Johnny Depp Insists That He Has Never "Struck Any Woman In My Life" And "There Was No Truth" To Amber Heard's Allegations
Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard is underway in Fairfax County, Virginia. He is suing his ex-wife for $50 million, arguing that her false allegations against him caused him to lose work in Hollywood.
Last week, we saw a therapist take the stand and say that she witnessed "mutual abuse" between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, adding that Amber "initiated fights" more often and she "would strike him" and mistreat him due to her abandonment issues. But the trial has gotten even juicier with Johnny taking the stand himself today in court.
Johnny Depp Says He Has Never "Struck Any Woman"
The lawsuit originated from a Washington Post op-ed that Amber wrote in 2018, which detailed her experience with domestic abuse. Johnny maintains that this essay caused him to lose very important work in Hollywood, including his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He made it clear that he didn't hit Amber at all when they were together.
"Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," Johnny said. "My goal is the truth."
"Since I knew there was no truth to [Amber's allegations] whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but stand up for my children, who at the time were 14 and 16," he continued.
Johnny said it has been incredibly difficult to deal with the allegations that his ex-wife has made against him. He says people in his life "think that I was a fraud and had lied to them," and that's something that he wants to clear up.
"It's been six years of trying times," he said. "It's pretty strange when one day you're Cinderella, so to speak, then 0.6 seconds you're Quasimodo. I didn't deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who have believed in me for all these years. I didn't want any of those people to believe that I had done them wrong or lied to them or that I was a fraud. I pride myself on honesty."
Amber's attorney, Ben Rottenborn, told the court that Johnny not only physically and emotionally abused her, but also committed "sexual violence" against her. "You will hear in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered," Rottenborn said in court. "You'll hear that straight from her. She will get on the stand, and she will tell you that. It happened." Johnny's team declares that this is all a lie.
The couple settled their divorce in 2016, but there is certainly unfinished business. Amber has yet to take the stand, but we can expect to see her testimony in the coming days. Catch up on the most significant testimony from the first week of the trial here.