Top 20 Revelations In The Johnny Depp Amber Heard Trial
#20: Heard’s “Aquaman” Audition
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While Depp and Heard’s relationship has been the main focus, the trial has also highlighted their acting careers. On the stand, Depp suggested that he helped Heard secure her most high-profile role to date, Mera in the DCEU. Depp claims that Heard asked him to reach out to Warner Bros., as he had a multi-film deal with the studio. Calling executives Kevin Tsujihara, Sue Kroll, and Greg Silverman, Depp said that he “curbed their worries” and Heard ultimately got the part. Depp also testified that he told WB that “it was going to end up ugly” amid his breakup with Heard. Although Depp denied asking the studio to fire Heard, he texted his sister in June 2016, “I want her replaced on that WB film!!!”
#19: Whitney Henriquez Supports Her Sister
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Heard’s younger sister, Whitney Henriquez’s testimony painted Depp as the aggressor in the relationship. Henriquez claimed Depp tried hitting her from behind, motivating Heard to intervene and protect her sister. She recalled other alleged incidents where Depp endangered his personal nurse, assistant, and a Teacup Yorkie. Henriquez’s testimony was called into question, though, when former friend Jennifer Howell took the stand. In July 2020, Howell sent Henriquez an email urging her to “tell the truth.” Howell didn’t elaborate on the “truth” she was referring to, but the email exchange invited some speculation regarding Henriquez’s comments. The relationship between the sisters has also raised some concerns. Speaking of her former employer, Kate James implied that Heard treated Henriquez like a dog that’s been kicked around.
#18: Christi Dembrowski Supports Her Brother
Depp’s witness testimony commenced with his older sister and personal manager, Christi Dembrowski. According to Dembrowski, Heard mistreated Depp, calling him “an old, fat man.” Dembrowski claimed that this wasn’t the first time that her brother faced mistreatment from someone close to him. She accused their mother, Betty Sue Palmer, of hitting them and throwing things. Dembrowski further testified that their mother was cruel to their father, John Christopher Depp, who didn’t retaliate. Likewise, Dembrowski said that her brother didn’t strike back against their mother. Instead, the siblings “would run and hide” when things escalated. Dembrowski implied that Depp also hid from Heard, staying in another hotel room during fights. As far as Dembrowski is concerned, Depp has vowed not to repeat their mother’s actions.
#17: Ellen Barkin Reflects on Her Relationship with Depp
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Ellen Barkin shared the screen with Depp in 1998’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” playing a waitress at the North Star Cafe. Starting as friends, Barkin claimed that she entered a physical relationship with Depp for several months. During a pre-recorded deposition, Barkin alleged that Depp had been drunk throughout much of the relationship and frequently did drugs in her presence. When they were making “Fear and Loathing,” Barkin recalled an incident when Depp allegedly threw a wine bottle across a Las Vegas hotel room, not hitting anybody. Barkin also accused Depp of being “jealous” and “controlling,” suspecting that she was having an affair upon spotting a scratch on her back. After splitting, Barkin says she didn’t hear from Depp for a couple decades.
#16: Depp Receiving Care Regarding Substance Use Disorder
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Depp has referred to drugs as “a numbing agent,” claiming that his constant clashes with Heard increased the need for them. Following a 2014 dental surgery, Depp was receiving care for his opioid use disorder with Heard at his private island in the Bahamas. They both gave different accounts of this experience. A tearful Depp recalled begging Heard to give him his medication during withdrawal, calling it “the lowest [he’d] ever felt as a human being.” According to Depp, Heard refused to give him the withdrawal medications. Giving her recollection of Depp’s treatment, Heard testified that he started out okay, but grew angry over time. Heard said that Depp cried as he slapped her and accused her of embarrassing him, describing the ordeal as “hell.”
#15: The Winona Ryder Tattoo
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Depp dated his “Edward Scissorhands” co-star between 1989 and 1993, getting a tattoo on his upper right arm reading, “Winona Forever.” Sometime after their engagement was called off, Depp changed the tattoo to “Wino Forever.” According to Heard, when she inquired about the tattoo in 2013, she laughed after Depp said it read, “Wino.” Heard claims Depp subsequently slapped her for the first time. Initially, Heard thought Depp was joking around until he allegedly slapped her two more times. Depp denied these accusations, claiming that Heard didn’t like his Wino Forever tattoo. He also implied that Heard wanted him to get a tattoo with her name. Depp supposedly got a tattoo dedicated to Heard originally reading “Slim,” which later changed to “Scum” and then “Scam.”
