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Johnny Depp accused Amber Heard of sleeping with co-stars and branded her a 'sl*t', court hears

Actress Amber Heard arrives at the High Court in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Amber Heard arrives at the High Court in London to give evidence in day 10 of Johnny Depp's libel case against The Sun. (AP)

Amber Heard claimed that Johnny Depp accused her of having affairs with fellow actors and branded her a “sl*t”, as she gave evidence at the High Court on Monday.

The actress alleged Depp would demand to read her scripts to “know about romantic scenes in her films” and had nicknames for all of her male co-stars that he considered a “sexual threat”.

Heard has begun the first of three days of evidence at the High Court in day 10 of a libel case by Depp against The Sun newspaper and its executive editor Dan Wooten over an article that referred to him as a "wife beater”.

Heard was present throughout the trial at the Royal Courts of Justice as her ex-husband gave evidence over five days.

Depp denies 14 allegations of domestic violence that News Group Newspapers (NGN) is relying on for its defence.

Actor Johnny Depp arrives at the High Court in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Johnny Depp arrives at the High Court on Monday. Depp denies 14 allegations of domestic violence. (AP)

In her witness statement, Heard, 34, claimed Depp, 57, was “very jealous” and would taunt her and obsess about who she had slept with and been out with before him.

She said: “He would insist every male actor was trying to sleep with me and/or that I had had an affair with them, that he’d spoken to people and knew all about it.

“He accused me of having affairs with each of my co-stars, movie after movie: Eddie Redmayne, James Franco, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Costner, Liam Hemsworth, Billy Bob Thornton, Channing Tatum; even women co-stars like Kelly Garner.

“He also accused me of having affairs with stars I auditioned with, like Leonardo DiCaprio. He would taunt me about it – especially when he was drunk or high – and had derogatory nicknames for every one of my male co-stars he considered a sexual threat.”

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

Amber Heard and Channing Tatum pose for photographers upon arrival at the Magic Mike XXL European premiere in London, Tuesday, 30 June, 2015. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Heard pictured with Channing Tatum at the Magic Mike XXL European premiere in 2015. (AP)
James Franco, left, and Amber Heard attend the LA Premiere of "The Adderall Diaries" held at ArcLight Hollywood on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP)
Heard with James Francoat the LA premiere of The Adderall Diaries in 2016. (AP)

Heard said Depp would get himself copies of the scripts she was looking at, without asking her, in order to “review them for himself”.

She said: “His rules got tighter every year we were together about what nudity or scenes were acceptable, wanting descriptions of every detail, every aspect of scenes and how they were covered, placing increasing restrictions on what I could and couldn’t do.”

Heard said she found herself turning down work, and that her salary fell every year she was with him.

She also said he “spoke possessively of her” as “my woman” and made comments that he “wished he had found me before I had slept with anyone else, joking he would have locked me away at 14”.

“He would obsess about how I dressed,” she said. If I wore a low-cut dress, then he would say things like ‘my girl is not gonna dress like a whore’.

Heard said that over time, she stopped wearing revealing dresses for red carpet events as “it just wasn’t worth the verbal and psychological abuse”.

“He demeaned me any time I tried to wear anything that could be seen as sexy, calling me a ‘whore’, ‘sl*t’, ‘fame-hungry’ and ‘an attention whore’, but it got worse over time,” she said.

“He started saying things like ‘well I’m going to have to watch you get raped’ and ‘I hope you get railed by a bunch of f***ing fellas’.”

Heard said Depp would also call her “fat ass”, and that sometimes she would respond by calling him “old man” or “limp d**k”.

Read more: Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis no longer giving evidence in Depp libel claim

Earlier on Monday Heard alleged Depp "threatened to kill her many times" and that she felt powerless during their three years of marriage.

She claimed: "As I talk about it in this statement, some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far. He explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship.

Actress Amber Heard, center, arrives at the High Court in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Heard accused Depp of threatening to kill her 'many times', especially later in their relationship. (AP)

"He would blame all his actions on a self-created third person, which he often called the Monster.”

On the witness stand, Heard was asked about allegations of an argument in January 2015 about a prenuptial agreement.

“There was an argument in a hotel room in Tokyo that resulted in Johnny kneeling on my back and hitting me on the back of the head,” Heard told the court.

Read more: Amber Heard made domestic violence claims to blackmail Johnny Depp, court hears

“But then Johnny was also accusing me of having an affair with a co-star and that is what led to the actual argument.”

