Thread by @nickwallis

Welcome to court 38 of the Royal Courts of Justice for the fifth and final day of Johnny Depp’s evidence to the High Court. He is suing the publisher of the The Sun newspaper for libel after it claimed he was a “wife-beater”.

Snappers at gates, as before.

The action is happening in court 13 - the principal court for the purposes of this trial. There are five ancillary courts, including one for spare lawyers and another for journalists (court 38).

Proceedings are due to start today at 10am BST. I will be live-tweeting throughout the day. And yes I’ve got organised over the weekend and brought a packed lunch. No spoilers.

Just a reminder that I cannot record video, audio or take any pictures whilst anywhere in the court or court precincts. It it is a criminal offence.

With regard to the live-tweeting I have a legal and professional responsibility to be “contemporaneous, accurate and fair”. I can’t speculate or answer any questions as to how I think it might be going for either party.

Please note - what I am writing is a summary of what is being said in court. I am paraphrasing the exchanges in order to keep up with people as they talk. Nothing is a direct quote unless it is in “direct quotes”.

For direct quotes you will need to read the transcripts which I hope to be able to post each evening after proceedings have finished. You can read the first four days here: nickwallis.com/depp-trial

I am reporting this trial on a day-by-day basis depending on my other commitments and the general affordability of doing so.

My work is entirely crowdfunded and there is a tip jar pinned to the top of my twitter feed. Thanks to everyone who has made a contribution already. You’ve got us this far!

There are 16 other journalists with me in court, including @SianHarrisonpa my spirit guide and guru when I was covering the Post Office Trial. The High Court is her patch. This place is so vast I once got a set of directions to an office which...

@sianharrisonPA … involved going up two flights of stairs, down another, along several corridors and through a “Bear Garden”, which was actually a medium-sized hall on the first floor.

Mr Depp does not yet appear to be in court. Everyone else is ready.

Mr Depp is in court. Court rises for the judge.

David Sherborne (DS) is re-examining Johnny Depp (JD).
DS: we are now back in LA for the alleged knife incident. I am going to ask you yes or no questions just because of the timm
JD: Mmm
DS you described Ms Heard (AH) as “looking for a fight” and she says you lunged at her...

… and hit Whitney (AH’s sister) and then you grabbed AH by the hair and punched her repeatedly.
[DS takes him to AH’s witness statement]
DS she says I lunged at Johnny to stop him hitting my sister… JD grabbed me by the hair with one hand and then hit her repeatedly...

… with the other.
DS this was two weeks after you lost the tip of your finger in March 2015. What happened after that.
JD I went back to LA to have surgery - they put a pin in my finger and I ended up catching MRSA, which is quite a painful disease.
[JD is wearing a great suit…

… white shirt with possibly a dark blue tie and matching pocket kerchief. Usual slightly tinted thick-rimmed glasses.]
[we are looking at a photo of JD’s cast on his finger]
DS what’s on the cast?
JD a little dinosaur
DS did you choose this?

JD: I figured as I was going to wearing this ridiculous cast I’d choose the childrens’ one as it was a bit more fun.
DS okay, so this was put on your hand on the 18th - 5 days before this [alleged punching AH] incident
DS were you wearing that cast on the date of the incident?

DS wearing this cast would you have been able to grab AH by the hair and punch her repeatedly with the other?
JD no
DS okay let’s go to the next alleged incident during your honeymoon on the Orient Express?
DS was it just you?
JD we went with Macolm Connolly our security...

… for the entirety of the trip
DS you were very violent according to AH on this trip. Did you buy up the whole train?
JD: no
DS you had a cabin. Did you get familiar with the staff on this train?
JD yes we got to know them quite well. The railway staff were very accommodating

… at times in a crowded dining car things would get a little strange, people taking photos of us eating and so on so after a little while they gave us an empty dining car to eat in.
DS were you violent at all to AH on that train journey.
JD no. No. Not at all.

[we go to Thanksgiving Nov 2016 which wasn’t put to JD by Ms Wass]
[Sasha Wass QC objects - this is not re-examination]
[Judge agrees]
DS we go to next incident 15 Dec 2015 - the night before AH was due to be recording on the James Corden show.
DS you said during the argument...

… whilst she was punching and hitting you you grabbed her arms and in the process of doing that you may have inadvertently hit her with your head. You were in close quarters. You said her arms were flailing around.
JD: yes. it was the only way to restrain her.

[we go to JD’s witness statement re 15 Dec 2015]
DS here you set out what was alleged against you in AH’s document, shoving and grabbing… you say and then at the bottom - I was at the penthouse, but I was not violent towards AH in any way - in fact she was violent towards me...

