Court hears audio of Amber Heard begging Johnny Depp not to cut himself two months after divorce filing

The knife had “Until death” inscribed in Spanish, as well as “Slim”, Mr Depp’s nickname for ex-wife

A Virginia court listened to Amber Heard begging Johnny Depp not to cut himself two months after filing for divorce from the film star in a shocking audio tape played at their multi-million dollar defamation trial.

Ms Heard grew emotional as the jury was played the recording, in which Mr Depp implored her to cut him with a knife, while he also wiped his eyes and grabbed a tissue.

The knife in question had “until death” inscribed on it in Spanish, as well as “Slim”, Mr Depp’s nickname for his ex-wife. “Want to cut me somewhere?” Mr Depp could be heard saying in a low voice on the recording.

“Just don’t cut your skin, please don’t. Why would I do that? Please don’t cut yourself,” Ms Heard replied. But the Pirates of the Caribbean actor told her, “I need you. Cut me”.

The conversation was then interrupted by a hotel housekeeper, with Mr Depp telling her to leave as “there’s sperm on the pillows”. Mr Depp then urged Ms Heard again to cut him, adding, “You f***ing hate me”.

“Put the knife down! Put the f***ing knife down. Do not do that Johnny,” Ms Heard told him. He then told her that he wanted to look at her and that would make the pain “go away”.

But Ms Heard told him: “The knife is dull, it would be the worst thing in the world. Too painful and dull and dirty.” She is being sued for $50m (£38.9m) by Mr Depp for implying he abused her in a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post. The trial is being held in Fairfax, Virginia, because the newspaper houses servers there for its online edition.

Although she did not name him, his lawyers claim her allegations have made it difficult for the actor to land movie roles, turning him from “Cinderella to Quasimodo” in Hollywood, as the Pirates of the Caribbean actor described it.

She, in turn, has filed a $100m (£78m) counterclaim against Mr Depp and has asked for immunity from the actor’s allegations. The court has adjourned for the week and testimony will continue on Monday.