For the past two weeks, exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been in court together over Depp’s $50 million defamation trial against Heard in response to the actress’ published Washington Post column alleging abuse. Among the most recent developments in court, Heard’s attorney has accused the Pirates of the Caribbean actor of lying to Disney about drug use in an official form he filled out before filming the 2017 installment Dead Men Tell No Tales.
During the trial, Amber Heard’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, claimed that Johnny Depp “lied” about being sober for 18 months before traveling to Australia to film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2015. Rottenborn was referring to an insurance form taken out by The Walt Disney Company, where one section asking if he had taken “illegal substances, whether prescribed by a physician or not” and the actor checked “no.”
The actress’ defense is reportedly “contending” that her former husband lied on the form. A source close to the Depp team said this to Deadline regarding Rottenborn’s claims in court:
Mr. Rottenborn’s aggressive and, coincidentally, ‘jack-hammer’ approach toward a man who has suffered extensively over the last six years proves that the mistreatment of Johnny goes well beyond Ms. Heard’s grievous behavior. Colorful texts, which Johnny has already apologized for, do not equate to physical actions and Mr. Rottenborn still has not been able to connect the two, nor will he ever be able to.
In another moment during the trial, an alleged text from Johnny Depp to one of his nurses reportedly stated he was “high as a motherfucker.” There was apparently also note of use of a digital laugh when he made Black Mass, which he filmed in the middle of 2014. Perhaps, going off that piece of information, it sounds like Amber Heard’s attorney does not believe that his timeline of sobriety matches.
Over the course of the trial, the Oscar nominee talked in depth about he’s struggled with alcoholism and addiction for much of his life. Among the information provided during the trial, was the actor’s admittance to doing drugs with Marilyn Manson. He also spoke about drug use of MDMA at his and Heard’s 2015 wedding, where he claimed he did not partake but that his ex-wife and “her gang” did. The Alice in Wonderland star said his drug of choice on his wedding night was marijuana.
Between Johnny Depp’s claims and Amber Heard’s defense, there have been numerous back and forth conversations regarding the actor’s timeline of sobriety and drug abuse as the trial aims to come to a decision regarding Depp’s claims of defamation in her 2018 op-ed. Back in 2020, Depp sought to sue The Sun for libel in regards to the publication for referring to him as a “wife beater” and lost the case. Shortly after, Warner Bros. asked the actor to step down from his role in Fantastic Beasts spinoff of the Harry Potter movies, resulting in Mads Mikkelsen replacing him as Grindelwald.
With Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s trial still underway, more updates are sure to arrive sooner rather than later, and you can stay tuned with the case on Court TV as well.