(NOTE CONTENT) In dramatic testimony in a Fairfax, Virginia courtroom Wednesday, Johnny Depp testified to a litany of psychological and physical abuse he says he suffered at the hands of his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
The testimony laid out, in graphic detail, the attack Depp said he endured during at a rented home in 2015, during which he says Heard threw a large vodka bottle at him, severing the tip of his right middle finger.
The altercation happened after a clean and sober Depp said he fell off the wagon, after first locking himself in a bathroom. While a despondent Deep took “his first drink of alcohol in some time,” Heard allegedly began berating him, grabbed the vodka bottle and threw it at his head. It missed, and shattered behind him.
Depp says he responded by grabbing another larger bottle and pouring himself another shot. Depp said Heard grabbed that bottle, too, and threw it, smashing it against his hand and the bar and cutting off the top of his finger.
With his finger “gushing blood,” Depp said he recalled thinking to himself, “No one should have to go through this,” and suffered a “sort of a nervous breakdown.”
He added, “I started writing with blood on our walls, little reminders of our past…lies that I caught her in,” Depp said soberly, noting he could hear only “white noise, just somebody yelling, a high-pitched constant attack…of insults.”
“I was in shock,” he explained.
When his attorney showed him a photo of him in the emergency room, it sparked another memory for Depp, who pointed out an injury on his cheek, saying it was where Heard stubbed a cigarette out on it.
The actor also claimed to have told doctors at the emergency room he’d cut his own finger “to protect” Heard. “I didn’t want to see her get in trouble,” he explained.
The actor also testified he contracted MRSA three times after the injury, which was hidden from moviegoers during subsequent film work using CG technology. “I feared that I would lose my finger, my arm and my life,” he said.
Depp’s testimony earlier in the morning spoke about his substance abuse and painful attempts at detoxing, all the while detailing what he described as constant “bullying” he endured during his tumultuous relationship with Heard.
Heard’s lawyers were scheduled to cross-examine Depp after a lunch break.
Depp is suing the Aquaman actress for defamation for her 2019 Washington Post op-ed in which she said she was a victim of domestic abuse, and implied her abuser was Depp.
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