said that Depp's damaged reputation was due to his own bad behavior.
Rottenborn's cross-examination of Depp lasted all of Thursday and is scheduled to continue Monday.
Wednesday's testimony
Actor Johnny Depp's second day of testimony Wednesday included details about the former couple's fights and substance use.
Heard has said the first time she was assaulted was when Depp slapped her in 2013 after she made fun of a tattoo he had — one that used to say "Winona Forever" when he was dating the actress Winona Ryder that he altered to "Wino Forever" after they broke up.
"It didn't happen," he said of the alleged assault. "Why would I take such great offense to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me."
Later, he addressed an alleged assault on a private plane flight in 2014 from Boston to Los Angeles during which he said he took oxycodone pills — an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time — and drank Champagne. Heard has said Depp became blackout intoxicated and assaulted her on the plane ride. He also discussed a violent 2015 argument in Australia that resulted in the tip of his middle finger being cut off. He said Heard was irate that Depp's lawyers had asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement.
"I don't know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but that's probably the closest I've ever been," he said.
Depp said he began to write on the walls in his own blood to recount lies in which he had caught Heard.
Depp told hospital doctors he had injured himself, and contemporaneous text messages introduced as evidence refer to Depp injuring himself. Depp testified he lied about the cause of the injury to protect her. Heard's lawyers have said the laws of physics don't support Depp's story and they will introduce evidence to prove that.
Depp also gave a graphic description of a final fight as the couple drifted toward divorce, accusing Heard and her friends of pretending that he was assaulting her. Soon after, Heard sought a restraining order and was photographed with marks on her face.
The fight had started as Depp said he'd realized it was time for the couple to split. The argument intensified, he said, as Depp accused her of leaving human fecal matter on his side of the bed in the penthouse they'd shared. He said Heard kept denying it, blaming it on their small dogs, but he was convinced she was lying.
Depp said he used drugs and drank alcohol as a way to cope with Heard's abuse and said she was also a heavy drinker. Depp said he at one point stopped drinking to try to save the relationship, but Heard refused to abstain.
Tuesday's testimony
The trial began more than a week ago, but, prior to Tuesday, jurors had only seen Depp sitting silently with his team of lawyers as each side has tried to embarrass the other in a trial that Heard's lawyers accurately predicted would turn into a mudslinging soap opera.
After denying Heard's abuse allegations, Depp spoke at length about a childhood in which he said physical abuse from his mother was "constant."
Depp said Heard's allegations of his substance abuse have been "grossly embellished" and that there have been no moments where he's been out of control.
Watch more of the highlights in the video above.