In London’s High Court Monday, Johnny Depp claimed that his then-wife Amber Heard him hit him with a “haymaker” punch the same night he claims she pooped in their bed and hours after he learned that he’d lost $750 million.
The pair are in court as part of Depp’s libel case against The Sun, who he claims falsely labeled him a “wife beater.” The paper and its lawyers, meanwhile, have set out to prove he did beat Heard. The case has devolved into a tell-all on their often fractious booze and drug-fueled marriage.
Depp explained: “Since Pirates Of The Caribbean 2 and 3, I had – and this is ludicrous to have to state, it’s quite embarrassing – apparently I had made $650 million.” But on his wife’s 30th birthday in April of 2016, he had a “bad meeting” concerning his former business manager, who he told the court had “stolen my money.”
The 57-year-old said: “I had not only lost $650 million, but I was $100 million in the hole because they had not paid the government my taxes for 17 years.”
He copped to smoking pot after the meeting, before attending his wife’s party at their penthouse. “It’s a calming agent for me,” Depp told the court of the drug.
David Sherborne said that a nurse at the party, Erin Boerum, made notes calling Depp “coherent,” “sociable” and “affectionate,” while Heard “appeared irritable and upset” and “angry with her husband because he’s late.”
WHO IS THE VICTIM?
While Heard accused Depp of throwing a magnum bottle of champagne at her and yanking her by the hair after leaving her a note that read, “Happy f–king birthday,” but on Monday, he claimed he was the victim.
In a secret recording she made after the incident, he said: “You f–king haymakered me, man. You came around the bed to f—g start punching on me.”
When asked to define haymering, he said: “It’s just a type of wild swinging … kind of a roundhouse punch, as it were. It’s a bit of a wild swing but effective if it reaches the target.”
Depp’s former personal assistant Stephen Deuters also testified, denying Heard’s allegations that Depp threw things at her, slapped her, pushed a chair at her and kicked her before passing out in the toilet of their private jet in 2014.
He said that Depp had sought to “playfully tap her on the bottom with his foot”, told the court he had clear view of the incident and Heard was “very upset”.
He also admitted to occasionally scoring illegal drugs for Depp. Later this week, Depp’s ex-fiance Winona Ryder is expected to testify that he was never violent toward her,
When this legal tussle is over, fans have Depp’s $50 million defamation suit against Heard in the U.S. to look forward to.