At Johnny Depp‘s libel trial in London’s High Court against The Sun, the court heard that the 57-year-old was such a “hopeless addict,” he may not even recall beating his then-wife Amber Heard. Lawyers also said that “deep misogyny” prompted the abuse. Depp is suing The Sun for dubbing him a “wife beater,” and the tabloid is defending itself by presenting evidence they say proves he did beat Heard.
ADDICTION
Depp’s “drug and alcohol-fueled lifestyle” was the cause of his violent relationship with Heard, The Sun‘s lawyer Sasha Wass asserted.
Wass said: “It demonstrates that Depp was subject to irrational mood swings and abnormal behavioral patterns, which would not have been present when Mr. Depp was clean and sober. Mr. Depp has a name for this metamorphosed entity, namely ‘The Monster.’ The other aspect which is important in terms of substance abuse is Mr. Depp’s recollection of his own disgraceful conduct, which is so severely impaired by drug misuse that he may not even have been aware of the extent of his violence and terrifying behavior.”
Showing footage of him trashing property, Wass said: “Where someone is so impaired, it’s only a small step to go from assaulting inanimate objects to people. Any distinction between hitting an object and hitting a person are meaningless … he was so intoxicated he would not have known what he was doing.”
HEARD’S TESTIMONY SHOULD STAND
Wass added that post-#MeToo, Heard’s claims as a “truthful and plausible witness” should be enough on their own.
She added: “The days are long past when the courts in this country required corroboration before accepting the unsupported testimony of a female complainant.”
MISOGYNY
And while Depp has described himself as “a southern gentleman who had respect for women” his texts prove this was “entirely untrue,” Wass said.
Wass said that Depp described women as “sluts” and “fat ugly whores”. In one he said he would “smack the ugly c**t around” after asking whether a “worthless hooker” had arrived. In another, he described his former partner Vanessa Paradis as a “withering cunt”. Depp also “created a misogynistic persona of Heard as the stereotype of a nagging woman. In addition, he had “reverted to more old-fashioned accusations of gold digger, a shrew and an adulterer,” Wass said. The colorful trial is drawing to a close, with final statements due today (Tuesday).
