'You got hit, but I didn't f****** deck you, you're a f****** baby': High Court is told of recordings of Amber Heard shouting at estranged husband Johnny Depp as he appears in witness box to deny beating her at start of libel showdown
- Johnny Depp was called as the first witness as he faced his estranged wife Amber Heard at the High Court
- Actor's barrister, David Sherbourne read out an extract of a recording from 2015 of Heard shouting at him
- Depp is suing The Sun newspaper over claims he behaved 'like a violent monster' towards estranged wife
- Pirates of the Caribbean star's barrister today told court client was not a wife beater and claims were 'lies'
- Depp gave passionate testimony defending his relationship with Heard and insisted he was not a 'monster'
The High Court today heard explosive recordings of Amber Heard shouting at her estranged husband Johnny Depp as he denied beating her at the start of a blockbuster three-week libel showdown.
Depp's barrister David Sherborne read an extract from a 2015 tape in which Heard said to her husband: 'You got hit... but I did not punch you. I did not f****** deck you. I f****** was hitting you'.
Heard, 34, then went on to say 'you are a f****** baby', to which 57-year-old Depp said: 'Because you start physical fights.' Heard replied: 'You are such a baby. Grow the f*** up.' Depp, who arrived at court today wearing a black face covering and sunglasses, is suing The Sun and its executive editor Dan Wootton over claims the actor behaved like a 'violent monster' towards his former wife during their troubled two-year marriage.
The allegations centre around when the couple lived together in a $12.78million Los Angeles penthouse, where several apartments were joined together with secret passages to create a stunning luxury home.
In 2019, Depp was accused of trashing Heard's closet after going on the rampage with a bottle of champagne. The actor has struggled with alcohol addiction for much of his life, and today admitted taking large amounts of drugs and becoming angry because of the pain of his childhood and stardom.
Today, he was called as the first witness and launched a passionate defence of his conduct with Heard, insisting that he had never been violent towards her. Earlier, Heard was seen arriving at the High Court with her girlfriend Bianca Butty, 38, who she was first spotted in public with in May.
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Amber Heard walked arm in arm with her sister, Whitney, (left) and lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, (right) as she arrived at the High Court today for the start of a three-week libel trial. In the white coat is her US attorney, Elaine Bredehoft
Heard has not been pictured with her estranged husband for three years. She is pictured today with her sister, Whitney, and her girlfriend, Bianca Butti, who is seen on the right
Depp wore a black bandanna face covering as he arrived at London's High Court to fight claims he was a wife beater
Heard pictured with her entourage outside the entrance of the Royal Courts of Justice, which will host the momentous trialJohnny Depp is suing News Group Newspapers, publishers of the Sun and executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article which referred to him as a 'wife beater'.
It appeared under the headline 'Gone Potty How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?'
Lawyers for the newspaper allege that his violent outbursts were driven by alcohol and drugs, which left Heard with injuries and in fear for her life. They maintain that this justifies their article.
Sasha Wass, QC, representing the newspaper listed a series of drugs she claimed the actor had been taking since his childhood, including cocaine, cannabis, LSD, alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs.
The lawyer spent the entire morning grilling the actor over his notorious drug taking, which she claimed changed his character and made him violent.
After admitting that he had regularly taken 'every drug known to man', Depp replied: 'My experience of alcohol and stimulants began at a very young age. It was not a particularly stable or safe home life, there was a lot of unpleasantness in the house.'
He added: 'I remember my mother used to ask me to get her nerve pills. Around the age of 11 it dawned on me that these pills calm your nerves and I brought them home and took one. That began what was the only way to numb the pain.'
The Sun's lawyers and Heard allege that drugs and alcohol turned Depp into a 'monster.'
Ms Wass claimed: 'We see you now very charming, polite and softly spoken but there's another side of you Mr Depp that's less charming? There's a nasty, angry side to your character.'
Depp replied: 'I'm well aware that there's been a lot of pain the way I was raised. When you are trying to figure out what it's all about, when success and notoriety and all these things come to you and you don't quite understand why you have them and you don't feel very worthy, it's very confusing.'
Depp denied that he had a tendency towards 'destructive and violent' behaviour or that he had problems managing his anger.
The actor's barrister, David Sherborne used his opening statements to read out a conversation between the actor and Heard on September 26, 2015.
Depp explained that both he and Heard recorded conversations during their relationship.
In her witness statement, Heard had said that she recorded their conversations 'to remind Johnny of what he would do when using drugs and alcohol because he wouldn't remember, or deny what he had said'.
