“I am here because my ex-husband is suing me,” Heard said. “I struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is … This is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything.” Holding back tears, she added, “This is the most painful and difficult thing I’ve ever gone through, for sure.” Amid more tears and even some giggles and smiles, the Aquamanstar detailed everything from the early days of her relationship with the Oscar nominee to the first time Depp allegedly abused her. Here’s what we learned from Amber Heard on the stand.
Will Amber Heard testify in the Johnny Depp trial?
Heard took the stand on May 4, 2022. Her testimony is expected to extend at least to Thursday, May 5, 2022.
When does Amber Heard take the stand?
Heard took the stand in the afternoon on May 4, 2022. Her testimony ended on May 17, 2022.
What is the Johnny Depp court case about?
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for alleged defamation from an op-ed she penned with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for The Washington Postin 2018. In the op-ed, Heard wrote that she was a victim of sexual violence and domestic abuse, but never named Depp. The actress is countersuing Depp for $100 million for defamation after Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, called her abuse allegations a “hoax.” Depp previously sued News Group Newspapers LTD in the U.K. for libel after The Sun ran an article with a headline calling Depp a “Wife Beater.” Depp’s lawsuit against the publisher was tossed after a judge deemed the majority of the abuse claims “substantially true;” Heard also testified in that trial. Depp was denied an appeal in the case.
Amber Heard Testimony Highlights from Johnny Depp Trial
Amber Heard said her early relationship with Johnny Depp was like a “bubble.”
Heard recalled that she and Depp first met on the set of The Rum Diaryin 2009 and that they were friendly and flirtatious, but other than a kiss for a scene—in which she said Depp used tongue and grabbed her face, making it less of a professional vibe and more of a personal one—they didn’t get together. She said when they got together for The Rum Diary press tour after filming, she and her then-partner Tasya Van Ree had separated, as had Depp and his partner Vanessa Paradis. She said that Depp invited her for drinks in his hotel room with their director, Bruce Robinson, but when she went to his room, Depp told her Robinson wasn’t coming. They had some drinks and began talking, and that was the beginning of their love story. Heard said she and Depp fell madly in love, and that he whisked her all around the world to his various properties, during which time she typically would stay home and cook dinner for him or paint and keep herself busy while he worked. She recalled feeling like they were in a “bubble” hiding their relationship since he and Paradis hadn’t publicly announced their breakup. She described their relationship feeling like “absolute magic,” adding while choking back tears, “I felt like this man knew me, saw me, in a way so one else had … When I was around Johnny, I felt like the best beautiful person in the world. It made me feel seen. It made me feel like a million dollars.”
Johnny Depp accused Amber Heard of sleeping with several other people, including a friend and an unnamed musician.
Depp accused Heard of having affairs with a friend of hers who lived in Spain, as well as an unnamed musician who she said she barely knew. Heard denied both allegations. Depp was allegedly also jealous that she had a painting from her ex Van Ree.
Amber Heard recalled the first time Johnny Depp allegedly hit her.
Heard recalled on the stand that the first time Depp allegedly struck her, there was a “vintage jar” of cocaine on a table. She asked him what the tattoo on his arm said and that when he replied “Wino”—the infamous fix for his onetime “Winona Forever” tattoo in honor of his ex Winona Ryder—she laughed. She said this angered him and he slapped her across the face. Heard said she was so stunned that she froze. She alleged that he hit her two more times, calling her a “b***h.” She said she had hoped he was joking, but he wasn’t.
Johnny Depp broke down crying after allegedly being violent with Amber Heard for the first time.
Heard said that after the first incident of physical violence, she left the property and later spoke privately with Depp. She claimed he sobbed and begged her to stay, vowing to never do it again, so she stayed with him. Heard teared up, saying she was heartbroken. Heard said despite Depp’s vow to never hurt her again, the relationship was regularly violent from that point on.
Amber Heard alleged that Johnny Depp’s drug use and drinking caused the demise of their marriage.
Between sobs on the stand, Heard called Depp the “love her [her] life” and her “soulmate,” but said that when he was allegedly drinking or using drugs, he became “this other thing” that was angry and violent. She also recalled allegedly having to clean up after him when he would vomit or otherwise make a mess of himself when she wasn’t sober. “He passed out in his own sick,” she said, “and then he’d walk around saying he didn’t have a problem.” She recalled using MDMA with Depp on a flight, admitting it was “stupid” and that she was against him using other substances. “It’s a lovey drug,” she explained. “I had never known anyone to get violent on it.” “I looked at that man twice my age and I saw hope, I saw promise. I had so much hope,” she said through tears. “The whole thing, kids and growing old together—hope, if there was just this one thing he could do to change his life, which was to get clean and sober.”
