Amber Heard Lawyers Wrap Up Cross-examination of Johnny Depp

Actor Johnny Depp testifies at his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard Steve Helber POOL/AFP
Actor Johnny Depp testifies at his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard Steve Helber POOL/AFP
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Amber Heard Lawyers Wrap Up Cross-examination of Johnny Depp

Actor Johnny Depp testifies at his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard Steve Helber POOL/AFP
Actor Johnny Depp testifies at his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard Steve Helber POOL/AFP

Lawyers for Amber Heard on Monday ended their marathon grilling of Johnny Depp at his defamation trial against his former wife by playing audio recordings of heated arguments between the couple.

"Shut up fat ass," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star is heard telling Heard in one recording played for the seven-member jury hearing the case in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

In another audiotape, the 36-year-old Heard, who had a starring role in the movie "Aquaman," accuses Depp of having "beat the shit out of" her and throwing a "swing" at her, AFP reported.

Depp has denied ever being physically abusive towards Heard and has claimed repeatedly at the trial that she was the one who was frequently violent.

Depp filed a defamation suit against Heard over a column she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."

Heard never named Depp but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.

The Texas-born Heard countersued, asking for $100 million and claiming she suffered "rampant physical violence and abuse" at his hands.

- 'Hit pieces' -
Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard met in 2009 on the set of the film "The Rum Diary" and were married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized two years later.

Heard's attorneys have alleged that Depp would become a physically and sexually abusive "monster" when he was drunk or on drugs, and pressed him extensively about his drug and alcohol use during his three days of cross-examination on the witness stand.

"If anyone had a problem with my drinking, at any time in my life, it was me," Depp said. "The only person I've ever abused in my life is myself."

Heard's lawyer Ben Rottenborn also sought to convince the jury that the accusations against Depp pre-dated the Washington Post column that Heard wrote.

Rottenborn noted that Heard had filed a temporary restraining order against Depp in Los Angeles in May 2016, citing abuse, and quoted headlines from a number of newspaper articles.

"These are all hit pieces," Depp replied.

Depp also played down some of the harsh language he used to describe Heard in text messages to various friends, including one that said "I can only hope that karma kicks in and takes the gift of breath from her."

"It's just irreverent and abstract humor," Depp said, and he was "ashamed that this has to be spread on the world like peanut butter."

- Severed finger -
After Depp finished testifying, his attorneys called as a witness Ben King, an Englishman who managed the home where the couple stayed in Australia during the 2015 filming of the fifth installment of the "Pirates" franchise.

Much of the testimony at the trial has revolved around an incident that occurred there in which the tip of the middle finger of Depp's right hand was severed.

Depp told the jury it happened when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him, smashing the finger against the edge of a bar in the house. Heard's lawyers suggested that Depp cut it with a knife in the kitchen.

King's testimony appeared to back up Depp's account.

The house manager said he found the severed fingertip in a tissue on the floor of the bar along with a broken bottle of Stolichnaya vodka.

He said a "big chunk" of the marble bartop had been broken off.

King said that while he had witnessed frequent arguments between the couple during their stay in Australia, and another in London, he had never seen them be violent.

Testifying last week, Depp said the allegations that he was a "drunken, cocaine-fueled menace who beat women" have cost him "everything."

The actor said that a "couple of days" after the Post column appeared, Disney announced he would no longer appear as Captain Jack Sparrow in the blockbuster "Pirates" franchise

Depp filed the defamation complaint in the United States after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater."



Tomorrowland Music Festival Opens after its Main Stage was Destroyed by Huge Fire

The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
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Tomorrowland Music Festival Opens after its Main Stage was Destroyed by Huge Fire

The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
The burned main stage is seen at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium, Friday, July 18, 2025, two days after a huge fire destroyed the stage on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Fans roared in excitement and organizers sighed with relief as the Tomorrowland music festival kicked off Friday — just two days after a massive fire engulfed the main stage and threw one of Europe's biggest summer concert events into doubt.

Workers labored around the clock to clear out the debris from the elaborate backdrop that was consumed in Wednesday's fire.

Shouting ‘’We made it!'', the festival's opening performers, Australian electronic music group Nervo, were able to take to the main stage Friday after a last-minute scramble and slight delay. Some charred frames were still visible behind them.

No one was hurt in the fire, organizers said. The causes are being investigated.
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world attend Tomorrowland's annual multi-day festival outside the Belgian town of Boom.

Some 38,000 people were camping at the festival site Friday, Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen said.

’’Maybe there are some few people that say, OK, we would like to have a refund, but it’s only like a very small percentage because most of them are still coming to the festival,” she told AP.

“It is all about unity, and I think with a good vibe and a positive energy that our festival-goers give to each other and the music we offer, I think they will still have a good time,″ she said. ’’We really tried our best.″

Australian fans Zak Hiscock and Brooke Antoniou — who traveled half the world to see the famed festival as part of a summer holiday in Europe — described hearing about the fire.

“We were sitting having dinner when we actually heard the news of the stage burning down. We were very devastated and shattered, quite upset because we travelled a long way,'' Hiscock said.

Ukrainian visitor Oleksandr Beshkynskyi shared their joy that the festival went ahead as planned.

‘’It’s not just about the one DJ or two DJs you’re looking to see, but about all the mood and about the dream being alive," Beshkynskyi said.