Eight explosive bombshells as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial hits Netflix
The chaotic marriage, and explosive break up, of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is being raked over once again and this time for the entertainment value of Netflix viewers.
The streaming giant has released a new documentary titled Depp v Heard which looks to examine the dramatic court case between the former spouses that took place in Fairfax County, Virginia, last year. An official synopsis for the new special states: "Depp v Heard examines the infamous defamation case that captured the world’s attention as the first Trial by TikTok, and questions the nature of truth and the role it plays in our modern society."
The court case stemmed from an article that 37-year-old Heard penned for the the Washington Post in 2018 in which she wrote about surviving a violent relationship. Despite the article not once naming 60-year-old Depp, the Pirates of the Caribbean star took offence, declared the article was all about him, and brought a case against his ex-wife accusing her of defamation.
The resulting case generated headlines while it ran from 11 April to 1 June 2022 and will now be reexamined by the Netflix show. Below are highlights from the original trial which concluded with a jury deciding in Depp’s favour.
Depp said he went from 'Cinderalla to Quasimodo'
Bank of Dave self-made millionaire giving away money to 'keep kids working hard'When the trial first began in April, the normally private Depp took to the stand and spoke of the impact the accusations had on him. He said: "It’s very strange when one day you’re Cinderella so to speak then 0.6 seconds later you’re Quasimodo.
“I didn’t deserve that nor did my children nor did the people who believed in me all these years. I didn’t want any of those people to believe I had done them wrong or that I was a fraud.
"I pride myself on honesty. I pride myself on truth. Truth is the only thing I am interested in. Lies will get you nowhere but lies build upon lies that build upon lies. I am obsessed with the truth."
Depp told the court he was a domestic abuse victim
Numerous recordings of conversations between Depp and Heard were played to the court, including one where the actress says to Depp: " Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them, Johnny Depp. I, Johnny Depp, a man, I'm a victim too of domestic violence, and I, you know, it's a fair fight. And see how many people believe or side with you."
In the recording Depp refers to a can of mineral spirits, and he explained to the court that Amber "heaved" it at him while they were in the Bahamas, which hit his nose. Depp also mentions losing a finger in the audio clip, and explains to the court he was referring to "a very large bottle of vodka severing my middle finger in Australia."
He was asked in court: "What did you say in response when Ms Heard said ‘tell the world Johnny, tell them I Johnny Depp, a man, am a victim too of domestic violence?’” Depp responded: “I said yes, I am."
Depp recalled moment 'human poo' was found in his bed
In one of perhaps the most surprising statements from the case, Depp recalled from the stand the moment the 'human faecal matter' was found on the sheets of his bed. He said that it happened after Heard had argued with him over his late arrival to her 30th birthday.
The actor told the court that the Aquaman star had gone to the Coachella Music Festival in 2016, and that he had gone back to their Los Angeles home to pick up a few items, after he had left the home following the argument with Heard on her birthday.
Chilling warning text sent by ex boyfriend minutes before murdering former loverDepp told court that when he arrived, his security had warned him against going into the bedroom. He said that his security guard Sean Bett had showed him a photograph of their marital bed.
Depp said: "On my side of the bed was human faecal matter. I laughed. It was so outside. It was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh.”
He had previously accused the actress or one of her friends of defecating in the bed, but Heard has denied it, and instead blamed the mess on her teacup Yorkshire terriers. "I lived with those dogs for many years," Depp said. "That did not come from a dog. It just didn't."
Kate Moss testified for ex Johnny Depp
Famous names were dropped throughout the trial, from Paul Bettany to James Franco and Elon Musk, but it was Kate Moss who stole the show earlier this week. The fashion icon, 48, and the actor dated between 1994 and 1997.
The British supermodel was called as one of the final witnesses, following Heard mentioning her by name when giving testimony, describing a March 2015 fight in which she punched Depp in the face. Heard told the court in Virginia it was out of fear he was going to shove her sister Whitney down a staircase, when Whitney intervened after Depp allegedly grabbed his now ex wife.
