Johnny Depp allegedly sent threatening text messages during his marriage with Amber Heard saying he would ‘drown’ and ‘burn’ her and then ‘f*** the corpse’, the High Court has heard.
The Hollywood actor and producer was in court for a preliminary hearing in his libel suit against British newspaper The Sun and it’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an article which alleged he had been abusive to his former wife, Amber Heard, 33.
At the pre-trial hearing in London’s High Court on Wednesday, unseen 2013 messages alleged to have been sent by the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, 56, to his actor friend Paul Bettany were read out.
Mr.Justice Nicol heard 70,000 text messages were ‘accidentally’ disclosed to the defendants by Mr. Depp’s former legal team.
Adam Wolanski QC, representing News Group Newspapers, told the court the texts are ‘very damaging’ to Mr. Depp’s case.
The barrister said the messages included texts sent to actor Paul Bettany, in November 6, 2013, in which Mr. Depp wrote: “Let’s burn Amber,” the court heard.
The court was told he allegedly texted Bettany again that day to say, “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f–k her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead.”
The court also heard further texts allegedly sent by Depp to Bettany in May 2014, which read: “I’m gonna properly stop the booze thing, darling… Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA, this past Sunday…Ugly, mate.
“No food for days…powders…half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane and what do you get..???
“An angry, aggro Injun in a f–kin’ blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any f–k who got near…I’m done.
“I am admittedly too f–ked in the head to spray my rage at the one I love…For little reason, as well I’m too old to be that guy But, pills are fine!!!”
Mr. Wolanski also told the court that there was another text message from Mr. Depp to Ms. Heard in March 2013, following an incident in which she claims he assaulted her during a row over a painting.
He referred to the evening in question as a ‘disco bloodbath’ and ‘horrendous moment.
The barrister also referred to texts sent by Mr. Depp’s nurse during a 2014 ‘detox trip’ to the Bahamas, in which she revealed that he was ‘manic… full on – flipping out’ and said he was ‘angry with everyone but mostly himself’.
David Sherborne, representing Mr. Depp, said there is ‘no single smoking gun’ in any of the evidence disclosed so far which supports Ms. Heard’s claims Mr. Depp was violent.
He also added that the case would feature “diametrically opposed” versions of events from Depp and Heard.
“One person, one side, is lying, and one is not,” Sherborne said. “Obviously, we say that it is Ms. Heard (who is lying), Mr. Depp is 100% clear about that.”
Sherborne claimed that Heard was not a victim but the “aggressor” in the couple’s relationship, which ended in May 2016. Depp and Heard got divorced in 2017.
According to Page Six, the full hearing is due to start on March 23.
Depp is also suing Heard for $50 million in Northern Virginia for defamation over an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post in which she called for better support for domestic violence victims like herself, but without naming Depp in the piece.