… she has fabricated these allegations and said that the hair on the floor belonged to her.
DS were you violent towards her in any way
JD: No
DS did you intend to headbutt her in any way at all
JD: no not at all
DS did you deliberately bash up her nos
JD: no sir
DS did you do...

… anything other than bump foreheads.
JD no sir

[we are going to notes of a meetingi in San Francisco post-restraining order which AH had asked for]
DS what were the terms of the restraining order
JD couldn’t be within 150 feet
DS and there was a recording made during that meeting without your knowledge
JD: yes sir

[we go to the transcript]
DS right at teh bottom - you say to her - did I fucking goddam scream when your attorney was on the phone? Why were you speaking your solicitor?
Judge: well…
DS I don’t need to ask that
[DS reads more of the transcript - a headbutting discussion]

[then the phone throwing discussion. In both discussions AH accuses JD of headbutting him and throwing a phone at her. He denies them both vehemently in the transcript]
DS it was suggested your description of the headbutting incident was untrue. Did you intentiionally...

…. headbutt AH or make up your recollection of it in court.
JD no sir
[DS might now be going to the photographs of the alleged phone-throwing injury. Sasha Wass for NGN has interrupted]
DS you were taken to a particular photo of this and you said you hadn’t seen any injuries...

… on Ms Wass’s face.
JD: yes
DS: do you think you would have seen them if she looked like this?
JD: yes I believe I would. certainly.
[we move to statement from AH’s nurse who became a friend of AH who took a call on 16 Dec 2015]
[AH says she had an argument, JD was inebriated..

… he headbutted her. RN (reg nurse) asks if she wants her to come round. She says no.]
DS that night AH was due to appear on James Corden show that night - 16 Dec
JD was it the 16th? Yes
Judge - just a minute - did you say the only reference in the RN notes was “used his...

… forehead to hit her?” it says here she has a headache and bruised eye
DS yes and on the next day 17 Dec RN comes round. The RN waits at the door for several minutes. Client greets RN - looking dishevelled - and RN comfort her. RN notes AH has bright-red blood on her lip...

… which AH ascribes to JD. RN examines AH briefly but doesn’t see any bruising and encourages her to go see a doctor.]
DS so the RN doesn’t see any bruises and she can’t find anything on the scalp to show any hair pulled out. Mr Depp in answer to your question to Ms Wass you...

… explained something about a chapped lip. Could you explain further?
JD she got very dry chapped lips and she would pick at the skind
DS and what would happen when she did this
JD just like anything she would bleed, when you pick the scab off.

DS was the RN a paid lackey, in your employ?
JD no she was a competent professional nurse.
DS we were taken to exchanges between you and AH’s father - David Heard, but effectively he said I know about what went on. AH needs help with her temper and you need help with drugs and...

… alcohol. But then he said he loved you like a father.
DS if your daughter’s husband had been slapped and dragged around and hit, would you still sent a text to your son-in-law telling him you loved him like a father
JD definitely not
DS thank you Mr Depp

[JD grabs a botle of water to drink from]
DS I am terribly sorry Mr Depp - there are no cups in court so we don’t mind if you drink from the bottle
JD: [just about to put the bottle to his lips seems amused by this running commentary on his actions] Thank you! [he sips]

DS I am going to do the same
[we move on to the bad meeting before AH’s 30th birthday party]
DS what happened at that meeting.

JD Apaprently from making Pirates 2 and 3 I’d made $650m and when I fired [my accountants] for the right reasons...

… I was told that I had not only lost the $650m, I was £100m in the hole because they had not paid my taxes for 17 years.
DS and it was said you were under the influence of cannabis when you arrived at the party. was that true?
JD it was possible I smoked some cannabis in the...

… car on the way over.
[we go back to RN - Nurse Burrows - notes 21 April 2016]
DS she says she’s invited to the dinner party and AH would be going to Coachella the next day. RN turns up with client’s assistant Savannah - client was irritable and upset - angry with JD...

… because he is late. RN advises client to socialise with friends. JD arrives at 10.15pm you appear in good spirits, you greet the guests, you sit with AH and appear to be getting on - says you were coherent, thought processes were logical and clear and you discuss Coachella...

… with AH. RN notes part ends around midnight]
DS then you say that AH started an argument by saying that like in Hicksville you ruined everything for her friends. And she hit you.
JD yes.