She alleged: “Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far.

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2011 file photo, U.S. actors Johnny Depp, left, and Amber Heard arrive for the European premiere of their film, "The Rum Diary," in London. A Los Angeles judge finalized the actors' divorce, Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, after months of bickering over the final terms of their breakup, although the pair have agreed to honor the terms of a settlement that calls for Depp to pay Heard $7 million, which the actress has said she will donate to two charities. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)
Depp and Heard met when they starred opposite one another in The Rum Diary. Here the pair are pictured at the London premiere in 2011. (AP)

“He explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship.

“He would speak about it as if it was another person or personality and not him doing all these things.”

In the statement, Heard said she had “never been with someone like him”, and the early days of their relationship were “the best times”, adding he could be “intensely affectionate, warm and charming”, which she said she called “the warm glow”.

“When I say he was dark, he had a violent and dark way of speaking: the way he talked about our relationship being ‘dead or alive’ and telling me that death was the only way out of the relationship.”

She added: “He could be very intense and dark. It was the polar opposite of ‘the warm glow’.”

Actress Amber Heard arrives at the High Court in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Amber Heard gave evidence at the High Court in London on Monday as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP)

“After violent episodes, his team would try to convince me to stay with him or to come back, often telling me he was sorry and would get clean for me.

“I think I stayed not only because I had hope of him getting clean and things changing, but also because of the responsibility I felt, being told I was the one to motivate him and help him to get clean.”

The court has so far heard nine days of evidence about Depp’s Hollywood lifestyle, his use of drink and drugs and his attitudes towards women, as well as his and Heard’s volatile relationship – described by Depp as “a crime scene waiting to happen”.

Depp and Heard met on the 2011 film The Rum Diary and began living together in 2012 before marrying in Los Angeles in February 2015.

Amber Heard arrives at the High Court, in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Heard is facing questioning over 14 allegations of domestic violence – all denied by Depp – that The Sun’s publisher News Group Newspapers relies on in defence of the April 2018 article. (AP)
American actress Amber Heard, right, gets out of a vehicle and holds the hand of her girlfriend Bianca Butti as they arrive at the High Court in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Heard alleged that 'some incidents were so severe' she was afraid Depp would 'kill her'. (AP)

Heard obtained a domestic violence restraining order against Mr Depp in LA shortly after the couple split in 2016 and later donated her $7m (£5.5m) divorce settlement to charity.

Depp is suing NGN and Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 with the headline: “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”

His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was “overwhelming evidence” Depp assaulted Heard on a number of occasions and left her “in fear for her life”.

NGN is defending the article as true, and says Depp was “controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs”.

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2016 file photo, Amber Heard, left, and Johnny Depp arrive at The Art of Elysium's Ninth annual Heaven Gala in Culver City, Calif. Court records show Heard filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, May 23, 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. The pair were married in February 2015 and have no children together. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)
Heard and Depp in 2016. The pair were married in February 2015. (AP)
Westwood, CA - November 21 Johnny Depp, Amber Heard Attending Premiere Of Focus Features' "The Danish Girl" At The Westwood Village Theatre On November 21, 2015. Photo Credit: Faye Sadou / MediaPunch/IPX
Depp and Heard on the red carpet in 2015. (PA)

Depp is suing Heard in separate libel proceedings in the US over a December 2018 column in the Washington Post, which did not mention Depp by name but said the actress received “the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out”.

Heard claims Depp hit her for the first time in early 2013 – and later apologised for turning into “the Monster” – and subjected her to a “three-day hostage situation” in Australia in March 2015, when the actor lost the top of his middle finger in disputed circumstances.

Actor Johnny Depp arrives at the High Court in London, in London, Monday, July 20, 2020. Amber Heard started Monday to give evidence at the High Court in London as part of Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence during the couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Depp gestures to fans at the High Court in London on day 10 of the libel case against The Sun. (AP)

She also alleges the Pirates Of The Caribbean star threw a bottle of champagne at her and shoved her to the floor after turning up late, “drunk and high on drugs” to her 30th birthday party in April 2016 – before leaving a note which read: “Happy f****** birthday.”

Depp, however, says he was “not violent towards Heard – it was she who was violent to him” and has accused his ex-wife of “building a dossier” of false allegations as an “insurance policy for later”.

The actor claims Heard hit him on numerous occasions and alleges that she or one of her friends defecated in the couple’s bed on the night of the 30th birthday party, later admitting that it was “just a harmless prank” – which Heard denies.