Thread by @nickwallis

Morning and welcome to court 38 of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. We are here for the Johnny Depp v NGN libel trial.

Plenty snappers outside again. Not so many journalists inside today.

We are expecting the third day of Johnny Depp's cross-examination by NGN counsel Sasha Wass QC.
QC = Sasha Wass
JD = Johnny Depp
Judge = Judge (Mr Justice Nicol)

Yesterday in court a photo of Johnny Depp unconscious/asleep was shown and I think it's gone round the world.

I am going to attempt to live-tweet everything today. My work today is entirely crowdfunded. If you are able to make a small contribution, please do. This is the site: store29806256.company.site (don't worry if it says post office trial - that is my other project)

Oh. I was just early. There are the usual number of journalists here. I'll count them.

18. Top fact.

Before we start my tweets are NOT direct quotes UNLESS they are in "direct quotes". They summarise and paraphrase what is being said.

Also i cannot offer opinions on what is happening. I have a legal duty to be "accurate and fair".

I also cannot take photos or record anything in the court buildings. To do so would be a criminal offence.

I am also trying to get transcripts for the first two days hearings. If i do i will post them on my @Scribd account where you can find JD's witness statements and both parties opening statements and skeleton arguments.

Finally i have to nip out for 15 mins this morning. So if i go quiet for quarter of an hour, apologies.

Are we ready....?

I notice the court camera is not pointing at the witness box again...

I am assured it will be.

We're underway. JD is in thenwitness box wearing a dark suit, dark shirt and a dark patterned tie, same glasses, collar-length hair with a centre-parting and his familiar goatee beard.

Sasha Wass QC is taking JD through Dr Kipper's notes for his detox.
QC Dr K says you will take meds as per and detox meds will be administered. Notes here that Amber Heard (AH) contacted nurse to say you needed more help.

QC all the way thru this doc AH is looking after you via the nurse do you agree
JD yes
QC she was devoting herself to your well being
JD yes
QC there was no pssibl selfish motive here, was there
JD I don't know her motive

QC you think there was a selfish motive?
JD no she was giving me meds
QC you've said she was a heavy drinker and drug abuser but she wasn't in detox was she?
JD no
QC i am going to suggest you lied about her drug and alcohol consumption to discredit her
JD no ma'am

QC on 17 Aug 2014 we see regular contact between AH and the medical people. Do you see a text to Dr kipper and the nurse from AH saying you'd taken the meds and then something bad had happened and you flipped and pushed AH? Do you remember that?
JD I was in unbelievable pain...

... and as a possible reaction to the meds
QC did you hit and push AH or can't you remember?
JD i did not push or hurt her in any way. I was not in any fit state to
QC why would she say you'd pushed her
JD i dont know. Its fabricated
QC it's a lie?
JD yes part of her...

...insurance policy against me
QC what you've called the hoax
JD yes

[We go to another text the next day from mrs heard to JD telling him to hang in there and soon he will have the gorilla off his back]
[We hear JD's reply thanking her for a kind and pure message and...

... saying how lucky he is to have her in his life and how grateful he is for her heroism in looking after "this poor old junkie"]
[Another text the same day from JD to AH's mother paying fulsome tribute to AH for essentially saving his life]

JD in not saying that at all times AH was witholding meds and things of that nature. There were time when she was very [mumbles] she does have a heart and she is very... and she did have to deal with a difficult situation and she did handle it very well.
QC you also sent a...

... text to AH saying thank you so much for getting me fucking clean baby. So when you say putting me on that island was one of the cruellest things she's ever done, it's not substantiated by any evidence, is it?
JD there was an occasion when i needed meds and said no. 4pm

QC so because she refused to give you the meds until the right time at 4pm rather than when you wanted them at 3.15pm that was one of the cruellest things she's ever done?
JD well
QC that is what you are referring to that incident?
JD yes, but...
QC we dont need to her any more..

[JD's barrister David Sherborne cuts in to obkect saying all QC does is take the first part of an answer and cuts across him]
Judge asks JD if he has anything else to add.
JD describes it as one of the worst experiences he's ever been through describes withdrawal symptoms

[So detox is not going according to Dr Kipper's plan. There is an email from Dr K about the "fight" between AH and JD over the meds and that he came over to talk to JD. Says they had a long chat. Says JD romanticises drug culture and is not accountable for his actions....

... and describes how DrK had to assess his ability and willingness to change. Called him a slave to his Id, childlike, and unable to see beyond gratifying his wants, paying lip service to his clean heroes like Elton John without a questionabl desire to really change.]

QC is that an accurate portrayal?
[JD's answer is elliptical]
[We now move on to AH being treated for anxiety by another doctor at the recommendation of Dr K. Her doctors notes say she doesnt take drugs or much drink.
QC asks JD what he thinks about that.
JD has nothing to say]

[We move on to notes by AH's new doctor Dr Cowan (?). Notes from talking to AH says JD is threatened by other people's careers and the james franco incident precipitated his stay in detox. He is surrounded by people intimidated by his power and money]

JD I think she was telling porky pies to her psychiatrist

QC as part od the hoax, the insurance policy?

JD concurs

[We move to 22 Sep 2014 by which point JD is still in rehab but taking drugs. According to Dr K medical notes JD and AH have an argument and JD has requested of his nurse "Some fucking knock out yum yum". He has bloody knuckles and has destroyed some furniture]

QC you've destroyed things again and i put it to you you have experiences where you are so out of it you hit things and people
JD i may have hit inanimate objects
QC you dont remember what you did. You black out
JD yes there were blackouts but you retain snippets of memory...

... images... [but he denies again hitting anyone]
QC you sent a text to your sister saying i will savage some motherfucker. You were angry? Yes? That's why you hit something.
JD i must have been angry
QC And you send an email saying you are going to have a massage...