[it is a text in which JD says to AH during their argument was “haymakering”]
DS asks what a haymaker
JD says it is wildly swinging - a sort of roundhouse punch which is effective if it connects
DS it’s not an English term

…
JD no it’s not
Judge - I’ve heard of it
DS I haven't
DS did Ms Heard deny hitting you?
JD: no she didn’t
DS did you deserve to be punched for reading a book
JD: no I was trying to withdraw from the situation
DS did that happen only once?
JD no sir I did that a lot

[we move to iO Tillet-Wright]
DS under xe you said you had not spoken to iO for a while. Why?
JD Mr T-W was an LBGT community activist and Mr T-W wanted to do an interview and photo Lily-Rose my daughter about this and he neither sought permission from me or her mother Vanessa...

… Paradis. Not once.
DS and you weren’t happy about that and as a result you stopped speaking.
Judge asks about iO T-W’s preferred gender pronoun and Ms Wass says she thinks it is male and so Judge says we will continue to refer to him as Mr.
[we move on]

[we get to texts written by JD to his sister]
DS in which you say “I want her replaced on that WB film” and I think that was a few days after she had got a restraining order against you and told the world you were a wife beater
JD: yes
DS and you say “and people believe...

… her lies?????” what do you mean by that.
JD it was how I couldn’t believe that people would buy her story.
DS you explained to this court on Friday that in your 57 years you’ve never hit a woman and no one suggested it. I asked you about Kate Moss, Winona Ryder is coming to...

… give evidence. Ellen Barkin said the most you did was throw a bottle and not at her. Vanessa Paradis also made no allegation.
DS now Ms Wass suggested AH was different - a “strong, independent woman”. Was Ms Paradis submissive?
JD: No not at all.
DS would she fail to...

… confront you if you did something she wouldn’t like?
JD: no
DS how long were you together?
JD: wow a long time it must have been something like 14 years yes 14 years.
[we move on]
DS do you remember AH says she took photos of her injuries in order to demonstrate what you’d...

… done
JD yes and make recordings
DS yes and she said she never expected to be showing them as part of a court hearing. Did AH ever show you any of these photos?
DS there was one in Boston when I was preparing to go to the Bahamas to detox and I’d been working a 17 hr day...

… and she showed me a photograph of me asleep holding her tub of ice-cream and the ice-cream spilled on my leg and she showed me the photo the next day to say “look at what you’ve become”
DS did AH show you any photos of you supposedly having committed a violent act against her?

JD: no sir
DS had you see these photographs of those supposed injuries before this court case Mr Depp
JD: no sir
DS: you say you now believe AH was putting together a dossier as a form of insurance
JD: yes
DS and Ms Wass suggested this was a bit of a stretch for AH to do this.

DS that she wouldn’t be the sort of person to do this?
JD: yes
[we go to a transcript of a recording in July 2015. AH is talking. In the third statement]
DS she talks about eye-witness accounts, documentary evidence so either a) “I’d been in a secret fight club” or b) I’d been...

planning it for years.
DS asks what his understanding of this scenario is
JD: an odd couple of scenarios - I didn’t know what a secret fight club was and the alternative was odd “almost like a reverse confession, if you will… and when she said that I was a little taken aback"

DS thank you my Lord. No further questions.
[now judge gets to tie up any loose ends of the cross and re-examination]
Judge: I see a series of texts that were exchanged between you and Nathan Holmes which I think were round about Feb/Mar 2015

JD: yes si… my Lord
J: where was AH - in Oz or elsewhere?
JD: I believe he was in Australia just to get the house set up
Judge because he was one of your assistants
JD yes my Lord
Judge and you got out there in Feb 2015 - so he came out with you or at around the same time.

JD normally he’d go out early to set the house up, stock the fridge, work with the chef, the normal…
[JD is tidying the box files as he waits for the judge’s next Q]
Judge: another q about the drug texts you were exchanging with NH.
[JD’s throat has gone and he is coughing]

Judge were you asking NH to acquire drugs for AH and yourself?
JD: yes sir… yes my Lord.
Judge - that’s it for me. Mr Depp you;’ve given evidence over many days. Thank you. You may now step down from the witness box.
JD: thank you
[next witness is Mr Deuters]
[we have a break]

[JD is joking with someone off screen “I’m going to miss this” he says gesturing at the box]

This court room is so cold - the aircon is a monster and has only two temperatures, Siberia and off. The usher tried to open the windows this morning, but decided they must have been locked shut for a century. We have requested the aircon be switched to off...

… so we can have the joy of sitting in an increasingly stuffy hot room as we head towards lunch. I’m going outside to warm up.

