Actor Johnny Depp is currently in an ongoing legal battle against British tabloid publisher, NGN, who labelled him a "wife beater" and printed stories claiming he attacked ex-wife Amber Heard. As part of the case, Heard was required to appear in court and found herself accused by Depp's legal team of "severing his finger with a bottle of vodka" – something she has firmly denied.
Heard has said before a judge and jury that The Sun's stories about Depp physically hurting her were "entirely accurate", whereas Depp's lawyer (David Sherborne, who is also currently representing Meghan Markle) claims the opposite is true.
A written outline from Sherborne said: "The articles amount to a full-scale attack on the claimant as a 'wife beater', guilty of the most horrendous physical abuse. The claimant's position is clear - Ms Heard's allegations are complete lies. The claimant was not violent towards Ms Heard, it was she who was violent to him."
As part of the case against Depp, the court was show a video, secretly recorded by Ms Heard, where the Pirates of the Caribbean star is seen swearing, pacing around a room and kicking furniture.
When asked by Sasha Wass, the barrister representing the newspaper, if the clip showed he was violent, Depp replied, "I was violent with some cupboards. Clearly, I wasn't in the best state of mind."
Depp also admitted to taking a number of drugs since the age of eleven, but maintained that he had not been violent towards Heard (or any other woman), calling her "calculating", "sociopathic" and "a narcissist".
Everyone's clicking on...
"I am now convinced that she came into my life to take from me anything worth taking, and then destroy what remained of it," he continued, adding that the couple went to see a marriage counsellor who Depp says also believed Heard to have a "borderline, toxic narcissistic personality disorder and is a sociopath".
Witness statements showed Depp accused Heard of punching him multiple times in the face and severing his finger by throwing a vodka bottle at him.
NGN, who publish The Sun, previously tried to have the case thrown out of court but it was ruled that it should go ahead by Mr Justice Nicol. Depp's ex partners Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children, and Winona Ryder are also expected to give evidence by video link.
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
