I never struck out
Depp denies hitting ex-wife Amber and speaks about his violent mum
JOHNNY Depp testified he had “never struck any woman in all my life” yesterday in his $50million defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Speaking about Heard’s claims he abused her, the Pirates of the Caribbean star said: “Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms Heard in any way.”
He added: “It’s very strange when one day you’re Cinderella, so to speak, then 0.6 seconds later you’re Quasimodo.
“I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children.
“I didn’t want any of those people to believe I had done them wrong or that I was a fraud.
“I pride myself on honesty. I pride myself on truth.
Truth is the only thing I am interested in.”
Asked in front of judge Judge Penney Azcarate in Fairfax, Virginia, about how he felt about having his private life revealed in public, Depp added: “I was always a private person.
“So for me to come up here and stand before you all and spill the truth is quite exposing and it’s unfortunate that it is not only exposing for myself but for my family, for Ms Heard. It never had to go in this direction.”
The actor discussed his children Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 20.
Recalling when they were 14 and 16 and in high school, he said: “I thought it was diabolical that my children would have to go to school and have their friends or people in the school approach them with the infamous People magazine cover with Ms Heard with a dark bruise on their face.”
Depp was also asked about life with his “violent” mum.
He said: “My mother was quite violent. It could be in the form of an ashtray being thrown at your head or you get beat with a highheeled shoe or a telephone or whatever was handy. The only thing you could do really was stay out of the line of fire.” Depp, 58, said because of his childhood, he raised his own children “the exact opposite way”.
Depp is suing Heard, saying her domestic abuse claims have harmed his career and reputation.
The actress, 35, has filed a countersuit seeking $100m in damages and saying Depp’s legal team falsely accused her of fabricating claims against him.
She accuses Depp of a “smear campaign” against her and says his lawsuit is a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.
Witnesses to be called include actors James Franco and Paul Bettany. Evidence to be presented includes police bodycam footage from one of the ex-couple’s altercations, and texts between Depp and Bettany.
The jury has also heard from the ex-couple’s former therapist, who claimed the pair engaged in “mutual abuse”.
I pride myself on honesty and truth. Truth is the only thing I’m interested in
SPEAKS OUT IN CASE AGAINST HIS EX-WIFE