[Stephen Deuters is being sworn in]
He is waring a dark suit, dark tie (quite loosely), white shirt with the top button of his shirt undone]
[He is from Amersham in England]
[He is being questioned by NGN’s QC Sasha Wass]
QC you’ve been working for JD for 16 years

SD: yes
QC: in various roles including personal assistant
SD: yes
QC and you’re now the European president of his production company
SD: yes I got promoted
QC: so you are completely financially dependent on JD
SD: yes

QC and you would be damaged and your income would be damaged if there were any damaged to the JD brand
SD: yes
QC and in the past you have procured controlled drugs for JD
SD: no I did not I did not purchase
QC I’m not asking if you paid for them, I’m saying you helped...

… facilitate for them. Is that a scenario you recognise
SD on a very rare occurence - that didn’t happen by prevalence
Judge - so it didn’t happen often but on occasion it did?
SD very rare occasion. yep
QC now you know, I assume that this is against the law
SD yes

QC and you nonetheless did that because your loyalty was to JD and making sure he got what he wanted
SD yes
[we go to a bundle - same as used by JD - three cardboard boxes of box files with multicoloured labels arraigned on a shelf to the right of the witness]

QC okay so we see a text from you to JD which says “chasing ICE (?) DVD and drugs” see that?
SD yes
QC "must procure many many more from Joelle - "must be repackaged as vitamin gel caps and put on a fast horse”” those are texts referring to illegal drugs
SD no they are capsules..

… of marijuane gels which are legal in California
[sorry - error not Joelle in previous tweet - it was Joel]
QC and he was keen on marijuana
SD not in the first 6 years I knew him
QC and he was also very keen on cocaine
SD I wouldn’t use the phrase “very keen” - occasional...

… usage.
QC: occasional usage?
SD: yes
QC is taken to photo of two lines of white powder on a Holy Bible next to JD’s credit card. Can you see it is his card
SD no I can’t quite
QC takes him to metadata on photo to show it to him then moves to the next photo...

… photo of Mr Depp clothed, lying unconscious or asleep on the floor with his head jammed into a bookcase and that dated 18 July 2017. Was this something that was quite a common occurrence that Mr Depp was appearing to pass out
SD no not very common. on a rare occasion - it’s...

… not a photo I’ve seen before and I find it quite distressing.
QC and you were involved in taking cocaine with JD and facilitating its supply.
SD yes
QC despite the fact it’s against the law. As is supplying ecstasy.
SD I dont’ believe I did in LA
QC just cocaine
SD or cocaine

QC really? what about in Australia
SD I don’t believe so no
QC I am going to say you did in Australia
SD I dont’ recall. I may have done, but not in Australia specifically
QC where then
SD the UK is probably the only time it’s happened specifically
QC okay we’ll come to that.

QC so in May 2014 there was an attempt by Mr Depp to kick drugs
SD which date
QC 2014 - if I say Dr Kipper
SD yes
QC and this wasn’t the first time
SD there was one other occasion
QC well several - 2011, 2013…
SD I only remember one other
QC well let’s stick to 2014

[QC reads DrK’s notes about 50yo male with lifelong history of self-medicating behaviours]
SD well I would take issue with that because for the first 8 years I never saw anything
QC so up to when?
SD 2012
QC Dr K says a lifelong history of abuse
SD well I can’t say before I met..

… him and I didn’t see anything at first.
QC he drank
SD yes he drank, but I dont’ think that was the issue in 2014
QC he drank a lot though, didn’t he?
SD well no, not really
Judge well - did he get drunk?
SD no he didnt’, which was remarkable
Judge so he would drink a lot...

… but he wouldn’t get drunk
SD yes he had a strong constitution
QC and he liked red wine
SD yes
QC from magnums
SD I never saw any magnums
QC just normal bottle of red wine that you saw.
SD yes
QC now you’ve given us a witness statement which describes the incident on...

… the private plane from Boston to LA. And JD was already drunk and under the influence of drugs
SD no he was low, very quiet and very introverted. I didn’t witness any opiate usage, but that would make you very low - I just remember him drawing or painting and being very quiet.

Judge the other part of Ms Wass’s question was that he appeared to be under the influence of cocaine.
SD no I don’t think he was
QC because cocaine perks you up
SD yes
QC and you say he was down. And I presume you want to tell the truth about this situation
SD yes

QC takes him to the Paul Bettany text which we’ve seen before:

"I'm gonna properly stop the booze thing, darling… "

QC so he was concerned about the drinking - then he goes on

“drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA, this past Sunday...

.. Ugly, mate... No food for days... Powders… "

QC now that’s a refernce to cocaine, isn’t it?