... exit a monster, drop a pill and head off to a wonderful Peruvian spot, my brother....
QC so you're going to become a monster, you want some MDMA and can you tell us the reference to Peruvian...?
JD I am at a loss. It might be a Peruvian restaurant...
QC yes..?

JD or it might have been a reference to cocaine.
QC yes

[We move to another report of Johnny on set refusing to leave his trailer, refusing to speak to a director and kicking his trailer]

QC were there more violent incidents? Kicking things and hitting things....?

[Its DrK's report bw not a news report]
QC the point is in Autumn of 2014 you are falling off the wagon]

[Sorry. Have to nip out...]

[Eek - we’ve moved from September to Dec 2014. As I left we were being shown JD at an awards ceremony making a slurring, incoherent speech, as I came in the QC was accusing JD of being jealous, getting into drug-fuelled rages and getting violent and hitting AH. He denies this.]

[QC reading text from JD to AH about his behaviour “I’m a fucking savage”]
QC yesterday I asked you what you would call someone who kicked someone in the back and you said “savage”
JD it’s a word I use a lot

QC and you use that word “savage” to describe someone who would hit a woman.

JD I often describe myself in derogatory ways and will be the firs to be unkind to myself. I would not kick or touch or punch...

… Ms Heard at any time. Calling myself a savage is certainly not confessing to what you’re suggesting so I disagree with your dissection of this text.

[there is some legal argument as JD’s barrister David Sherborne says ...

… Wass is not sticking to her pleaded case - neither object to her doing so on grounds of being incorrect content, but that it is going to add time to proceedings. Judge suggests she gets back on track]
[QC brings up a moment in a hotel room when JD allegedly slapped AH]

JD it is incorrect, not true and certainly not something I would do with my children in adjoining rooms,
QC and after you had calmed down and you said it was the monster and the monster had now gone
JD yes because that’s what she wanted to hear
QC so you said that,

but you did it because
JD when you say something to someone who cannot be wrong you have to use the words they want to hear in order to placate them.
Judge - so Mr Depp - you admit saying you were a monster, but you said it because you thought it was what AH wanted to hear and..

… not that you thought you were a monster?
JD: exactly that your Lordship

QC and this text from your friend about about your trip to Japan where it says “no giant monster attacks I hope?” So someone else using that term?

JD: I believe that is a reference to Godzilla
QC: Godzilla?
JD: Yes - a giant monster who attacks Japan
QC; Right.
[we move on to a discussion about pre-nup and post-cups re AH. We clarify that AH was happy to sign both but it never happened.]
[We move to Feb 2015 a week after...

… JD and AH marry. JD goes to Australia so her can start filming Pirates of the Caribbean.]
QC And you take some employees with you?
JD: yes
QC you take Ms Lloyd - can we call her your sobriety nurse?
Judge - no. let’s call her Ms Lloyd
QC and AH was filming in London...

… with Billy Bob Thornton and was due to fly out to Australia to join you. And you are aware that she alleges that in Australia you subjected her to a three day violent ordeal?
JD: yes and its untrue - I would go so far as to say it is a dastardly (?) fiction [check that!]

QC on 20 Feb at 11am there is a note which says an employee went to wake you for a spray-tan appointment and after three hours of trying to wake you the appointment was rescheduled.

JD I was that far deep in sleep. Ambien is a sleeping tablet - and very effective - was part of the regime. Because I’ve had insomnia all my
[we move to texts between Depp and Nathan Holmes (his employee)]
QC there was a legal discussion about the defence receiving...

… these texts very late in the day. Do you agree?
JD I dont’ remember…
Judge - I dont’ think we need to ask Mr Depp about this - there was - I recall - some discussion about the lateness of these text.
QC okay. well there was a text discussion if NH could use your...

… cocaine. Where you could get some cocaine for yourself and some happy pills. What are happy pills?
[JD has lost his place]
QC in these texts NH is asking about “stealing” your cocaine - ie taking it. He couldn’t take it if you didn’t have it?
JD I did not take possession of...

…. cocaine when I was in Australia.
[we move to a new text from JD asking how is the stuff? NH replies saying he took too much, put it in an envelope and will bring some back.]
JD is pointing out that there is nothing to suggest he was taking or ingesting the coke, but accepts

… that the substance in question is coke.
JD holding out
QC so you are saying that you may not have known you had any coke
JD I said “have you lost your tiny mind?”
[QC tries to explain]
JD I don’t recall having cocaine and I don’t recall taking cocaine at that time.

QC then you say - we should have more happy pills and NH says yes! I am bringing some over for you. What are happy pills?
JD: part of the medication that DrK presecribed for me were Xanax and Aderol and in the case of former junkies [long digression about the metabolism...

… of junkies] and so Xanax and Aderol helps replace the serotonin in the body and can make you feel happy.

QC ecstasy is sometimes knows as happy pills - sometimes you get a pill with a little smiley face on it don't you?
JD: I don’t know. It sounds like you’re more familiar with it than I am.
[laughter in the reporter’s room.]
Judge - Ms Wass is just asking questions Mr Depp...

… are you or are you not familiar wit the term happy pills for ecstasy
JD: no I’m not
QC and why are you saying “we” for happy pills? Was NH prescribed happy pills too?
JD: No I was using the Royal “we”. I was not sharing my medication with NH.

[we move on]
QC did Marilyn Manson see you or did you see MM at around this time in Australia
JD: he had a concert in Melbourne and I went and played one or two songs with him at the show
QC and yesterday we saw some texts in which AH believed you;d gone on a 24 hr drugs binge...

…. with MM. That’s the same person?
JD: yes that’s the same Marilyn Manson…

QC we have here an email from DrK and another doctor Alan Blastein (?) he was treating you too?
JD that’s the shrank [JD calls his shrink the shrank]

QC and DrK flew out to Australia - didn’t he?
JD yes he did

[we go back to texts between NH and JD]
QC: there was 2g in that jar. what’s that a reference to?
JD: it could be money or it could be drugs
QC: then he says are you out. now you’re not going to be out of money are you?
JD: I could be out
QC: yes - out for a walk...

