Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are involved in one of the most highly publicized celebrity trials of all time. The drama unfolds as the trial continues. Here’s everything you need to know:
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Relationship
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met over 10 years ago on the set of The Rum Diary. Depp was still with his longtime partner and the mother of his children, Vanessa Paradis, at the time.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard first met while filming The Rum Diary in October 2009 (Credit: Christian Lapid / Startraksphoto)
However, after they separated, Depp and Heard got together, and in 2014 were engaged. In 2015, the couple married in Los Angeles, and just 15 months later they divorced.
Depp and Heard’s relationship was full of contention, as it has now been revealed.
Amber Heard filed for divorce from Johnny Depp in 2016 after 15 months of marriage (Credit: Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto)
When Depp and Heard first separated in 2016, Heard was granted a restraining order against Depp after claiming that he had abused her while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The Origins of the Trial
Due to the alleged abuse, Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post detailing her perspective as an alleged victim.
“Two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out,” Amber wrote for the American daily newspaper.
Amber Heard departs after her trial recessed for the day at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on April 14, 2022 (Credit: Ron Sachs / CNP / Startraksphoto)
“Friends and advisers told me I would never again work as an actress — that I would be blacklisted. A movie I was attached to recast my role. I had just shot a two-year campaign as the face of a global fashion brand, and the company dropped me. Questions arose as to whether I would be able to keep my role of Mera in the movies ‘Justice League’ and ‘Aquaman.’”
Many fans are not happy about Heard being allowed to reprise her role as Mera in Aquaman 2.
“I write this as a woman who had to change my phone number weekly because I was getting death threats. For months, I rarely left my apartment, and when I did, I was pursued by camera drones and photographers on foot, on motorcycles and in cars. Tabloid outlets that posted pictures of me spun them in a negative light. I felt as though I was on trial in the court of public opinion — and my life and livelihood depended on myriad judgments far beyond my control.”
Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2019 over an op-ed published in the Washington Post (Credit: Vince Flores / Startraksphoto)
Though the peace never directly claimed that the abuse was at the hands of Depp, he sued Heard for defamation, claiming that he has suffered financial losses as a result of the piece, as he has struggled to find work as an actor in Hollywood since.
Heard tried to get the lawsuit dismissed, but failed to do so, and now the suit has gone to trial. The case is being brought in Virginia because the Washington Post‘s online editions are published in Fairfax County.
The trial began with incredibly revealing testimonies from Depp, and the information shared has only gotten more and more intriguing.
Johnny Depp’s First Week on the Stand
The Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial opened to some very revealing days in court. Here is all you need to know from Depp’s first week on the stand:
The Premise of the Allegations
The trial is taking place at a courthouse in Virginia. Court runs from Monday to Thursday, and each day more compelling information was made known as the entire trial has been recorded.
Much of the week centered around Depp’s testimony where he revealed information about abuse he suffered as a child, as well as abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of Heard.
Biggest Bombshells
On Tuesday, Depp took the stand and shared intimate details about his childhood.
According to the actor, Depp’s mother Betty Sue Palmer was abusive and very confrontational with his father, and he witnessed instability and violence growing up in his household. She died in May 2016 after an illness.
Johnny Depp and his sister Christi Dembrowski claim their mom Betty Sue Palmer (L) was abusive (Credit: BO / Startraksphoto)
His sister Christi Dembrowski also took to the stand and claimed she and her brother were abused by their mom during their childhood.
“We would run and hide,” she said of seeing her mother being physically abusive toward their father, whom she claimed would not react. Christi added, “She would hit us. She would throw things.”
“Really early on as a young child,” she claimed, “none of what was happening in our home felt good. And so, as I got older, both Johnny and I actually, we decided that once we left, once we had our own home, we were never going to repeat, ever, anything similar in any way to our childhood. We were gonna do it different.”
Johnny Depp says his mother Betty Sue Palmer was “violent” and “cruel” to him when growing up (Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock)
Depp also said that his father was a calm and gentle man who did not ever fight back.
Depp also revealed some of the text messages that he had sent to friends, ones with very dark humor, and sometimes disturbing content, which Depp admitted to writing.
Some of his messages about Amber Heard are clearly inspired by the 1975 British comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is considered one of the funniest movies of all time.
“Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! will f— her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she’s dead,” he wrote in a message to Marvel actor Paul Bettany, clearly referencing the witch trial scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Connie Booth played The Witch in the 1975 British comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Credit: EMI Films)
“I am ashamed of some of the references made. I am embarrassed that at the time, the heat of the moment. The heat of the pain that I was feeling went to dark places.If you’re writing, there is no set place that you have to stay in. And sometimes, pain…has to be dealt with, with humor,” he said about some of his private text messages that have been made public.