SD I would say so, yes

QC "Half a bottle of
Whiskey, “ we all know what that is

…
QC "a thousand red bull and vodkas” again very clear

QC “pills” - what are they?

SD I would guess prescribed medication

QC now all this doesn’t accord with your description does it

SD no

Judge so does it make you rethink your recollection

SD no I think my recollection is accurate.

QC: "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…”
Was there two bottles of champagne?

SD I don’t remember...

… two bottles. Maybe a glass
we had a chat about it afterwards and his recollection of it was a little unclear
QC what about the screaming?
SD I don’t remember that
QC you would if you heard it though, wouldn’t you?
SD yes
[SD explains how it’s loud on a plane and...

… and whilst he could see people not that far away from him, he wouldnt’ be able to hear shouting]
QC did you see him being aggressive towards Amber
SD no
QC he was calling her a go-getter slut and whore
SD well if those words were being uttered I didn’t hear them

QC are those the words he would use about women
SD no
QC whore?
SD no
QC slut?
SD no
QC cunt?
SD no
QC you winced when I said that word
SD well no I don’t recollect that. there was clearly talking going on between them - that was apparent. There was a lot of body language from...

… her and he was being quiet.
QC why would he say he was screaming obscenities and insulting any fuck who came near?
SD dont’ know - he sometimes talks himself down
QC it wasn’t AH it was JD on this occasion and she moved seats several times to get away from him.

SD I don’t remember that. She moved seats once, but I can’t remember
QC she stood up and she turned to the side and he kicked her in the side
SD no
QC did you see him kick her in the back
SD no
QC was there any contact between her back and his foot
SD I do recall yes

QC so what happened. could you describe it
SD well yes it was quite a feat. You’re cemented into your chair in one of these seats and it would be quiet a manouevre and I recall a leg being slowly raised
QC and it made contact with her back. you said it in your WS it was...

… a playful kick to the bottom.
SD yes
QC it wasn’t - he kicked her violently in the back and you saw him do it
SD no - I didn’t see that
QC you saw him kick her
[SD agrees he saw JD’s foot make contact with AH but stands by his description of it as playful]

QC and then he went into the bathroom in order to sleep on the floor
SD yes
QC what state was he in
SD well he was quite low
QC incoherent
SD no I went in there with him and sat with him for bit and he was talking fine, just quite sad.
[we go to some audio]

QC Mr D I’m going to ask you to listen to this recording then I’m going to ask you a few questions.
[It is the animal in pain audio recording]
QC can you hear the noise in background. this is Mr Depp moaning with the plane noise in the back ground
SD well there is a noise, yes

DS we don’t accept this is a plane noise so the question has to be put to Mr D
[QC doesn’t - we play the rest of the recording, there is a bit more agonised moaning and then there is the alleged plane noise, which goes on for some time]
[Last week I seem to...

… remember QC suggesting this was in the car afterwards. Might be wrong about that - transcripts here: nickwallis.com/depp-trial to check…]

[we remain listening to a constant drain of what could be a car, a motor, or a plane with some voices very indistinct]
QC did you follow that on the transcript?
SD it was hard
QC we can play it again
Judge - no we’re not going to do that
QC that was you saying “we have an...

… hour, maybe 50 minutes”
SD I couldn’t hear
QC and you say “no I”m going to stay with this fucking idiot in case he’s sick”
SD no that’s not the kind of language I would use
QC do you agree the Boston plane incident on 24 May
DS my Lord if this is going to happen ...

… this witness should not be used as a vehicle for this if you’ll excuse the pun. [DS is Depp’s counsel - he is contesting the metadata around the time of this recording and says this is for discussion with the judge NOT through witness. He is demonstrating how easy it is to...

…. change the metadata on a photo or recording]
DS it’s one thing to ask if he understand’s it’s a flight, but it’s another thing altogether to try to use this witness to establish the fact of the flight through the metadata.
Judge agrees. Tells Ms Wass to move on.

QC Mr Deuters - having heard the recording - is there a lot of background noise?
SD yes
QC consistent with that of an aeroplane
SD yes
QC is that JD’s voice
SD it sounds like him yes
QC did you hear some male speaking at the end
SD yes but I couldn’t decipher the words

QC have you ever known JD pass out through intoxication on a flight?
SD I genuinely don’t recall, no

[QC is going to a message between AH and WH and DS raises a pre-emptive objection]
Judge - well QC can ask her question and if you object to it you can do so.
DS - yes but we know why this is being used and it’s a question of how much of this gets read out again before...

… we get to the question.
QC I want to ask you about this description as if to Mr Depp, but not sent to him:

"I watch yesterday as everyone around you picked you up off the floor, held you up...

