Speaking in court in a libel case against Amber Heard, Johnny Depp responded to his ex-wife’s accusations of domestic violence.
“It’s been six years of ordeal,” Depp, 58, said during testimony at the trial in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday, April 19. — It’s quite strange when one day you are, so to speak, Cinderella, and then 0.6. seconds you are Quasimodo. I didn’t deserve it, neither did my children, and the people who believed in me all these years. I didn’t want any of these people to believe that I had done wrong, or lied to them, or that I was a fraud. I’m proud of my honesty.”
The Kentucky native recalled the “complete shock” he faced after 35-year-old Hurd claimed he had abused her. “I myself have never gone so far as to hit Ms. Heard in any way, and I have never hit any woman in my life,” Depp continued, calling Heard’s previous accusations “disgusting” and “not based” on any truth. . “Since I knew that there was no truth in this, I considered it my duty to stand up not only for myself in this case, but also for my children, who were 14 and 16 years old at the time.”
The Pirates of the Caribbean star, who has a daughter Lily-Rose, now 22, and son Jack, now 20, from ex Vanessa Paradis, explained that he hoped to “clear the record” because it “killed” him to have his reputation damaged. .
The Oscar nominee’s trial will take place a week after the start of the trial of Hurd. The duo, who tied the knot in 2015, previously made headlines when the Aquaman star filed for divorce a year later. A few days later, Heard accused Depp of domestic violence and obtained a temporary restraining order against him.
A representative for the “Alice in Wonderland” star denied the allegations in a statement at the time, saying, “Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life. I hope that the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.”
The former couple reached a settlement agreement in August 2016, and five months later their divorce was finalized.
Heard and Depp continued to engage in litigation when the Golden Globe winner filed a libel suit against the British newspaper The Sun for calling him a “wife beater” in a 2018 article. (In November 2020, the High Court ruled that The Sun’s article was not defamatory because Heard’s allegations were “substantially true.”)
In 2018, the Texas native wrote an article in The Washington Post about her past history of abuse. Although she did not name Depp, a reference to a moment that occurred two years before publication became the basis for her ex-husband’s libel suit.
Ahead of the trial earlier this month, Heard took to social media to reflect on her past with Depp. “I never mentioned his name, but wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power,” she wrote on Instagram before announcing a break in the network. “I continue to pay this price, but hopefully when this case is over, I can move on, just like Johnny. I have always maintained my love for Johnny, and it is very painful for me to relive the details of our past life together away from the world.”
If you or someone you know is being subjected to domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
