FLIGHT BUST-UP
‘Scared’ Amber Heard said Johnny Depp ‘mocked her tears after calling her w***e and kicking her in back’ in unseen email
JOHNNY Depp called "scared" Amber Heard a "w***e" before kicking her in the back on a flight, the High Court heard today.
Heard, 34, wrote an email to herself - saying her then husband had "mocked her tears" after the alleged attack on a plane in May 2014.
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The email was today read in court, with Heard writing: "If he doesn't know how scared I am, then I have overestimated him."
She is then said to have written she had tried to make many apologies but claimed Depp didn't "have the impetus to fix us".
The actress then added that she needed "Time and space to recover", adding: "The man I loved called me a disappointment and a w***e before kicking me in the back, and mocking me when I cried about it."
The previously unseen email was read out today as Sasha Wass QC, who is representing News Group Newspapers, questioned Depp's former assistant Stephen Deuters over the plane flight from Boston to LA.
The High Court heard today:
- Johnny Depp claimed Amber Heard was the aggressor in the relationship
- The actor claimed he contracted a bacterial infection after severing his finger in Australia
- Depp denied he had been violent to his then wife on their honeymoon
- The Pirates of the Caribbean star was told he had lost $650 million before going to his wife's 30th birthday
- A photograph emerged of Depp covered in ice cream after passing out the day he was due to enter detox
Mr Deuters denied claims that the actor had been "acting like a monster" on a flight.
And he said that while he had seen Depp "raise his leg" towards Heard, it had been "playful" adding it had been a "jokey" attempt to "tap Heard on the bottom".
Ms Wass QC then read out text messages that Mr Deuters had sent to Heard after the flight, saying: "He's just texted you... He know he's done wrong."
He said in another message: "He was appalled. When I told him he kicked you, he cried.
"It was disgusting. And he knows it."
The text then went on to say Depp didn't know "the severity of his actions", and would be "appalled" if he could remember.
The personal assistant said he had used some of Depp's words in the texts when he wrote: "I don't want to be a f***-up" any more" in relation to Depp's drug addiction.
But Mr Deuters said he regretted sending the message to Heard, claiming he had only done it to "mollify" her.
He told the court: "As a domestic abuse survivor myself I don't do well with confrontation, I always seek to mollify.
"I wasn't comfortable in this position or sending these texts, all I said was to say what I thought people wanted to hear, to be quite honest."
An email sent from Heard to her sister Whitney was then read to the court, describing how Depp had to be saved by staff who would "break down locked doors" to the plane's bathroom where he was sleeping.
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Groaning was also heard in the audio, with Ms Wass claiming the noise was coming from Depp.
But Mr Deuters, who is now European president of Mr Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil, said the claims including that Depp had vomited, were "embellishments".
He admitted that while he could not hear the couple talking on the plane, they did appear to have an "argument of sorts".
The court was played audio allegedly from the flight, with Mr Deuters denying claims he had been heard saying "I'm going to stay with this f***ing idiot in case he gets ill."
And the assistant insisted Depp simply had a habit of "speaking down about himself" when presented with texts in which the 57-year-old described the flight to British actor Paul Bettany.
The text read: "[I was] an angry, aggro Injun in a f***ing blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any f*** who got near…"
Ms Wass then asked about a text in which Mr Depp referred to himself as "S***ter" after the actor took on the role as the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland.
He added: "It's derogatory and he would always be derogatory towards himself."
Another message from Heard to Depp was read to the court about her need to leave him, stating: "I always stay... and every very few months or so, I'm in the exact same position."
The actor himself has denied the claims of violence against his wife, saying he went to the bathroom to sleep on the floor.
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Mr Deuters took the stand this morning after Depp stepped down after about 23 hours in the witness box.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star today finished giving evidence in the fifth day in the libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife.
But the actor has claimed the allegations are part of a "choreographed hoax".
And he today told the court he had been left with a "painful" infection after slicing off the top of his finger while in Australia.
The High Court had last week heard Depp used his severed stump to write 'I love u' on a mirror after the argument in Australia.
'PAINFUL'
In the stand today, Depp said: "I flew back from Australia to LA to have surgery on the finger and, at that time, they had put a pin in it, in the broken bone, the fractured bone, but to no avail."
He added that he "ended up getting MRSA, it's quite a painful disease".
Heard has claimed her ex suffered the injury after smashing a phone on the wall while Depp said it was sliced after she threw a vodka bottle at him.
The court heard that Depp used his severed finger, dipped in paint, to scrawl graffiti in the house in Australia.
Mr Deuters today said he had been told to stay the star "caught his finger in the door" if asked after being told Heard had been responsible.
Depp was quizzed over having a finger cast for his injured finger that was decorated with a "little dinosaur", claiming it would have made it hard for him to grab Heard's hair as has been alleged happened just a few days later.
He told the court Heard was instead the aggressor, with a recording of the pair talking in July 2016 where the actor is heard telling his ex "you f***ing haymakered me, man"'.
The actress was supported by girlfriend Bianca Butti as she walked into court in a red scarf.
Depp, who wore a light grey suit and black scarf to cover his face, is claimed to have attacked actress Heard 14 times over three years, with the court told she was left fearing for her life.
He finished giving evidence today after spending about 23 hours in the witness box - joking "I'm going to miss this".
The High Court last week heard allegations including:
- Amber Heard was left with a bruised face after Johnny Depp hurled a phone at her in a row over poo left in their bed
- The 57-year-old allegedly threw a magnum of champagne at Heard after her birthday
- Depp scrawled 'I love u' in his blood with a severed finger stump after a furious row
- The Pirates of the Caribbean star texted Heard's dad to say sorry after he headbutted her during a bust-up
Depp is claimed to have first attacked his then wife in 2013 after she joked about his tattoo that had been altered from "Winona Forever" to "Wino Forever" following his split from Winona Ryder.
Another incident allegedly saw Depp throw a magnum of champagne at Heard after they argued when he was late to celebrate her 30th birthday.
The star also denied ever being violent to Heard while they were on their honeymoon on the Eastern Oriental Train in 2015.
The star also allegedly threw a phone at her as they argued the next day after poo was found in their marital bed.
He is then said to have left her with bruises after another string of attacks before they split in May 2016.
Heard's evidence was expected to begin on Friday morning - but it is not clear when the Aquaman actress will give evidence as Depp's cross-examination has taken almost two days longer than scheduled.
Depp's ex-partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder were also due to give evidence this week.
What is MRSA?
MRSA is a type of bacteria that is commonly known as a 'superbug' as it cannot be treated by antibiotics.
The full name of MRSA is meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
You can contract the bacteria by touching surfaces that have MRSA on them and it can then cause an infection if it gets deeper into your body.
Symptoms can include:
- swelling
- pain
- pus
- high temperature
- aches and pains
Most read in News
The actor’s case against NGN and executive editor Dan Wootton came after an article was published in 2018 with the headline “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”.
NGN is defending the article as true and says Mr Depp was “controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs” between early 2013 and May 2016, when the couple split.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The pair met in 2011 and began living together in 2012 before marrying in Los Angeles in February 2015.
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If you are affected by domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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