… . Got you on with your life. prevented you from really falling. with so much help, of course you can't know how much this hurts you and your life. because you pay people around you to prevent your feet from having to hit the rock bottom...

… as they say. yesterday, i saw you pass out, amongst vomiting, 3 times. all 3 times jerry had carry you from the floor. ...

… on the plane nathan mentioned how many times he's had to break into locked doors to wake you up , after passing out on the toilet. You would have embarrassed yourself countless times if someone would be honest enough with you to tell you.”

[SD is asked about this]

[SD says it sounds like an embellishment - doesn’t remember him crashing out on planes, doesn’t remember him being carried anywhere etc etc]

QC now after the flight AH and JD went separate ways you stayed with JD. Now you sent AH a text and you’ve said “he’s up - he’s in...

… the bathroom, moving slowly. Will let you know when we’re en route. He’s in some pain as you might guess.”
QC so you’re still on the plane
SD yes
QC what sort of pain might be in
SD at a guess, he’s potentially hungover or potentially I recall sometimes there’d...

.. be before he stopped using opiates he’d get a sore stomach
QC you were on your way to his property in Hollywood and you text again “he’s been sick” “going to put him to bed” - is that just tummy ache?
[SD mumbles]
QC “he’s overdone it”
Judge - do you mean drunk?

SD it’s possible yes - not that he’d appear drunk but because his consumption was quite… impressive.. if you will then yes…
[we move on]

[QC reads another email from AH to herself dated 25 May 2013 11.32pm which claims he kicked her in the back on the flight and called her a whore. SD is clear he remembers neither]
QC takes him to a texts in which SD talks about being teary, saying he’s a fuck up, wants...

… to get better, and is sorry.
SD says this is probably about his addiction to opiates, not cocaine or alcohol
SD: “our concern around that time was very specifically the opiates”
QC talks about indigestion, and dealing with Christy Depp - JD’s sister “he won’t be skipping it...

… this time” which suggests this is not the first time
SD agrees
[SD is now talking in the text to AH about how bad JD says he feels and that Dr Kipper is going to get involved]
QC why does he feel bad
SD I am sure that he wanted to make the relationship work and was...

… sorry about the conflict.
QC and you say he’s very apologetic - what would he have to apologise for?
SD probably broken promises with regard to sobriety etc
QC then AH replies “yet but I don’t know how to be around him after what he did yesterday”
SD probably assume

… what she’s referring to is what happened on the plane
QC is that the “light tap” on the bottom - what you said was playful
SD I dont’ even know if it made contact
QC isn’t that the point then that you woudl say to AH “oh come on” and tell her it was just playful

SD I don’t have an explanation for that. I was seeking to deflate the situation and if I used that terminology I don’t think it would help… and many times in my life I’ve found myself a third party in situations like this….

… as a domestic abuse survivor myself I don’t like conflict and I always try to mollify and appease.

[QC asks exactly why AH describes things on the flight the way she does]
[SD comes up with some new information that he and one other tried to intervene between AH and JD when this argument was going on on the plane.]
QC and she was so upset about this playful tap on the bottom

… that it created this situation
SD I really can’t speak to that. I didn’t hear the argument. I saw wha t I saw
QC having seen the way JD behaved do you think he had any reason to be appalled?
SD Maybe because he was so myopic
QC You next text to AH was “when I told him you...

… kicked her, he cried.” Did he cry?
SD I don’t recall
QC on the face of it - these texts are that he can’t remember what he did and that he did kick her
SD yes I see thay, but they aren’t what happened
QC so you put them together to placate her
SD yes I was asked to...

… I obviously didn’t know this was all part of a plan.
QC but when these texts were first made public you had a very different reaction, didn’t you?
[we go to a new file]

QC this is an article in a newspaper dated 2 June 2016 so after the instigation of divorce proceedings
SD yes
QC and this is an article about you saying texts were doctored
QC JD’s assistant SD tells TMZ that the texts of him apologising are heavily doctored and he never said...

… Johnny attacked her. He added “JD has never been violent towards anyone he knows…. he says the texts are suspicious… he will testify under oath that he never saw JD being violent towards Amber”
QC that is you denying…
Judge - well hang on - did you say this…?

SD no I never spoke to anyone from TMZ about this - I did speak to someone and I said they were taken out of context
QC sorry who did you speak to
SD one of JD’s legal team
QC counsel
SD yes or someone in the legal team
QC did you call TMZ and say you’ve taken this out of...

