Actor Johnny Depp testifies in the courtroom in the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse
(Picture: AP)Johnny Depp denounced allegations of domestic abuse from Amber Heard as “ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous…and all false” as he returned to the witness stand in his $50 million libel trial.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star was recalled to give further evidence as the trial draws to a close, insisting the “outlandish, outrageous” claims against him are all untrue.
Depp, 58, said descriptions of his drug use and violence had been exaggerated, and told the court in Virginia, US: “I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse.”
He also said evidence from Heard’s side that he had not helped his ex-wife land her role in blockbuster movie Aquaman was “not exactly true”.
“It’s insane to hear heinous accusations of violence, sexual violence that she has attributed to me,” he told the jury.
“I don’t think anyone enjoys having to split themselves open and tell the truth, but there are times when one just simply has to because it’s gotten out of control.”
He added accusations against him are “ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous, painful, savage, unimaginably brutal, cruel and all false”.
Depp is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed where she claimed to be a victim of domestic and sexual abuse, while Heard is countersuing for $100 million after her allegations were branded a “hoax”.
Concluding his second round of evidence, Depp said: “No human being is perfect, certainly not, none of us.
“But I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse. All these outlandish, outrageous stories of me committing these things... living with it for six years and waiting to bring the truth out.”
Earlier, supermodel Kate Moss gave evidence to the trial about a rumour that she was pushed down stairs by Depp when they dated in the 1990s.
She insisted he had not “pushed, kicked or threw me” during their relationship, and described slipping on wet stairs during a holiday in Jamaica.
Giving evidence over a videolink from the UK, she said: “There had been a rainstorm and as I left the room I slid down the stairs. I hurt my back. And I screamed because I didn’t know what had happened to me and I was in pain. He came running back to help me, carried me to my room and got me medical attention.”
Depp said he had recalled the incident to Heard and claimed she “took the story and turned it into a very ugly incident all in her mind... she’s spewed this three times before.”
The trial is now set to move to closing speeches from both sides.