QC: but here NH says his man can only get 2 a day so is bringing more tomorrow, so it’s not money, is it?
JD: no
QC and here he says if he’s caught with more than 2 he could get 20 years in prison, so it is drugs
JD: yes this is clearly about drugs
QC you were trying to get...

… hold of the sort of drugs that could get someone 20 years in prison for bringing into the country.
JD: i have said that I asked NH to get hold of some cocaine and MDMA for Ms Heard
QC we know she didn’t use cocaine
JD the MDMA was for her
QC the MDMA was for you
JD: well it...

… was for us.
QC and later you say in a text I’m a grown man, I won’t be told and I do whatever I damn well please - and you do don’t you?
JD: Not when I’m working
QC and in your witness statement you say you didn’t take drugs
JD: I said i didn’t take physical possession...

… of those controlled substances.
Judge clarifies this point.
David Sherborne for JD rises to ask for break
Wass insists its short
Judge says that it will be 10mins only (it was meant to be 10mins yesterday and was much longer)
DS is now making a representation to the judge...

… re the timing of the continuing cross-examination (xe) and raises a query about the sound recording we heard yesterday.
Judge says this is something that should be discussed outside court.
[we rise for 10min]

We’re back. We’re talking about the house that was rented by JD for he and AH during their trip to Australia.
The house came with alcohol. Bottles of whiskey.
QC which the owner provided for you to drink and smash up as you pleased
JD: I don’t think that was why the owner put...

… them there.
QC I am going to suggest the owner put them in there at your request. Despite the fact you say you, as a recovering alcoholic you wouldn’t be tempted
JD I had been sober more than 18 months.

QC no you said yesterday you drank 2 bottles of champagne on a flight in May 2014
JD; if i made a mistake in my recollection of how long I’d been sober I am wrong, but I was definitely sober for at least 9 months to a year
QC you were drinking regularl throughout your time...

… in Australia and you were taking drugs - cocaine and happy pills - which was ecstasy.
JD: I respectfully disagree
[we go to a new file]
QC 6 March 2015 - a text from you to Mr Dueters:

… [in which he slags off the production he is working on and his legacy ending: “I held my ugliness and rage deeper down when there was still room in my head to do such a thing”]
QC Mr D was a yes man - isn’t he? He knew how to placate you in the same way as you placated AH

JD: i do not accept that decription of Mr D
[QC reads out a text from Mr D in which he calls JD a “fucking legend” and how he was the only actor he idolised as a child and the only actor whose films he wanted to see, but also how he clearly needed to take a break]

JD says he was down because of what was going on with AH
QC why arrange to fly her out then?
JD: in order to try to make the relationship work, we needed to see each other
QC okay [she finishes reading Mr D’s text] did that make you feel better
JD: it was a wonderful attempt...

… by a friend to make me feel better from constantly being told I was wrong and a “fuck up” and he was trying to take me out of it.
QC you are referring to AH and the way she didn’t flatter you in the way Mr D did
JD she did flatter me when it was in her favour to do so...

.. but there were many times when it was a constant barrage of demeaning footnotes and being put down
QC you were in an angry frame of mine
JD: I was unhappy with the production, I was unhappy with my relationship and I didnt’ like being away from my kids
QC your texts are angry.

… you were angry.
JD: on every other film of the Pirates series I had written everything for the character…
QC: interrupts to say we don’t need a discussion about the character
Judge - were you angry about your work?
QC if possible could you answer yes or know and add anything

extra if it needs to be
QC were you angry about your drug addiction
JD: i had kicked my drug addiction
QC were you angry about AH’s treatment of you
JD: yes
QC were you angry about AH working on a film in London with BBT
JD; no
QC were you jealous of BBT
JD: no
QC were you angry

… about friends telling you you should have got a pre-nup with AH
JD: no I was frustrated AH avoided a pre- and post-nup and rushed the wedding
QC: in your text to AH you said you were a grown man and you could do what you damn well please. you were angry, you were in a house...

… with lots of alcohol in it and your “ugliness came to the fore”
JD the ordeal AH speaks of was not three days it happened on 1 day and it was the Sunday the morning when she was yelling at me because she had been forced… excuse me asked to sign a post-nup

QC no it wasn’t anything to do with that, it is more to do with her being angry at the fact you had a large bag of MDMA pills which you said were for you.
QC the argument with AH began because you were drinking and taking drugs
JD no ma’am
QC you had a large quantity...

… of MDMA in the house which you were taking and she wasn’t
JD; no ma’am
QC you had a large quantity of spirits which you were drinking
JD: no ma’am
QC and to demonstrate you could do whatever you damned well pleased, you put a handful of pills into your mouth
JD no ma'am

QC you pushed her into the door of a fridge and you slapped her round the face
JD: no ma’am
QC you threatened to burn her face with a lit cigarette
JD: no ma’am
QC: and you were completely off your face on drink and drugs
JD: no ma’am
QC The first time I had a drink...

… in a very long time was when during our argument on 8 March
QC during your argument AH stormed off upstairs and you tried to get in her room
JD: no ma’am
QC and you didn’t sleep together on the first night?
JD: I don’t recall
QC: and you stayed up all night taking...

… drink and drugs and the next morning she came down in a purple nightdress - a present from DrK - do you remember that?
JD I don’t recall her… costume
QC do you remember drinking whiskey from a bottle in the morning and lines of cocaine on the table top
JD; no ma'am

QC and you told her his friends hated her and you grabbed her by the throat
JD: fabricated and vicious
QC and you spat in her face
JD: no ma’am
QC all the time holding a bottle of spirits drinking from it
JD: no ma’am
QC and you offered the bottle to her and goaded her into...