… context and I didn’t have a conversation with anyone from TMZ this is inaccurate
SD to be honest it didn’t occur to me and I didn’t want anything to do with it
[we go back to 25 May 2014 after the flight]
AH to SD text “he’s done this many times before - Tokyo, London...

… the island… and always believe it’s going to get better and every time I’m in the exact same situation”
QC do you remember and incident in Tokyo?

SD I remember him being late for a press conference once after JD and AH had argument
QC the island?
SD no
QC London?
SD I don’t remember

QC these incidents weren’t just the opiates - they were cocaine, pills and alcohol which turned him into a monster with AH and he treated AH appallingly and he would never remember what he’d done.
SD I didn’t see him treat her badly

QC yes but in your text you said to AH “I know it’s hideous” but it’s just one side of the man you know
QC so there is another side to JD
SD I think it’s just a turn of phrase
QC so anything to do with reference to violence or kicking was just a way of placating AH
SD yes

QC you thought that might calm her down
SD yes, essentially, and that was after a conversation with JD to just mollify her
QC wouldn’t it be easier to tell the truth?
SD well sometimes it’s not best to give someone the truth of the situation
QC so you were both having...

…. a conversation about something which didn’t happen.
SD well… yes.

[we rise for the short adjournment. or lunch as it’s better known]
[The room is a good temperature, which means it’ll be too hot after lunch. I’m going to ask them to put the aircon on over lunch to cool the room down. I wonder if I’m being a bit precious]
[I also realise...

… now that people have stopped talking in court I am live-tweeting my conscious thought, which is not as interesting, so I’ll stop.]

See you after lunch. Tip jar is hear. Look kindly on me. It’s been hard going today…

store29806256.company.site

Tip jar is “here” not “here”. Eejit.

The side entrance to the RCJ where both JD and AH are whisked through in their cars at the end of play. Note snappers camped out on the left of the gates to see if they catch anyone out for some fresh air.

I have had my fresh air and I'm going back in. Afternoon session starts at 2pm-ish BST.

Lunch was a Ginsters cornish pasty and a Boost bar. Examples of both, if you are unfamiliar.

Yes I do know how to live.

Perhaps more usefully, I have uploaded Stephen Deuters witness statement to my website: nickwallis.com/depp-trial - scroll down and it’s the last pdf on the bottom right.

Stephen Deuters is in the witness box, judge has come in.
Judge has asked QC how much xed of SD there will be.
QC I’ve got about another hour
[there is a groan in the press room]
Judge could you make it a little less? How many other witnesses
DS on his feet - saying there...

… are three more witnesses this afternoon, but one is unwell.
Judge asks QC only to go for another 45 mins
QC says she’ll try
[QC takes him back to the detox on JD’s island]
QC now in the run up there was a thought JD might cancel or postpone the detox
SD it doesn’t sound...

… unlikely - he may have been nervous about it
QC or just wanted to keep partying before having to give it all up
SD I don’t know - I couldn’t assume

[profound thanks for the messages of support over the lunch break btw - I am attacking the afternoon with renewed vim]

QC is asking about a text demanding red wine - I though he was giving that up during detox
SD I don’t know maybe it just related to the opiates
QC well he texted you asking for red wine and then he texts Rocky Pennington asking for red wine and mushroom - you know what sort...

… of mushrooms he’d be talking about - these would be hallucinogenics
SD I have no idea what these are
QC And he asks Rocky to ask you to get some mushrooms
SD that’s not the way it would work
QC what would you do if you got a text from Rocky asking you to source some mushrooms

SD I would probably would ignore it
QC no you would get your job, because part of your function in life is to get whatever JD wants
SD I didn’t get anyone any mushrooms
QC so we see a text from JD to SD saying AH is always accusing him of being wasted that “she is a cunt"

QC you said you’d never heard him use that language
SD I said I didn’t recalls
QC you’d never use that sort of language about a woman, would you?
SD no never

[we go to the ice-cream photograph - JD asleep or unconscious with ice-cream on him - it is the same one JD described this morning]
QC is he unconscious through drink or drugs
SD he could be
QC and this is the day before he goes on detox. then a text from JD saying...

… [to SD] that he is thinking of calling Kipper to postpone the detox for a week.
SD yes
QC so there is no doubt that this is coming from him to you - there is no question of AH scolding him into this treatment
SD okay
QC by 4 October 2014 Mr Depp had falled off the wagon...

… a text he sends to himself and another number which is not identified “I’m going to quite gracefully glide into a massage for my broken back and neck - I will emerge a monster…”
[it’s the one about going to a Peruvian spot]
QC it’s signed Shatter - why’s that?