But Depp said that was not correct, telling the court that Heard's later recollection of their conversations would sometimes be 'radically different'.
He added: 'I, at the time, thought that the best thing to do was to record the conversation, so I retrieved my telephone and brought it to where we were talking and I said, 'I'm going to record this conversation', just so that she knew.
'I wanted it to be out in the open.'
Mr Sherborne read from an extract of the recording, in which Heard says to Depp 'you got hit... but I did not punch you. I did not f****** deck you. I f****** was hitting you'.
Depp said he 'wanted to avoid another confrontation', adding: 'As was my practice in these situations, whenever it would escalate.'
Depp was asked about a meeting between him and Heard in a hotel room in San Francisco in July 2016, shortly after his ex-wife obtained a domestic violence restraining order against him.
Mr Sherborne said in written submissions that Heard had 'secretly recorded' their conversation.
Depp continued that 'there was quite a lot of discussion about various things going on and, at times, it of course got emotional'.
He explained that he refused Heard's request for a hug from him because 'I didn't think it was right given the circumstances, that she had said to the world that she was in fear for her life from me and I had been this horrible monster'.
He added: 'I didn't understand why she would want to touch me.' Mr Sherborne asked if Heard seemed 'scared or terrified' by him in that meeting. Depp replied: 'No, not at all.'
Heard was wearing a red scarf as a face covering. In this photo her sister, Whitney is on the left, and Bianca Butti on the right
Heard is seen arriving at the High Court (far right). Wearing the black face mask is her current girlfriend, Bianca Butti
It is estimated that the trial is costing Depp and NGN around £1milllion each in legal fees. Heard (pictured today) will be The Sun newspaper's star witness
Depp - pictured today - is suing The Sun and its executive editor Dan Wootton over allegations the actor behaved like a 'violent monster' towards his former wife during their troubled two-year marriage
Depp - middle - was accompanied by a bodyguard and several minders as he walked through the press pack into the High Court
It is estimated that the trial is costing Depp and NGN around £1milllion each in legal fees. Pictured is Depp arriving this morning
Both Depp and Heard (pictured), who haven't been seen together for three years, are set to attend each day of the trial
Depp is suing The Sun newspaper for calling him a wife beater in an article in April 2018. His other ex-partners, actress Vanessa Paradis and Hollywood star Winona Ryder, have leapt to his defence to say they never experienced any domestic violence.
Who will be called to give evidence? Johnny Depp's exes Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis will make statements at High Court
Vanessa Paradis is one of Depp's former partners. She insists he was never abusive towards her
Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Paradis is a French singer, actress and model who shot to fame aged just 14 with the song Joe Le Taxi.
She has been a spokesmodel for Chanel for many years and appeared in a number of films, alongside continuing her singing career.
Ms Paradis, 47, was in a relationship with Depp for around 14 years from around 1998. The couple's daughter, Lily-Rose, is also now pursuing a career as an actress.
Ms Paradis is due to give evidence at the trial, having given a witness statement in which she described her former partner as a 'kind, attentive, generous and non-violent person and father'.
Winona Ryder is also due to give evidence at the High Court trial
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is also due to give evidence at the High Court trial as part of his case against News Group Newspapers (NGN).
Ms Ryder was in a relationship with Depp during the early 1990s, and the pair appeared together in Edward Scissorhands.
Depp famously tattooed Winona Forever on his arm. After the couple split, he reportedly changed it to Wino Forever.
Dan Wootton has been The Sun's Executive Editor since March 2018
Dan Wootton
New Zealand-born Dan Wootton has been The Sun's Executive Editor since March 2018. The article at the heart of Johnny Depp's libel claim was written by Mr Wootton for his weekly column in the newspaper.
Mr Wootton also presents the weekday Drivetime show on talkRadio and has his own podcast - The Dan Wootton Interview.
A showbiz reporter for many years, before joining The Sun, Mr Wootton had stints at a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Daily Mail, where he also worked as a columnist, and the now defunct News Of The World, where he was Showbiz Editor.
He was also showbiz presenter for ITV's Lorraine show for 10 years.
Depp's high-powered legal team accuse Heard of making up her claims, and say she assaulted the actor. Heard - who will be newspaper's star witness - claims Depp hit and choked her while in the grip of addictions to drugs and alcohol.
In Australia in 2015, she outlined a 'three-day ordeal of physical assault' in which her injuries included a broken lip, swollen nose and cuts all over her body, allegedly after Depp took out a bag of MDMA (ecstasy).