… into drinking some and she threw it on the floor and it smashed.
JD no ma’am
QC and that set you off and you started smashing all the bottles
JD: no ma’am
QC you screamed you hated her
JD: I dont’ recall
QC: you smashes a window
JD: no ma'am

QC: you threw her against a ping pong table
JD: no ma’am
QC: and when she ran from there to the kitchen you pushed up against the fridge by the throat again
JD: fabricated
QC: and you screamed that this was all her fault - that she made you do this
JD: no ma'am

QC: and you accused her of having an affair with BBT
JD: possibly

[JD describes AH smashing a second vodka bottle and he lost the tip of his finger on the glass...

…

and started having the beginning of a breakdown and writing on the walls in blood.]
QC brings him back to her questioning.
JD: I’m sorry ma’am

QC: no problem. You are dealing very well with the allegartions if I may say so.
JD: thank you
...
QC: you said you were going to kill her and fuck her corpse
JD: not true

…
QC you were very very angry
JD: I had just lost the tip of my finger and as a musician it’s a little upsetting when you see the bone sticking out.
QC you made public statements after your divorce that AH did that to your finger. Priort to your divorce you said either...

… you didn’t know how it happened or that you did it. Is that true
JD: at the time I told the production I was not going to work the next day - I lied to them to tell them I had slammed it in a door, to protect Ms Heard.
QC can I suggest what i say happened. you can agree...

… or disagree. On the morning AH came down you had not slept, the music was still playing and the house had been completely destroyed and it was clear at that stage you had badly damaged your finger.
JD: so she wasn’t there when your finger was severed?
QC the claim...

… as you call it was that AH was not present when it happened. Can you explain why you did not seek immediate medical attention.
JD; my first call was too Jerry Judge or Mr Dueters.
QC it was hours before you made any call to receive medical attention
JD: no ma’am

QC we are taken to photographs [well, they are… we won’t get to see them till they get sent to us…]
QC these are of the house - you had written on a mirror you had dipped your injured finger in paint to write the graffiti
JD: yes I started using the blood from my finger...

…
QC yes then you started using paint. There is a message there written in lipstick
JD: that’s by AH - call Carly Simon she said it better, babe
JD; it’s a reference to the song “you’re so vain”
Judge - yes okay

QC let’s look at the other graffiti - the black in the picture you did
JD: yes
QC and the red (ignoring the Carly Simon writing) is from your own blood from your finger
JD yes ma’am
QC does that say “starring Billy Bob”
JD: yes

Judge - did you write what we see on p246?
JD: yes “starring Billy Bob, Easy Amber” yes I did
QC this painting was going on all over the house - walls, sofa everyhwere
JD no the mirror, the wall, the lampshade
QC well let’s look here… [goes to another photo]

QC that’s a screenshot of a lamp bearing similar graffiti to the mirror and the date is 8 March 2015 and you did that as well?
JD: yes ma’am
QC you were severely injured?
JD: yes ma’a
QC and someone who was sober or not under the influence of drugs would have felt considerable...

…. pain.
JD: I did feel considerable pain.
QC that’s not true. you did not know what you were doing?
JD i did
QC what was going on
JD for me it was the end. the end end and the end only meant death so this was a message to her and a reference to her ambition
QC what you called..

… in another text the “actress bullshit and fucking ambition” - you didn’t like her ambition
JD: ambition for me has become a dirty word in the sense of someone wanting to become a star without doing the work
QC why did you feel it okay to paint graffiti all over the house...

… all over the house which was not your house. Which must have taken a long time…
JD: it didn’t take that long - help and security arrived
QC no - it was when AH came down and saw the scenes of carnage and the damage to your finger she called security...

QC and you were standing there holding up your damaged finger saying “look at what you made me do” and you told her how much you hated her.
JD what exactly what I was supposed to have said
QC reads quote
JD that might have been true - it was certainly how I was feeling at the...

… time
QC at some stage after security arrived someone pressed a record button on a recording device, didn’t they?
JD: I am aware there is a recording yes
QC and that recording went on for 5 hours.
JD: yes
QC well let’s have a listen...

Judge - not to the whole 5 hours I hope
QC no indeed
[they are finding the accompanying transcript]
QC this is 33 minutes into the tape.
Judge - where in the transcript
QC at the very beginning - the transcript starts at 33m

[it starts playing. no one can hear it]
[now we can]
“You fucking cunt… you make me feel sick [indecipherable shouting]”
QC that’s you
JD it is indeed
QC you were taken to a hospital your staff went to the house including Dr K and Ms Lloyd and I just want to ask you

… [we go to a new file] can you see page 18…
Judge - [reads out file ref]
QC now this is your solicitor’s version of this tape and at the bottom we see JJ is that Jerry Judge “I’ve not seen him this bad. He’s wrecked the place. There was a TV - she did it - she admits she...

… smashed the first one - there were scratches on her arm.”
QC have you seen AH self-harm
JD: no
QC: JJ says JD has a small burn on the right hand side of his face which AH says he did himself. JJ says he’s not well, we need to help him out. That’s your employee...

[we got to a new file]
QC document referring to £75K which I would suggest is the cost of the damage to the house
JD it doesn’t come as a surprise to me it was what JJ was thinking at the time. JJ wasn’t there during the altercation
QC he’d worked for your for a very long time...

… and he’d seen the damage you’d done trashing things before.
JD there had been damage
QC and he went in there and knew exactly what you’d done
[QC does not give JD time to answer this DS objects judge makes QC ask a question. she changes subject]

[goes to a message from JJ in which he says JD drank everything before AH arrived]
JD he was taking this information from AH
QC he was with you before AH arrived. he will have known what you were doing
JD: not necessarily
QC: he might well have known
JD: he might, but...