“Sometimes very dark humor. I grew up watching Monty Python..so yes, it can tend to get into dark humor. It can tend to get…words are used that for emphasis, words are used to express what you’re feeling at the time. And um, it’s just like growing up. You learn from those mistakes. You learn from those things and you move forward. That’s how you start to understand your own vernacular and what’s important and what’s necessary and what’s not necessary.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in a curve-hugging Alessandra Rich dress with Neil Lane jewelry attend the European premiere of ‘The Rum Diary’ at the Odeon, Kensington on November 3, 2011 in London, England (Credit: Zak Hussein / INFevents)
“I tend to be quite expressive in my writing and after the unfortunate words of Ms. Heard made their way into my heart and my head…you’re trying to find the best way to express something to a friend. Sometimes you’re exaggerating something you’ve done. Just to make him understand…I’m on planet question mark here. I know I’m in this situation and it can not continue.”
On Wednesday, when Depp took the stand again he detailed even more of the conflict that he and Heard allegedly had.
Depp claimed that Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him, cutting his finger.
“I grabbed a bottle of vodka and a shot glass,” Depp said in court. “She was nowhere around. I poured myself two or three shots of vodka, my first taste of alcohol had in a long time. She came down to the bar and found me there and starting screaming, ‘Oh, you’re drinking again! You’re a monster!’ She walked up to me and grabbed the bottle of vodka and stood back and hurled it at me. It went past my head and smashed behind me.”
Johnny Depp claims Amber Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him, causing the tip of his finger to be cut off (Credit: Ron Sachs / CNP / startraksphoto)
“My hand is on the edge of the bar and she threw the large bottle and it made contact and shattered everywhere. I didn’t feel the pain at first — what I felt was heat and something dripping down my hand. I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed. I was looking directly at my bones sticking out and the meaty portion… blood was pouring out. I don’t know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but that’s the closest I’ve ever [felt to it]. Nothing made sense. I knew in my mind and my heart that this is not life. No one should have to go through this.”
He also claimed that Heard left fecal matter on his bed as a form of revenge and later blamed it on their dogs.
“It was a photograph of our bed,” Depp says about a photo sent to him by his security guard. “On my side of the bed was human fecal matter. So, I understood why it wasn’t a good time to go down there. My initial response was, I mean, I laughed. It was so outside, it was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh. So, I did not go down there that day.”
“They’re teacup Yorkies. They weigh about 4 pounds each. The photograph that I saw — I lived with those dogs for many years. It was not the dogs… I didn’t feel like I deserved that kind of treatment,” Depp said about the “human fecal matter” found on his bed.
Potentially the biggest bombshell dropped when a recording of Heard admitting to hitting Depp was played.
The first week of the trial concluded with a third day of testimony from Depp, in which he detailed drug use with celebrity friends, and more alleged assault.
Amber Heard in an Atelier Versace dress, Jimmy Choo shoes, a Graziela Gems ear cuff, and rings by Graziela Gems, Dana Rebecca Designs, and EF Collection (Credit: WENN)
In early January 2014, it was confirmed that the then 27-year-old actress Amber Heard got engaged to the then 50-year-old Johnny Depp on Christmas Eve. He is almost 23 years older than Amber!
Amber Heard shows off a Graziela Gems ear cuff at the 71st Annual Golden Globes held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on January 12, 2014 (Credit: WENN)
The actor separated from Vanessa Paradis in 2012 after 14 years together. We previously featured Heard and Depp on a dinner date at a restaurant in London, not long after they had officially started dating.
To the 2014 Golden Globe Awards, Amber donned a navy Atelier Versace gown with a ruched neckline that she styled with a pair of black Jimmy Choo “New Mariah” platform heels. She completed the outfit with Graziela jewelry.
Amber Heard showing off her feet and legs in black Jimmy Choo “New Mariah” platform heels (Credit: WENN)
Here’s a photo from July 2013 when the actress joined Johnny on a trip to Japan with his two children.
Johnny Depp, Jack Depp, Lily-Rose Melody Depp, and Amber Heard at Narita International Airport in Japan on July 18, 2013 (Credit: WENN / Kento Nara / Future Image)
The popular Jimmy Choo shoes that Amber wore are unfortunately not available online, but here are a couple of styles from the iconic shoe designer that we really like from Farfetch and Net-a-Porter:
Jimmy Choo “Rocks” Suede/Holographic Leather Sandals, £495
Jimmy Choo “Tallula” Floral-Embellished Suede Sandals, £906.50