#14: Substances at Engagement Party & Wedding
Between their engagement and wedding in February 2015, Depp and Heard accused each other of drug use at significant events. Heard testified that a relapsed Depp did drugs with her father - who had a history of heroin - at their engagement party. After running out, Depp and Heard’s father allegedly left with the former’s security team to get more. Depp, meanwhile, gave his account of their wedding day, which took place at his mother’s house. He claimed that Heard and several others in attendance had taken MDMA. Depp said that he had no recollection of drinking alcohol during this time, although he did smoke marijuana. Depp added that his daughter, Lily-Rose, wasn’t present at the wedding because she wasn’t on good terms with Heard.
#13: “Rotting Corpse” Text
Throughout the trial, numerous texts that Depp sent to Heard and others have been shared. On multiple occasions, Depp refers to Heard using foul language. In a text to Heard’s father, Depp wrote that he “went too far in our fight.” In an especially eyebrow-raising text conversation with actor Paul Bettany, Depp suggested that they drown and burn Amber before doing unspeakable things to her “rotting corpse.” Depp claims that he was merely referencing “Monty Python,” attributing the text to his dark sense of humor. Depp frequently used the term “monster” in his texts. According to Depp, the “monster” refers to himself under the influence of drugs and alcohol. “Monster” apparently has multiple meanings, as Depp also used it to describe sobriety.
#12: Johnny Depp Wanted to Give Jack Sparrow a “Proper Goodbye”
Via video chat, Depp’s talent manager, Jack Whigham, testified that Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed had cost his client multiple high-profile roles. This included “Pirates of the Caribbean 6,” which Depp was in talks to receive $22.5 million for, according to Whigham. Depp claims that he first learned Disney was dropping him from the franchise while reading an article that had been published shortly after Heard’s op-ed. Given his lengthy relationship with Disney and previous talks about “Pirates 6,” Depp was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to give Captain Jack a “proper goodbye.” Even if he was given a chance to play Jack again in the future, Depp confirmed that he wouldn’t return even for “$300 million and a million alpacas.”
#11: Former TMZ Employee Claims That Video Was Altered
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In one of the trial’s most notable pieces of video evidence, Heard secretly recorded Depp yelling, drinking, and slamming kitchen cabinets. Shortly after Depp discovered the recording device, the video ended. The video didn’t present Depp in a positive light, but former TMZ employee Morgan Tremaine suggested that there might be more to the story. Tremaine said that TMZ received the same video in 2016, publishing it unedited. Tremaine said that the video shown in court was longer than the one TMZ received, seemingly implying it might’ve been altered. According to Tremaine, the video presented at the trial featured more footage at the beginning and at the end. Tremaine reached out to Depp’s legal team to help clean up the “timeline,” although he didn’t anticipate taking the stand.
#10: Heard Claims She’s Received Threats Throughout Trial
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To an extent, the court of public opinion might have more of an influence on Depp and Heard’s futures than the jury’s verdict. While many remain divided on the case, some experts feel that Depp has won over the public with #JusticeForJohnnny trending. During her rebuttal, Heard opened up about how the trial has impacted her, claiming that she’s received numerous death threats. Heard testified that due to the harassment and trauma, her friends must follow certain rules to prevent triggering a panic attack. Although not everyone has believed Heard’s accusations throughout the trial, it’s safe to say that social media hasn’t been her strongest supporter. This has left some commentators to ponder, “is such scrutiny justified or has the public gone too far?”
#9: Photos Possibly Doctored
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During her cross-examination of Heard, Camille Vasquez brought up several photos of the seemingly injured defendant. Depp’s lawyer argued that some photos of Heard didn’t line up with alleged altercations. Heard attributed this to makeup and ice covering up her injuries. Vasquez also contended that there were inconsistencies in some photos, claiming that they had been saturated to make Heard appear more seriously bruised. Heard denied this accusation, chalking up the differences to the light changing. Depp’s legal team enlisted metadata expert Norbert “Bryan” Neumeister to share his professional opinion. Although Neumeister said that there was “no way for any forensic expert to validate these photos,” he believed some of them had been altered, finding signs that the “colors have been modified in an editor.”
#8: Heard’s “Aquaman 2” Role
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Depp’s accusations against Heard have inspired multiple petitions to remove the latter from the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel, including one on Change.org with over 4 million signatures. During the trial’s fifth week, Heard testified that she fought to stay in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” Even with her part and $2 million salary secured, Heard claimed that her role was significantly reduced with action scenes involving Mera being taken out. DC Films President Walter Hamada contradicted this in his testimony, saying that Heard’s role hadn’t been reduced from the original script. Hamada said that there was talk of recasting Mera, but not due to the controversy surrounding Heard and Depp. Rather, Hamada testified that WB was more concerned about Heard’s chemistry with Jason Momoa.