… I believe he was also taking his information from AH
QC I think that you were drinking heavily.
JD: I first broke my sobriety on 8 March
QC: and you took 12 pills in front of her
JD: it’s made up

QC it’s part of the hoax, that she says you swallowed 12 ecstasy pills
JD: it’s part of her plan to present me "as a wet-brain, as a savage as an uncontrollable maniac as a monster"

JD: What happened was that after hours of screaming at each other, I went downstairs to the bar and decided to break my sobriety, because I didn’t care any more. I wanted to numb myself.

[we rise for the Short Adjournment, or as everyone else outside the High Court calls it, lunch]

Here is the scrawling on the mirrors they were talking about.

By the way here is the full text of the text sent by Johnny Depp to Paul Bettany after the infamous Boston to LA flight during which JD is alleged to have assaulted AH:

“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 fuckin' blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting
any fuck who got near...
I'm done. I am admittedly too fucked 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!!!”

Right - we’re out of court for a bit. Wondering whether to do some admin or get some lunch. There is a gruelling few hours ahead.

Thanks all for the donations. You’re very kind. I am thinking of using any extra cash to buy the transcripts for each day of the trial, which I think would be enormously helpful for everybody. But first I’ve got to get permission to get hold of them.

It’s also been suggested I pin my tip jar to the top of my feed, which I’ll do.

Incidentally I changed it so it looks more like a tip jar rather than Post Office Trial which is my other project. The website is now a picture of a tip jar, but twitter still puts the old name...

… and logo up, which must be a bit off-putting. I presume I need to clear the cache or something with twitter, but I don’t know how. Or is it a setting on Ecwid, which is the platform which powers the payment portal. If it is I can’t find it.

I’ll try to work that out and I’ll pin a link to the tip jar site and the Scrib’d site where I’ll put all the court documents I get online.

Okay so what follows will be my pinned tweet.

I am currently live-tweeting the Johnny Depp libel trial at the High Court in London. It is entirely crowdfunded.

If you can put a few quid in the tip jar I’d be immensely grateful: store29806256.company.site

Find court documents under my name on Scrib’d: scribd.com/search?content…

Amazing. It seems to work.

Right I am going to run a get a chocolate bar before we restart at 2.15pm BST (British Summertime, which is GMT+1)

Raisin and Biscuit Yorkie thanks for asking. Washed down with a diet coke. I know how to live.

We are back in court. Judge not here yet. Mr Depp is drinking from a disposable coffee cup which looks like its come from Soho Coffee across the way from the High Court.

Court is sitting. We’re going straight in.

QC: Sun’s QC - Sasha Wass
JD: Johnny Depp

QC this is from the transcript of the recording taken in the house I think. “the french settee - at least two of them need to be recovered. I’ve scrubbed a lot of blood off the floor”…

… these security people of yours did they tell you how badly it was wrecked.
QC: do you accept the house was damaged
JD: yes
QC: five figure sums worth
JD: mmm
QC: well - you did the damage

JD: I was a party to the damage
QC: she broke one bottle
JD: she broke 2 bottles one of which took the tip off my finger.
QC: do you remember the television breaking
JD: no

QC: do you remember the window breaking
JD: no
QC: do you remember the damage to the sofas
JD: yes
QC: that was you
JD: that was me bleeding
QC: who did the most damage
JD: Ms Heard
QC that’s completely untrue
JD: thank you, but it’s not
QC: what is your recollection of this

JD: AH was very upset about this post-nup meeting she’d had with my attorney - she was shown a sample of a post-nup and in tears and quite riled up that the woman ...

… had psychologically tortured her and said this is it you agreed to sign it and then she said JD would never want me to sign this and the woman laughed and said “oh he’s well aware.”

JD and it all kicked off when I called my attorney

[QC takes him back to the situation]

QC all this damage was going on and yet. your security didn’t come in, whilst this was all happening?
JD: no

[back to the transcript]

QC - there is a discussion about how to clean up...

… the mess and how to keep it quiet. That’s a function of their job - to clean up after you and keep things quiet, isn’t it?
JD: [agrees]
QC: they keep bad news out of the papers and like to put good things in
JD: [agrees]
QC: and this bit where he says the thing he’s most...

… worried about is the owner seeing the mess, kicking them out and going to the press.
JD: that’s why I lied about what happened to my finger
QC Do you remember defacing a painting?
JD: no as I mentioned I was having a breakdown
QC: are you using the word breakdown to mean...

… blackout?
JD: no ma’am I’m aware of the difference
QC: so do you remember defacing a painting or not?
JD: I don’t recall

QC here in the tape there is a discussion with someone saying there is a quite sexy painting with a woman who has her hands on her breasts and it says he’s painted a penis on her pussy. Do you remember that?

[JD isn’t sure]
QC That would be quite big thing painting a penis on a picture?
JD: Quite a big thing? I don’t know
QC: you’d remember it, wouldn’t you?

JD admits he can’t remember whether or not he did paint a penis on the picture.
[we move on to more of the transcript JJ says: “If we didn’t step in today then either you would be dead or he would be dead”]
QC that would be a very odd thing to say if she were the only violent...

… party.
JD: either you would be dead or he would be dead.
QC: yes. you see what I’m saying?
JD there are several times I’ve said to AH “we are a crime scene waiting to happen”
QC yes. we can maybe look at that later today

[ask’s about AH’s scratches]

JD I would imagine that when you are in a situation where someone confronts you with aggression and violence if you are trying to save your head from being split open or something you might want to try ...

… to control that person to avoid something hideous happening.
QC do you remember when your staff tried to take you to hospital
JD they did take me to hospital
QC not immediately. At first you said “I need to take a fucking piss. This is my house” and you went outside and had...