Amber Heard said Johnny Depp threatened to kill her.
Heard alleged on the stand that Depp threatened to kill her when they were in the Bahamas with his then-teenage children. “He slams me up by my neck and holds me there for a second and tells me that he could f**king kill me and that I was an embarrassment,” she recalled, crying. She also said that Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp was crying to her about the Edward Scissorhands star’s drinking.
Amber Heard said she met Elon Musk at the 2016 Met Gala after Johnny Depp allegedly stood her up.
Heard said that she and Depp were set to be designer Ralph Lauren’s guests at the 2016 Met Gala—but that Depp stood her up on the red carpet. She claimed that once inside the gala, she was seated not far from Elon Musk, who attended with his mother, model (and now Sports Illustrated Swimsuitcover star) Maye Musk. She recalled that she didn’t recognize him at first, but noted that when they began speaking, “He seemed like a real gentleman. He was really nice. He sat at a nearby table and we got to speaking that night and eventually became friends.” In a previous statement, a rep for Elon said that Heard and the CEO “didn’t start seeing each other until May 2016, and even then it was infrequent. Their relationship didn’t become romantic until some time later.”
Amber Heard said Johnny Depp was jealous of James Franco—and admitted that James Franco came over to the house they shared the night before she filed for divorce.
Heard alleged in her testimony that Depp loathed James Franco, with whom Heard starred in The Pineapple Express and The Adderall Diaries. “[Depp] was mad at me for taking the job with James Franco. He hated, hated James Franco and was already accusing me of kind of secretly having a thing with him in my past, since we had done Pineapple Express together,” she recalled on May 5, 2022. “He had already been upset with me and accused me in many arguments about not telling him about scenes that I had, if I had a kissing scene. Any sort of romantic scene, and I wasn’t explicit about what I was going to do, then I was accused of having withheld information and hiding it from him. So I didn’t want the fight, of course, I didn’t want the argument, but I had to kind of egg-shell tip-toe around how to tell him when I had any sort of scene like that.” On May 17, 2022, Heard admitted that Franco came to the apartment she shared with Depp the night before she filed for divorce from Depp. Elevator footage shown in court features Heard and Franco getting close, but not overtly affectionate.
Amber Heard vehemently denied putting feces in the bed she and Depp shared.
When asked about the notorious poop incident that inspired the “#AmberTurd” hashtag, Heard wasn’t amused. “First of all, I don’t think that’s funny,” Heard fumed. “I don’t know what grown woman does. I was not also in a pranking mood; my life was falling apart. I was at a crossroads in my life. I was really serious. And I had just been attacked on my 30th birthday by my violent husband with whom I was desperately in love and knew I needed to leave. It was not really a jovial time, and I don’t think that’s funny. Period. That’s disgusting.” Heard said that she tried explaining to Depp how the theory that she and friends put feces in the bed to prank Depp “didn’t make any sense … My friends wouldn’t do that. That’s not something a bunch of 30-year-old women think is funny. What is he talking about?” She said Depp kept harping on the incident even when she didn’t want to discuss it anymore, explaining, “Our marriage was over and falling apart in front of our eyes, we hadn’t seen each other in over a month and his mom had just passed. I couldn’t believe he wanted to talk about feces.” Heard said that one of their dogs consumed marijuana as a puppy and never retained full bowel control, and that the dog defecated in their bed more than once.
Amber Heard said she had to fight to stay in Aquaman 2 after Johnny Depp’s team accused her of a domestic abuse “hoax.”
Heard alleged that Depp’s accusations of lying about domestic violence she said she endured caused her professional strife, specifically with the sequel to Aquaman. Heard said she was paid $1 million up front for Aquaman and $2 million for Aquaman 2, but that her role in the sequel was majorly reduced. “I fought really hard to stay in the movie. They didn’t want to include me in the film,” she said on the stand on May 17, 2022. “I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it, that depicted my character and another character—without giving any spoilers away—two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch out.” Next, find out how much Elon Musk allegedly donated to the ACLU on Amber Heard’s behalf.
