Johnny Depp: The 9 wildest moments of libel case as hearing wraps up

From the defecation incident, to the actor’s severed finger and the Kate Moss rumour

Johnny Depp’s libel trial against The Sun’s publishers is finally drawing to a close after shocking details of his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard were exposed over three weeks.

But while the Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s claim is against News Group Newspapers (NGN) and the tabloid’s executive editor Dan Wootton for labelling him a “wife beater” in a 2018 article, the high-profile trial has had many unexpected revelations along the way.

The Independent has taken a look back at some of the wildest moments from the case, including the defecation incident, Depp’s severed finger, and the Kate Moss rumour.

The defecation incident

The High Court was shown images of faeces found in the former couple’s bed the day after Heard’s 30th birthday party in April 2016.

Depp told the court he had been “convinced it was either Heard herself or one of her cohort involved in leaving human faeces on the bed”.

The court was told how the actor called his ex-wife “Amber Turd” in text messages sent shortly after the incident.

Depp said it was “a mystery”, but added that he thought the incident was an “oddly fitting end to the relationship”.

Heard said it was “absolutely disgusting” to suggest she or one of her friends was responsible, adding that it had likely been from one of the couple’s dogs.

The Kate Moss rumour

Heard claimed she remembered a “rumour” about Depp pushing a former girlfriend – model Kate Moss – down some stairs.

The actress told the court she “did strike Johnny in defence of my sister” when she thought Depp was going to push her sibling down a flight of stairs.

She alleged he was “about to push her down the stairs” when she “remembered information I had heard [that] he pushed a former girlfriend – I believe it was Kate Moss – down the stairs”.

Eleanor Laws QC, representing Depp, accused Heard of “making this up as you go along”.

Depp’s severed finger during ‘three-day hostage situation’

The court was shown an image of Depp’s severed fingertip during a trip the couple took to Australia in 2015.

Depp alleged the injury was caused by Heard throwing a vodka bottle at him, while Heard claimed it was self-inflicted.

The actress alleged she was repeatedly assaulted by Depp during a “three-day hostage situation”, which saw him push her down against a home bar and press so hard on her neck that she could not breathe.

The court also saw images of messages allegedly scrawled on the mirrors and walls of the rented home in Australia with blood from Depp’s injured finger and paint.

The property was reportedly left with $150,000 worth of damage following their stay.

Undated picture shown in court of mirrors in the house where Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were staying in Australia in March 2015, which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing of his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, at the High Court in London, 9 July 2020. (PA)

Depp’s nicknames for Heard’s male co-stars

Heard said Depp accused her of having affairs with male co-stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Channing Tatum.

She said he had nicknames for all of her male co-stars who he perceived as a “sexual threat”.

“For example, Leonardo DiCaprio was ‘pumpkin-head’, Channing Tatum was ‘potato-head’ and ‘Jim Turd Sturgess’,” she told the court.

Heard claimed she found herself turning down jobs and losing money every year she was with him as he tried to police the amount of nudity and romantic scenes in her films.

‘The Monster’: Depp’s alter ego

Heard claimed Depp threatened to kill her “many times” in their relationships and would blame his actions on a “self-created third party” he called “the monster”.

Depp denied he had been violent towards Heard, claiming he described himself as a “monster” in a bid to placate her.

He told the court “the monster” was something his ex-wife “became obsessed with”.

During the trial, Heard said: “Johnny, the monster rather, nearly killed me – but I loved him.”

The court heard Depp had used the word in an email to Sir Elton John, saying it was “a simple fact’ that he “would have been swallowed up by the monster were it not for you [Sir Elton]”.

Depp explained he meant he “would have been consumed by this poison – the monster here is death”.

US actress Amber Heard (centre) gives a statement outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London as actor Johnny Depp’s libel trial draws to and end, 28 July 2020. (Neil Hall/EPA)

The dog who once ate cannabis

The High Court heard how the couple’s Yorkshire terrier, Boo, once ate cannabis after “scooping it up” before Depp could reach it.

It was suggested to Depp during the trial that it was about an ounce of hash, but he argued: “I wouldn’t say it was an ounce”.

He added: “The puppy got a hold of a little ball of hashish and just scooped it up before I could get to it.”

The court also heard about an alleged incident in which it is claimed Depp held another one of the couple’s dogs, a Yorkshire terrier called Pistol, out of a car window, which he dismissed as “utter falsity”.

Depp appeared to say he gave 13-year-old daughter drugs

During the trial, Depp also appeared to say he gave his then 13-year-old daughter cannabis as a “responsible parent”.

Describing his own struggles with drugs from a young age, the actor said he did not want his daughter to go “into some paranoid tailspin and I knew that the marijuana I had myself, that I smoke myself, is trustworthy”.

Sasha Wass QC, representing NGN, read out a string of emails between the father and daughter which she said showed him “teaching her about smoking cannabis when she is only 13 years old”.

Depp explained he had told his daughter: “Please do me the honour of coming to me when you are ready, when you really feel you are ready, because I don’t want your first experience in this world to be with people you don’t know, taking things you don’t know, that I can’t trust, so it’s a safety issue”.

File photo taken in September 2015 of US actor Johnny Depp with ex-wife US actress and model Amber Heard. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images)

Heard’s sister accused of lying in court over bombshell video

As the third week of the trial drew to a close, Johnny Depp’s legal team told the court it had been sent a video from an “anonymous source” which they said showed Amber Heard “assaulted” her sister, Whitney Henriquez.

His lawyers said the video had been sent the evening after a day in which Ms Henriquez gave evidence that her sister had never attacked her.

Depp’s lawyers claimed the video demonstrated Ms Henriquez was “lying” in her evidence and had “tailored” her testimony “to meet her sister’s evidence”.

The bombshell footage, played to the court, shows Ms Henriquez during the filming of a reality TV show, poolside with friends, with one person heard to say “did you get in a fight?” and then “I can’t believe Amber beat your ass”.

A woman then appears to inspect Ms Henriquez’ cheek and arm, as Ms Henriquez repeatedly says she is not going to talk about it.

Ms Henriquez claimed they were referencing a “verbal argument” when questioned about the video in court.

Depp threatened to ‘burn’ and ‘drown’ Heard in texts

Text messages were read out to the court in which Depp threatened to “burn” and “drown” Heard.

In messages sent to actor Paul Bettany in November 2013, Depp is said to have written: “Let’s burn Amber”.

He also allegedly wrote: “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead.”

Additional reporting by Press Association