… urinated outside the house. Do you remember that?
JD: no
QC: these are DrK’s notes - that you had sent a text saying you’d cut your finger after an argument - patient having a hard time leaving the house - what does that mean?
JD: I seem to have some memory of just going...

… to sleep for little while.
QC after that recording of your angry voice
JD: just before - a little nap
Judge - just between your security team arriving and you going to the hospital you took a little nap?
JD: yes my Lord
[we go to another file]

[this is a text to Dr Kipper from JD in which he calls AH an evil vindictive c***]
QC this would have been a perfect oppo for you to say she’d cut the top off your finger. Why didn’t you?

JD it’s just a question of language to say “i just cut my finger off” means I got my finger

… cut off.
QC are you serious?
JD: I don’t know why I put all this detail in but it was pretty clear when they got here what had commenced and what had happened.
QC all you had to do was say “she” cut my finger off not “I” cut the top of my middle finger off

QC the next thing you do is send a text to Nathan Holmes "need more whitey stuff, please brother man” he also asks for the “E business" and says no one else must know.
JD says this is before the argument
QC no it’s not - it’s sent after you sent a text saying you cut your finger

… off.
JD: but the time on both these texts is 1am, but the argument/altercation only took from probably 9am to noon.
Judge - you have pointed out the time of the text is recorded as 1.05am - I don’t know if you’re able to say from your knowlege whether that time would have been

affected by your being in Australia?
JD: it could be - all I’m saying is the argument the nasty interaction between Ms Heard and myself it happened far later…
QC your barrister agrees that the order is the important thing. You cut your finger off and you tell your doctor...

… and as soon as you do, you ask for cocaine and ecstasy
JD accepts
QC and NH says “okey dokey” and then you get a text from your security in countdowns as he’s coming over to you - starting 30 minutes away. Your security is 30 mins away yes?
JD: yes
QC then you send a text...

… to your sister saying cancel the post-nup we need an annullment I need to speak to you
QC why didn’t you tell her AH had cut your finger off?
JD I think that’s why I said I need to speak to her - I didn’t want to worry my sister and I was protecting AH
QC and you say...

… in a later text that you “fucked up my finger pretty badly” and you also say you want her to arrange a plane because you want to come home. and again you didn’t tell her AH was responsible
JD: no i did not.
[we move to a note from a local doctor to DrK re JD’s finger]

[traumatic injury to right hand ring finger, right hand dominant, unclear history of traumatic event and no witnesses]
QC so you didn’t tell him what happened, or you told him you had no memory
JD: I told him it happened in an accordian door. and he didn’t believe me
QC he’s not

… saying that tho is he?
JD: i think he’s just being discreet
QC you’re imagining this. he’s not part of your PR team. He has a responsibility to put this
JD: the doctor said your finger was not actually trapped by a door what happened. I said it was. And he said it was a wound

… of velocity because there was a mess and the top of the finger was missing.
QC you remember all this?
JD: yes
QC: because the notes say patient under the influence
JD that was in the emergency room and I was a bit iffy, but the next day when I saw the surgeon...

… he was the one who told me it was a velocity wound.
QC I see. She reads the A&E doctor's description of it and notes that JD presented with a kitchen knife injury but that it is more commensurate with a crushing injury - no mention of velocity
JD: that’s cos it’s the

… A&E doctor
QC we go back to the way JD did or didn’t lose his finger - [he demonstrates by putting his hand on the edge of the witness box] - and she didn’t crush it with a vodka bottle? you say she threw it
JD: she did
QC: but you got no glass splinters
JD: no

[we go to a text from JD to Paul Bettany who we know does not like AH and he just says he’s had the top of his finger lopped/knocked off]
QC: so you didn’t tell him. you didn’t tell anyone
JD: I told DrK
QC: only after AH got a restraining order against you for domestic

… violence.
JD: no I told him when he arrived at the house
QC: you’re making this up.
[we are now in a long discussion about how the finger was damaged and JD is demonstrating exactly what he says happened with AH, the bottle and his finger against the witness box]

[we go to a text which is from JD to DrK - saying: thank you for everything I have chopped off the top of my left middle finger as a reminder I should never chop the top of my right finger ever again.]
QC did you send that text.

JD: yes
QC: Thank you
JD: I didn’t chop my left middle finger off, just in case you wanted to know.
QC: thank you. that’s good to know.

[we go to a new incident involving Whitney (AH’s sister) and Rochelle Hathaway in March 2015 back in LA]
QC post your altercation in 8 March 2015 you did not file for divorce you were still together
JD yes but I didn’t have much hope for the future of it
QC on 23 March 2015...

… you had a row with AH because she found out you were having an affair with Rochelle
JD: I don’t remember that was what the row was about
QC: you were very angry that AH was

… accusing you of having an affair. and you don’t like being told off.
JD: i don’t like being screamed at and demeaned and being treated as something like less than a person
QC and you went into your flat and you started ripping up her clothes
JD: no
QC: so she did this as part

… of her plan, her hoax, to store up for her divorce a year later
JD: yes
QC: and you had been drinking, you had an empty bottle of whiskey in your hands
JD no ma’am
QC and you were speaking incoherently and you were denying having an affair and saying that she made you do it

QC so two conflicting accounts
JD: what’s the question?
QC either you accept what I say or you say it didn’t happen
QC: She was accusing you of having an affair with Rochelle and you denied it. Do you deny it?
JD I deny it
QC Did you deny it?
JD: I denied it
QC did you also say

… that she made you do it.
QC she was screaming abuse at you - you were calling her a whore and an ugly old c***
JD: i don’t recall using those words, but it doesn’t seem extraordinarily outside…
QC and you were screaming fuck you bitches to Whitney and AH and you came towards

… them and you pushed Whitney out of the way so you could hit Ms Heard and in trying to hit Ms Heard you struck Whitney in the arm,
JD untrue
QC and then AH said “don’t you hit my sister” and then she struck you. and that’s the first time she had ever hit you
JD: not true

JD there were witnesses
QC all on your payroll. and we know you cook up stories together
JD and so a former police officer is lying for me?
Judge Mr Depp - let’s just stick to the questions
QC and then you hit AH in the head
DS interjects - could yo put the question so

my client can answer it
Judge - yes please
QC I will I will just get to the end of this and put it to you
Judge I have a note saying you hit AH in the head could you answer that
JD: no it did not happen
QC and you say the ripping up of AH’s wardrobe was done by her as part...