#7: Heard’s Mental Health
On the stand, psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes stated that she diagnosed Heard with PTSD, believing that it stemmed from “the intimate partner violence by Mr. Depp.” Dr. Shannon Curry, who Depp’s legal team hired, gave a different diagnosis. Spending 12 hours with Heard over two sessions, Curry claims that Heard “grossly exaggerat[ed] symptoms of PTSD.” While Heard said that she had 19 of 20 core PTSD symptoms, Curry only found 3 symptoms. Rather than PTSD, Curry diagnosed Heard with borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder based on a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test. While being cross-examined, Curry noted that Heard’s behavior didn’t necessarily mean her allegations against Depp were untrue. He also elaborated that even without PTSD, Heard still may’ve been “harmed psychologically.”
#6: Depp Suspected Heard of Having Multiple Affairs
Depp has accused Heard of cheating on him with Elon Musk and James Franco. While Heard did date the Tesla billionaire following her divorce, Musk denies having an affair while she was still married to Depp. However, concierge Alejandro Romero claims that Musk “frequently visited” Heard when Depp wasn’t home. Surveillance footage captured Heard and Franco together in an elevator at the apartment complex she shared with Depp. Heard’s lawyers argued that Franco used to live at the complex as well. Around the same time she co-starred with Franco in “The Adderall Diaries,” Heard claims that Depp became jealous and attacked her on a plane. Heard also testified that Depp accused her of sleeping with Eddie Redmayne while she was filming “The Danish Girl.”
#5: Kate Moss Denies Stairs Rumor
Musk and Franco never took the stand, but Kate Moss was among the trial’s most high-profile witnesses. Moss was alluded to earlier in the trial when Heard referenced a rumor that Depp had pushed the British model down a flight of stairs when they were dating between 1994 and 1998. Testifying via video from her South West England home, Moss put the rumor to rest. Moss recalled it raining at the Jamaican resort where they had been staying. Leaving their room after Depp, Moss claims that she slid down the slippery stairs and Depp helped her get medical attention. In addition to clearing up that Depp wasn’t responsible for the stairs accident, Moss said that he had never pushed or kicked her.
#4: Audio Recordings
Whether you side with the plaintiff or the defendant, the audio recordings played throughout the trial paint a highly toxic portrait. In one recording, Heard said that she didn’t punch or deck Depp, but admitted to hitting him and starting a physical fight. Amid profanities, Head called Depp a “baby,” telling him to grow up. In another recording, Depp threatened to cut himself with Heard begging him not to. Various recordings revealed Depp using degrading terms to describe Heard. Other audio clips found Heard accusing Depp of putting cigarettes out on her and Depp saying that he had to leave to avoid a “bloodbath.” Although hard to make out, Heard also shared recordings of Depp supposedly locked in a plane bathroom, howling after an altercation.
#3: Heard Hasn’t Completed Charity Donations
Heard pledged to split her $7 million divorce settlement between American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Although Heard started paying the ACLU in 2016, COO Terence Dougherty said that donations stopped two years later. The ACLU has received $1.3 million, although not all of it was directly from Heard. $100,000 was credited to Depp while $500,000 is believed to have been donated by Elon Musk. Likewise, Jennifer Howell contradicted Heard’s testimony that she donated $250,000 to The Art of Elysium, believing it came from Musk. Candie Davidson-Goldbronn says the Heard hasn’t completed her donation to CHLA either. Heard attributed this to Depp suing her, although time will only tell if she fulfills the pledges following the trial.
#2: Depp’s Finger
Depp testified that while visiting Australia in 2015, Heard threw a vodka bottle at him during a fight. The bottle missed Depp, but Heard allegedly proceeded to throw another, this time severing the tip of his middle finger. Depp wasn’t in pain, but he soon noticed the bone sticking out. Depp recalled writing on the lampshade, wall, mirror with his dripping blood. Then when Depp ran dry, he dipped his finger in paint thinner and used that. When Heard gave her account of the Australia altercation, she claimed that it was Depp who assaulted her with a liquor bottle. Heard expressed no recollection of severing Depp’s finger, but remembered waking up the next day to find the bloody message as Marilyn Manson music was playing.
#1: Accusations on Both Sides
Throughout the trial’s first four weeks, we’ve listened to shocking testimony from both sides of the case. In addition to the severed finger, Depp claimed that Heard stubbed a cigarette on his face. Others close to the former couple have accused Heard of name-calling, punching and spitting on Depp, and defecating in their bed. Heard alleged that Depp assaulted her on several occasions, physically and sexually, almost breaking her nose at the 2014 Met Gala, and on one occasion using a liquor bottle. Depp has denied various claims, but time will only tell who the jury believes.