"She was trying to get Johnny to stop. Her back was to the staircase, and Johnny swings at her ... I don't hesitate and wait. I instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs."
A member of Depp's legal team asked Moss whether the Pirates of the Caribbean actor had ever pushed her down stairs while they were in a relationship. “No, he never pushed me, kicked me or pushed me down any stairs,” Moss replied from a location in Gloucestershire, with Depp watching on from the court.
Prior to making that statement, Moss explained how she had fallen down the stair during a holiday with her ex partner - with the actor being the one to pick her up and "get her medical attention."
Depp's dark texts about wanting to 'burn' and 'drown' Amber were read out
Graphic and violent texts Depp sent about Heard were read out in court while Depp was being cross examined by Heard's lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn. The lawyer read out messages Depp sent to his friend and actor Paul Bettany in June 2013.
He read aloud: "Let's burn Amber!!!", before asking Depp: "You see that?" After Johnny responded: "I do see that", Heard's lawyer continued: "You didn't stop. The next text down says: ''Let's drown her before we burn her!!!' I read that right?"
Rottenborn then read out the next text Johnny sent Paul: "I will f**k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead." Asking Johnny if he read it right, the actor replied: "You certainly did". Rottenborn continued: "You wrote that about the woman who would later become your wife?", to which Johnny said: "Yes."
Depp 'kicked, slapped and called Heard a sl*t' on private plane'
While on the stand the actress detailed an alleged assault Depp carried out on her on a private plane flight between Boston and LA in May 2014. She said he smelled of "weed and alcohol", and made sexual comments about Heard, who at the time was filming The Adderall Diaries with actor James Franco.
Heard had earlier told the court that Depp "hated, hated, James Franco," and had accused "me of secretly having a thing with him." She claims he taunted her and called her a "sl*t" in front of security and assistants.
She described how he allegedly slapped her face and then as she got up to move, kicked a swivel chair into her hip. She said: "I am walking away slowly, he tells me 'hurry the f**k up', I look at him one more time, I wanted to penetrate the monster and see the man I love. I walk away and feel this boot in my back. He just kicked me in the back."
She described how no one did anything and later Depp started "howling like an animal", and then "passed out in the bathroom".
Heard claimed Depp 'penetrated her with a bottle'
Heard broke down in tears and had to pause for breath as she described how Depp put a bottle "inside of" her in an alleged evening of rage and violence, where he told her he would "carve up" her face. On the stand, the actress alleged that Depp threw cans of bottles and beers at her at the home he was renting in Australia while filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5 soon after their wedding.
Describing the alleged sexual assault to the court, after an evening of Depp allegedly screaming repeatedly that he hated Amber, smashing a phone, and tearing off her nightgown, Heard said her back was on the counter top, and at first thought he was "punching" her, and felt a pressure on her "pubic bone".
She went on: "I remember looking at all of the broken bottles, broken glass. I remember not wanting to move because I didn't know if it was broken, I didn't know if the bottle he had inside of me was broken.
Later she told the court: "Johnny had the bottle inside of me and was shoving it inside of me over and over again." Heard went on to claims two other incidents of sexual assault occurred, including Depp allegedly performing a "cavity search" on her while looking for drugs during a holiday in 2013.
The third assault allegedly happened while the pair were in the Bahamas in 2015. Heard claimed Depp "shoved his fingers inside me but through my bathing suit", and went on to taunt her "while jerking me around."
Heard 'received thousands of death threats'
During her final time on the stand, Heard spoke of the messages she has received since her fallout with Depp, revealing people have said they want to "put my baby in the microwave."
Speaking about the threats she has received since statements made by Adam Waldman, a former attorney of Depp's, which said her accusations were false, Heard said: "I receive hundreds of death threats regularly, if not daily.
"Thousands since this trial has started", with people "mocking" her and her testimony, she said. In tears she went on: "I just want Johnny to leave me alone. I just want him to leave me alone. I've said that for years now."
Depp v Heard is streaming on Netflix now.