… of her insurance policy against you.
QC did you do nothing violent on that staircase
JD: I possibly tried to protect myself if that is considered violent
QC do you see this text from Debbie Lloyd to Mr Dueters. “violent again last night I had to separate them. Jerry aware"

[text continues- “good thing they called or they would hurt each ohter. we had to physically restrain the bot of them”]

QC: why would debbie Lloyd say you were both being violent?
JD: we were screaming - throwing things - red bull - tv remote and things like that.

DS stands up to ask for break
Judge unsure
Judge - Mr Depp would you like a break or would you like to carry on.
JD: I would nearly do snoopy dances to step out of the box for a moment
Judge - does that mean you would like a break
JD it does - i would
Judge - we will have a break

We’re back and we’re going for another 63 minutes.

QC we are looking at the transcript of an audio recording made on 16 March 2015 with AH. Remember?
JD: I don’t recall
QC: you were in the habit of recording each other’s discussions
JD yes when there was going to be another

… discussion about what was said.
QC and here AH says I see different versions of a person - so if it’s aderol junkie — everything I do is a cause for violence - everything I say is screaming if I’m yelling at him I’m part of the problem - so the discussion is about your...

… drug use, so let’s go to this section and let’s just take it up at the bottom - the last statement here from AH - I’ve never seen you go on a binge without being addicted to something
And you say when?
And then she says you’ve never seen someone go on a four day bender...

… cut the top off a finger and writing on walls and lampshades and addressing co-stars I’ve never been with
QC this is about Australia isnt’ it
JD starts to talk about the state of his finger

QC could you just answer the questions

JD I’m terrible sorry this is my life - i need to explain that my finger wasn’t broken

QC are you trying to drag this out so I can’t finish my cross-examination?
JD: no ma’am
QC could you then just please answer the question

QC this is about Australia, isn’t it?
JD: [reads his answer in the transcript]
QC [finishes reading his answer in the transcript which finishes with an acknowledgment that this is about Australia]

[we now start going through a timeline - where AH and JD were off and on]

QC and this coincided with you staying off the drugs
JD I knew our relationship would have a better chance of working if I did the things that AH wanted me to do.
QC which included staying off the drugs and putting the Monster away

JD: you start to call it the monster so much you start to believe you are… a monster
QC: and when you were on your honeymoon on the oriental express there was an incident in your suite when you hit her and tried to strangle her.
JD: That is not at all what happened.

[QC going through a litany of alleged violence]
Judge - i need the repsonse to these allegations - could you go through this bit by bit?
QC so you were in the eastern columbia building in LA on 15 Dec 2015?
JD: i remember the argument beginning in the bedroom
QC: you lost...

… you tempter
JD: I walked away
QC: you threw a decanter at Ms Heard
JD: no ma’am
QC: you punched the walls
JD: possibly
QC: you slapped her
JD: no ma’am
QC you pulled hair
JD: no ma'am

QC she was standing up to you and she would stare you out and you said “you think you’re the fucking tough guy”
JD: I used that phrase before but not to square off to her
QC: you headbutted her
JD: no ma’am
QC: she fell backwards and hit her nose and got a nose bleed

JD no ma’am
QC: and she told you she wanted you out of thre
JD: possible
QC: she told you she would call the police if you ever touched her again
JD: no ma’am
QC: and you said you’d kill her
JD: no ma’am
QC: and you tried to strangle her, threw her on the bed, then got...

… on top of her so violently the bed frame broke
JD: no ma’am
QC: and started pulling clumps of her hair out
JD; no ma’am
QC before leaving. now in your witness statement you said you were not violent. If that was true there would be no damage to your apartment wouldn;’t there.

JD: [unclear]
QC you’ve seen the damage to your apartment
JD: I’ve seen photos
QC: yes you’ve seen photos of the damage to your apartment - shall we look at them?
[we get them out]
[we now seem to be looking at photos of damage to JD’s face]
QC what is the injury here?

JD there is a swelling under my left eye and an abrasion on my nose
QC past the photographs of you there is some graffiti by you with gold paint
JD: gold pen
QC: “Why be a fraud? All is such bullshit.” what sort of mood where you in?
JD: not my best. It was a very important Q

QC: you were under the influence of drink or drugs to do this
JD: no ma’am sometimes it’s just the way I do things…
[we go to more photos]
QC photos of clumps of blonde hair. that’s Ms Hears’ hair
JD is it
Judge - well if you don’t know, you need to say you don’t know.

JD: I dont’ know whose hair it is. thank you your honour
QC and there’s a broken reading light and you broke it
JD: no it’s come off the bed-frame
QC:: it’s not where it should be: you caused this damage
JD: no ma'am

QC: and in this photo the bedframe is broken and you did it
JD: no the bed is made of heavy oak
QC yes it would take some degree of force. and it happened when you threw your weight onto Ms Heard when you assaulted her on the bed.
JD: no ma'am

QC in this photo a candelabra is on the floor. you did that
JD: I don’t agree
QC: in this photo on 16 Dec 2015 of Ms Heard - 2 black eyes coming up
JD: that’s what it appears to be
QC: and some injuries around her nose and mouth
JD: it’s not the greatest quality I”m having...

