Inside Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s ‘three-day hostage situation’ on the Gold Coast
In March 2015 newlyweds Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arrived in Australia for filming. Behind the scenes, a court heard their marriage was toxic.
When Johnny Depp and his new wife Amber Heard jetted into the Gold Coast in 2015, the couple were the epitome of the Hollywood A-list.
A month earlier they had married on Depp’s private island in the Bahamas, Little Hall’s Pond Cay, after a whirlwind romance. He had described his then 28-year old wife as “a Southern belle and sweet as can be, and very good for me”.
The couple, who first met on the set of the 2011 film, The Rum Diary, in which Depp played a journalist obsessed with Heard arrived Down Under to excited fans and waiting paparazzi.
Depp was set to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow for the Pirates of the Caribbean blockbuster Dead Men Tell No Tales.
But a court has heard that, behind the glamorous facade, the couple’s toxic marriage was about to descend further into chaos – and this version had nothing to do with Barnaby Joyce.
In a high profile libel trial in London this week, sordid details and claims from inside their tumultuous relationship including drug use, demeaning text messages and allegations of physical abuse on both sides have spilt into the public domain.
Heard, now 34, described the time the couple spent on the Gold Coast as a “three-day hostage situation” in which she claims she was subject to her new husband’s drink and drug-induced rages.
London’s High Court heard that Depp, 57, claimed she threw a vodka bottle at him and severed the tip of his finger on a Sunday afternoon after she heard him talking to his lawyers on the phone about a postnuptial agreement.
“Amber severed my finger with the second of two thrown vodka bottles at me in the early afternoon of Sunday March 8. Amber claims this was on the second day of a “three-day hostage situation,” he told the court.
“Amber claims that during these three days, I subjected her to a variety of what sounds like torture and other abuse. These sick claims are completely untrue.’
The court was shown photographs of writing scrawled on the walls of the luxury mansion with “I love u” written in blood from Depp’s severed finger.
Depp accused Heard of having an affair with Billy Bob Thornton and wrote “Starring Billy Bob, Easy Amber,” on the wall of the rented property.
Another message said “Call Carly Simon, she said it better, babe” in reference to the song You’re so Vain. Depp said it was written by Heard after he had gone to hospital for treatment on his finger.
Heard’s account of the Gold Coast situation claimed Depp injured his own hand by smashing a phone against the wall.
Heard told the court she was left with “cuts all over her body” after the three day “ordeal of assaults” and she had been scared for her life and forced to barricade herself in a room.
Lawyer for NGN, Sasha Wass, told the court that Depp had physically attacked Heard in a drink and drug-induced rage.
She said the rental property was left in a state of “carnage” with around $75,000 worth of damage done.
But Depp refuted that he would have even been capable of carrying out an attack on his ex-wife, saying he was having a nervous breakdown at the time.
“When I realised that the top of my finger was missing and pouring blood profusely and the bones was sticking out, I believe that I went into some kind of breakdown,” he said.
“I was at the end. I couldn’t live, didn’t want to live at that time.”
“I did not push Ms Heard or attack in any way, and certainly I was in no condition to in any way,” he said.
“I was in no physical condition to push anyone.”
Two days after the incident Depp flew home to the US for surgery where he had a pin inserted in his finger while the 400-strong film crew was stood down for a month.
In late April, he returned to Australia and a scandal of a different kind dominated the headlines.
The couple’s two dogs, Pistol and Boo, had been snuck into the country aboard a private jet unknown to customs officials. A picture of them at a local grooming salon tipped off authorities, prompting then Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce to intervene:
“There is a process if you want to bring animals: you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them,” he said at the time.
“But if we start letting movie stars — even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation [and break laws], then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody?
“It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States,” he said after having earlier threatened to “euthanise” the dogs.
The couple appeared in a Gold Coast magistrates court but escaped charges after issuing a supremely awkward video apology.
THE LIBEL CASE
Depp, 57, is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun, and its executive editor Dan Wooton over an article from April 2018 that referred to him as a “wife beater”, using the headline: “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beast film?”
It was published after Depp had publicly denied allegations of domestic violence against Heard, 34, and the Edward Scissorhands star argued it led to “significant reputational damage” for him personally and career wise.