Amber Heard says Depp slapped and shoved her, and he stayed up all night taking drugs and boozing, and the next day he 'grabbed her by the neck'.
She also says that night he repeatedly shoved her up against the refrigerator in the kitchen, grabbed her by the neck, and 'slammed her against the counter-top and strangled her'.
Heard has hired barrister Jennifer Robinson, a leading human rights lawyer from Doughty Street chambers who also represents Julian Assange, to advise her.
She is sitting beside her in court and has been spending several hours each day preparing her for the witness box since she arrived in Britain from her home in California last week.
An insider said: 'They're both going to spend a long-time giving evidence and their credibility as witnesses is what the whole case rests on.
Lawyers from both camps have been working them hard to ensure that they get all their points across and are consistent in what they say.
'They're bracing themselves for a grilling and once they take the stand, the lawyers are going to pick holes in their testimony.
Giving evidence is going to be challenging for both of them and the trial is going to be a real-life Hollywood blockbuster.'
It is estimated that the trial is costing Depp and NGN around £1milllion each in legal fees.
The months leading up to the trial have resulted in a serious of sensational allegations being made public as both sides argued during pre-trial hearings over material that could or could not be made public.
During one hearing, it was revealed that Depp sent texts during his relationship with Heard saying he would 'drown' and 'burn' his wife then 'f*** the corpse.'
NGN lawyers have been wading through 70,000 texts, some of which will be submitted as evidence to show that Depp was violent towards Heard.
In another hearing, Depp's lawyer alleged that Heard had 'two extra-marital affairs' or 'extra-relationship affairs' with Elon Musk and James Franco while she was going out with or was married to Depp. Both men have denied the claims.
The High Court hearing will also hear details of a 2015 trip to Australia by Depp and Heard during which he sent messages asking for drugs, according to the Sun's lawyers.
They will also allege that he waged a 'three-day ordeal of physical assaults' on Heard and 'held her hostage' while they were in the country.
Depp is also suing Heard for $50m in the US over a column she wrote in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a 'domestic abuse' victim.
Although Depp was not named in the column, he claims it defamed him.
His libel claim against the Sun could have a major impact on the outcome of the American hearing.
The UK case was due to start in March but was delayed by the coronavirus crisis. With lockdown easing, it is one of the first high-profile cases to go ahead at the Royal Courts of Justice.
The trial will hear claims that Depp waged a 'three-day ordeal of physical assaults' on Heard and 'held her hostage' while they were in the country
The US actress with her sister Whitney (left) and lawyer, Jennifer Robinson (right) as they approached the press pack this morning
Depp wore aviator-style sunglasses and a black bandanna over his face. The actor had another pair of glasses tucked in his jacket pocket
Depp gestures towards photographers who had gathered outside the court from the early hours for the blockbuster trial
Unlike recent cases, today's trial is not being held over video conferencing, but in the courtroom in person, with the Hollywood stars taking their turns in the wood-panelled witness box.
Heard, who lives in LA, had to arrive in the UK a fortnight ago to comply with the UK's quarantine rules. Depp has been staying in Paris.
To maintain social distancing, five courtrooms have been set aside for the case.
The press and public are allowed to watch proceedings from adjacent courtrooms on a video feed from Court 13.
Mr Justice Nicol has previously ruled that parts of Heard's evidence, relating to allegations of sexual violence, will be heard in private.
In pre-trial hearings, Depp's barrister David Sherborne said his client denies that he has ever hit any woman.
Heard met Depp on the set of 2011 comedy The Rum Diary and they married in LA in 2015. They divorced in early 2017, with Heard receiving a £5.3million settlement out of Depp's reputed £400million fortune.
In a hearing last week, it was claimed that text messages showing Depp begging his assistant for 'happy pills' and 'whitey stuff' - which lawyers claim meant ecstasy and cocaine - were sent just days before he allegedly assaulted his wife.
Today's trial - which Heard is seen outside (in the red face mask with her girlfriend, Bianca Butti, on her left behind the security guard) will be heard by a judge alone with no jury
Heard holds her sister Whitney's hand outside court. The siblings grew up together in Austin, Texas, and are known to have a close relationship
Depp - pictured today - has been on the Hollywood A-list for more than 30 years, becoming a household name for such characters as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands
Depp, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, was called as the first witness in the high-profile trial. He is pictured here outside the court before the hearing began
Heard and Depp attending the Art of Elysium's 9th annual Heaven Gala at 3LABS in Culver City, California on January 9, 2016
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