Depp breached order by not disclosing ‘drug texts’

Judge rules Johnny Depp breached a court order by failing to disclose texts asking for ‘happy pills’

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard on the Gold Coast in 2016. Picture: AFP

Johnny Depp has suffered a blow in his libel action against The Sun after a judge ruled that he breached a court order by failing to disclose texts in which he apparently tried to get drugs.

The actor sent the texts to his assistant while in Australia with Amber Heard, his wife, in early 2015. They include appeals for “happy pills” and “whitey stuff”, which lawyers claim meant ecstasy tablets and cocaine.

Depp, 57, is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes The Sun and The Times, over a story in April 2018 that referred to Depp as a “wife beater”. The article related to allegations made against Depp by Heard, 34, that he was violent towards her during their marriage. He denies the claims. In the High Court last week NGN asked Mr Justice Nicol to strike out Depp’s libel claim for his failure to disclose the texts. The texts were sent shortly before an alleged incident between Depp and Heard that she claims was “a three-day ordeal of physical assaults”.

Adam Wolanski, QC, for NGN, said that the messages showed that Depp was trying to obtain ecstasy and cocaine, which would be “profoundly damaging to his case”.

The alleged incident in Australia is one of 14 allegations of domestic violence that NGN relies on in its defence to Depp’s claim. A three-week trial in London is due to begin next Tuesday. The judge delayed a decision on whether Depp’s case should be thrown out.

The couple settled their divorce in 2017 and Heard donated her US$7m ($10m) settlement to charity.

The Times