Depp’s defence team have vehemently denied he subjected Heard to any physical abuse. They have portrayed him as a man in the midst of a breakdown, while telling the court Heard was a “calculating narcissist” who was collecting evidence since the start of their relationship.
“I am now convinced that she came into my life to take from me anything worth taking, and then destroy what remained of it,” Depp said in a witness statement to the court.
NGN’s defence is based on Heard’s 14 allegations of abuse between 2013 and 2016, and lawyers for the publication have framed Depp as a man prone to bouts of rages fuelled by drink and drugs.
The trial will last a further two weeks with Vanessa Paradis, Depp’s long-time partner and actress Winona Ryder, due to give evidence. In a pre-trial statement, Paradis, with whom Depp has two children, described him as kind and nonviolent.
Another ex-girlfriend, Winona Ryder, said she could not “wrap my head around” allegations Depp was abusive.
The judge has previously refused an application from Depp’s legal team to require Heard to disclose certain evidence. His lawyer David Sherborne told the court Heard had affairs with Elon Musk and James Franco while they were together.
The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2017 and Heard donated her US$7 million settlement to charity.
‘I WILL F*** HER BURNT CORPSE’
The court has heard shocking details from inside the former couple’s seemingly glamorous relationship this week, including that Depp decided to divorce Heard when he discovered she or one of her friends had allegedly defecated in their bed “as a prank”.
Depp’s lawyer David Sherborne said his client at times had to defend himself from Heard’s alleged violence and she was “extremely unpredictable” with rages and mood swings.
“She was beautiful, seemingly incredibly interested in me and my work, and I fell for it. She bombed me with what appeared to be love,” Depp said in a witness statement describing their early days together.
“It was not until much later that I understood that she had an agenda, namely to get married to me in order to progress her own career and/or to benefit financially.”
Depp claimed Heard told him she admired his films but later admitted never watching any of them. The court also heard she mocked him over a tattoo he got while dating Winona Ryder that he had amended to read “Wino forever”, leading him to slap her.
Depp denied hitting her.
Shocking text messages showed to the court from Depp to actor Paul Bettany, who starred with him in The Tourist and Transcendence, showed him talking about warning to burn Heard.
One text from Depp read: “Let’s burn Amber” to which Bettany replied: “I don’t think we should burn her. She’s delightful company and easy on the eye. Also, I’m not sure she’s a witch. We could do a drowning test first. Thoughts? PS: I have a pool.”
Depp said: “Let’s drown her before we burn her. I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
Bettany then replies: “My thoughts entirely. Let’s be certain before we pronounce her a witch.”
When asked about the exchange, Depp admitted it wasn’t the “most respectful way” to talk about Heard. But he said she was “very aggressive and quite insulting about my use of alcohol or cocaine”.
“She was constantly harping on about things that didn’t exist. She didn’t like me using alcohol or drugs because she had some delusional idea that they turned me into a monster,” he said.
‘WE ARE A CRIME SCENE’
Depp admitted supplying cannabis to his 13-year-old daughter, Lily Rose Depp, in court and said he did it because he had a trustworthy supply and wanted her to be in a controlled environment.
The famous dogs were mentioned when Depp said he spoke about putting Pistol in a microwave, but said it was a “running joke” and denied hanging the dog out a car window.
He claimed Heard had punched him in the face on a private jet and he was forced to lock himself in the bathroom.
A letter from Depp’s rehab doctor, David Kipper, which was tendered to the court, said the Pirates of the Caribbean star “romanticises the drug culture” and has no intention of quitting.
“He is … quite childlike,” the doctor’s conclusion said.
The court heard how Depp attempted to paint himself as a depressed star who struggled with insomnia and drugs while keeping his marriage afloat.
“There are several times I have spoken to Ms Heard and said listen, we are a crime scene waiting to happen,” he said, admitting he had blackouts but said he remembered events enough to deny allegations against him.
“There were blackouts for sure and in any blackouts there are snippets of memory,” he said.
At one point he conceded Heard did her best to help him rehabilitate in 2014.
“She does have a heart and she understands the pain I was experiencing,” he said.
The trial continues.
– The Sun is owned by News Corporation, publisher of News.com.au.
– With wires
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