Another day in court for Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, another series of alarming revelations, including testimony from his exes Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, video footage of Depp following an alleged assault and a tale of bribery involving tacos and a homeless man.
The pair are there because Depp sued The Sun for libel after it labeled him a wife beater. The Sun claims he is in fact a wife beater, and Heard alleges that he attacked her on 14 separate occasions.
WINONA AND VANESSA
Ryder, who was previously engaged to Depp in the 1990s and Paradis, with whom he shares two children, gave evidence via written statement on Thursday in London’s High Court.
Ryder said, in part: “I knew Johnny very well years ago. We were together as a couple for four years, and I counted him as my best friend, and as close to me as family. I count our relationship as one of the more significant relationships of my life. I understand that it is very important that I speak from my own experience, as I obviously was not there during his marriage to Amber, but, from my experience, which was so wildly different, I was absolutely shocked, confused and upset when I heard the accusations against him. The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations. He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me. He has never been violent or abusive towards anybody I have seen. I truly and honestly only know him as a really good man – an incredibly loving, extremely caring guy who was so very protective of me and the people that he loves, and I felt so very, very safe with him. I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true. I find it extremely upsetting, knowing him as I do.”
Paradis, who was with Depp for 14 years until their 2012 split, said: “I am aware of the allegations which Amber Heard has publicly accused Johnny of for more than four years now. This is nothing like the true Johnny I have known, and from my personal experience of many years, I can say he was never violent or abusive to me. I have seen that these outrageous statements have been really distressing, and also caused damage to his career because unfortunately people have gone on believing these false facts. This is so upsetting as he has helped so many persons in his personal and professional life, with kindness and generosity.”
VIDEO FOOTAGE
Meanwhile, footage of Depp pacing around an elevator after he left their apartment following the final fight of their marriage was shown.
Depp’s former security guard Sean Bett admitted that Depp had been “extremely agitated” before the showdown, which was a day after his mother died, adding that they entered the apartment when Heard started shouting “at the top of her lungs,” and “As soon as Ms. Heard noticed that we had entered the room, she looked very surprised; her demeanor then changed. She pointed at Mr. Depp and screamed to us words to the effect of ‘If he hits me one more time, I am calling the police.'”
Bett added that Depp was 20 feet away from heard who showed no signs of injury, and that Depp was in fact the one injured. She showed up at court days later with marks on her face, although several witnesses have said they were not there when they saw her after the alleged attack.
BRIBERY
Another security guard named Starling Jenkins also testified that Heard forced him to buy Depp’s phone from a homeless man for $425, three tacos and other snacks after she threw it off a balcony after a fight.
“When I entered the residence, Amber explained to me that she had thrown Johnny’s cell phone – and the wallet containing it – off the balcony the night before,” Jenkins said in a witness statement.
“The ‘Find My iPhone’ application indicated that Johnny’s phone was somewhere on the streets below the balcony of the residence,” he said.
He eventually talked the homeless man who had it into giving it back. “He returned the phone to me in exchange for the following: (1) US$425; (2) three chicken tacos; (3) two bags of chips; (4) two apples; and (5) four bottles of water,” Jenkins added.