… difficulty but I see the eyes
QC you caused that inury.
JD: no ma’am

[We can’t see any of these photos btw. Really sorry. Will hopefully get some of them later.]

QC There is a note from Ms Lloyd saying that AH has reported an injury to her by you. can you explain that.

JD: Ms Heard cannot be wrong and she is not going to reveal to her nurse or anyone close to her, she is not going to reveal the truth to them. she will not.

Judge - can you explain what happened?
JD talks about the alleged headbutt injury
[long explanation in which JD essentially says he was not the aggressor, AH was, and any physical contact was in self-defence or trying to calm her down]
QC why isn’t the accidental headbutt

… mentioned in your witness statement?
JD I don’t know why it is or isnt’ in the statement
Judge - well at the beginning of this trial you gave a witness statement that was sworn to be true - I realise they are written by lawyers, but you confirm it is true.

JD: yes there is nothing in the witness statement which is untrue
QC but this is a crucial detail the accidental headbutt. Why isn’t it in there
[JD admits he hasn’t read all of his witness statement]
QC but you said earlier - when you interrupted me “this is my life"

QC this is incredibly important to you
JD: i trusted my attorney
DS: Ms Wass is putting questions without allowing Mr Depp to see his witness statement
Judge - let’s get the witness statement out
[we start looking at the witness statement in which AH’s words to describe the…]

[incident are used - DS starts pointing something out and the judge says this is for the re-examination. QC goes on]
QC so now we know there WAS what you say was an accidental headbutt do you accept that it was your headbutt that caused the injuries shown in the photos we saw...

JD is not sure
[they discuss how those injuries could come from a headbutt and agree it could be a headbutt injury]
QC and you now say you did accidentally headbutt her, but you did not cause those injuries
[JD demurs from calling it a headbutt]
[we’re now listening to a...

completely unintelligble recording between AH and JD]
QC there was a headbutt but you denied breaking her nose
JD: I said I headbutted you in the forhead, but it was not an intentional headbutt
QC when did you hear about this recording
JD very recently
QC and I’m going to...

… suggest you changed your account of what happened to take into account this recording.
JD: I respectfully disagree
[we move to a new item - a series of texts between AH and a friend “I need you - J beat me up pretty good - Rox on the couch now - I’m hurt. I don’t know what...

… to do”
QC is that part of this elaborate hoax?
JD: yes
[reads another text between two people which appears to corroborate AH account]
QC are these two part of the conspiracy too
JD: essentially yes - she terrifies and manipulates the people around her to turn them...

… against me.
[we move on to report of a registered nurse meeting AH at the door to deliver meds - RN notes bleeding lip which AH says was from an altercation with her husband]
QC is this rebleeding lip part of the hoax?
JD: yep
[we move to text between AH and her mother]

QC these texts have attachments which are the photos of the injuries on 16 Dec - Paige says send the pictures - Paige says AH's dad sent a text to JD really angry about what had happened to his daughter. JD replies]
QC what do you remember about your reply?
Judge do we have it?

QC we have Mr Heard’s text to JD, but I’m not sure we have the reply. I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong - but there was a discussion between you and Mr Heard about his daughter. Do you remember
JD: yes but thaht’s about as much as I remember.

[QC reads a 21 Dec text from Amber’s dad - a man has got to be a man, but I understand. I wish you and I were talking and I’m sure I could fix this and you could understand why I don’t want to kill you or beat you up - no more hitting for anybody - AH needs help with her...

… temper and you need help with drugs and alcohol. I know she’s not entirely blameless but this has to stop as she loves you and I think you love her]
QC what did you tell Mr Heard
JD I told him it was a situation that got out of control and got violent
QC did you tell Mr Heard

… that “yes I fucked up and went too far in our fights”
JD: yes but it was verbally - I never said I hit your daughter and I’m sorry - I said I am sorry that things escalated in the way that they did.

QC you sent a text to David Heard (DH) on 30 Dec 2015 which said nice things then you also sent a text which you thought you hadn’t already sent “yes I fucked up and I went too far in our fight - I cannot excuse my part in these dramas, but I can promise you they will never...

… happen again. I love you, brother”
QC do you remember sending that text?
[some confusion]
Judge steps in - Mr Depp you are being asked about a text which was sent on 30 Dec and Ms Wass is asking you about that unsent text.
QC do you remember sending that text?

JD: yes
QC; does it express your genuine views as to what happened?
JD: i am expressing my regret for my part in what happened. there is nowhere in there that I say I hit your daughter.
QC no you’re right - you said I fucked up and went too far in our fights
JD: they were...

… verbal fights. Horrible things were said. And I am apologising for upsetting him, upsetting paige and upsetting amber. on cannot fly with one wing - in every argument there are two involved - one can escalate - one can de-escalate. I never punch smacked or hurled your...

… daugher across the room
QC no nor did you say I did injure your daughter by accidentally headbutting her whilst trying to calm her down.
JD: no I didn't

Judge steps in. It’s time for us all to go home.
DS on his feet for what looks like more legal argument. JD is still in te writness box leafing through the evidence and photos, in order to sort out the lever arch file and put it back in the “bundle” - the cardboard boxes...

…. which carry all the lever arch files.
I can’t hear the legal argument - it’s about tomorrow’s evidence and who gets how long to address JD.
It looks like we’ll hear an hour of JD being re-examined by his own side.

which means that his barrister will pick over certain parts of JD’s cross-examination by Sasha Wass QC in order to get more clarity on important points. I am going to try to find some transcripts so wish me luck. If you’ve found what I’ve been tweeting interesting...

… please do chuck a small amount in the tip jar. If you have asked or want to ask a question about anything to do with this trial or my work, please DM me and I’ll try to get through them tonight.

Also if we get any photos through or the verbatim text of any of these reports they’ve been reading from in court I’ll post them up here.

Thanks for reading.

Oh - tip jar:

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