SD well I guess because he was filming Alice in Wonderland at the time and he was playing the Mad Hatter
QC so why Shatter
SD he adored being derogatory about himself
QC Why Shatter - is it because he has quite a lavatorial sense of humour?
SD yes

[we go to the text to SD where JD suggests that JD coil out a giant “dookie” outside AH’s bedroom so she steps in it and thinks it’s one of the dogs]
SD I think if I’d tried to do that he might have stopped me
QC yes I’m not suggesting it was anything other than a joke, like...

… Shatter.
QC there’s a text from JD referencing a bag which Nathan Holmes is passing on - that’s reference to drugs
SD to me that’s most likely a reference to marijuana

[we got to 26 Feb 2015 a text re MM where Nathan Holmes is in touch with MM’s dealer Ryan and MM is asking JD if he wants “meds”. JD replies saying yes and yes and you shall pay Ryan for them. Then he texts NH saying “we should have more happy pills - can you?” then NH says….

… yes we can, I am giving them to Stephen to give them to you”]
QC see that?
SD yes
QC then there’s a “woo-hoo” and NH says “pilltastic!”
SD yes
QC now reading that do you think the bag of pills we spoke about related to ecstasy pills
SD reading that, yes

QC now all this happened in Australia. And earlier we spoke to JD about NH going out to Australia to “stock up” and NH stocked up the house with supplies including alcohol
SD yes
QC which had been asked for by JD
SD yes.
QC now at the time AH arrived was JD having a bit of aggro

… with the production company on the film.
SD not that I recall
[we go to a text dated 6 March 2015 - JD to SD]
[QC goes to to the “legacy” text where JD appears to be expressing dissatisfaction with the film he is working on and a number of previous roles]
QC was it Disney...

… he was talking about?
SD seems to be a more general
QC and you reply [she reads the text out where he lavishes praise on Johnny “you’re the reason I’m in this business and by fuck this business needs you”]
QC was that true then?
SD yes
QC and is it still true
SD yes

QC there was an incident in Australia when JD injured himself - did you attend?
SD no
QC can you confirm there was an enormous amount of damage to that house - I’m talking about $100K
SD I didn’t know it came up to that number - but yes there was damage - I never saw it myself.

QC you sent a text to JD’s sister after you were aware JD had injured his finger. “Hi C - not sure how much you were aware of right now - I’m at the house with Kipper and Debbie” - so you were at the house
SD not when the damage was done
QC no one is saying you were

SD I wasn’t there to see the damage I’m not sure when I was there
QC anyway you’re telling Christy, JD’s sister about what JD has been up to - calling LA and fighting with AH and that Kipper is now talking to JD hoping to get through to him that it’s got to ends….

… conversatoin is ongoing - Kipper seems to be getting through to him and he might come round. But we’ve heard that before.
QC do you accept you’re saying this isn’t the first time he’s tried to kick drugs
SD yes
QC and he’s damaged property before hasn’t he?
SD I dont’ recall

QC okay on that occasion in Australia you took Mr Depp to hospital and the idea was that you were going to make up a story about how JD had injured his finger.
SD I don’t remember when we found out he’d injured his finger and I remember saying not to assume anything...

… with regard to the production company, which I think was the main concern.
QC yes and this would be a PR disaster - not the Disney image he wanted at that time to present
SD no
QC and you were very keen to ensure this didn’t come out publicly
SD well more that...

… we didn’t want to say anything specific to the production company.
QC also it was obvious JD had no idea what had happened to his finger
SD well we started to find out once we go to hospital
QC but he at no point said AH had done it
SD no JD said it was her

QC not until much later
SD no well it came out but much we knew before that
QC and if we look at a report on 12 March that says it was done quad biking. Completely untrue
SD yes
QC a lie to cover up what had happened
SD I suppose so yes

QC And at around that time Dr Kipper refused to continue treating JD
SD I don’t recall
[we go to a letter from Dr K]
QC can you see half way through the page Dr K says he is withdrawing his care - can you now confirm Dr K withdrew his care
SD that’s what it says here

[DS has pointed out that QC’s time us up. She is ploughing on regardless]

QC text in Australia 26 April which is from Jerry Judge to JD saying that he was so pleased to see them so happy together and the response from JD is that all he had to do was “lock the monster up”
SD agrees this suggests everything is alright at work and everything is alright

… at home.
[QC goes on to a later text from SD saying you passed out and we put you to bed]
QC so it looks like he’s fallen off the wagon again
SD agrees
[we go to a new text - judge says "Ms Wass. 5 more minutes.” -

… from SD to Paul Bettany when the divorce has been finalised - where you say “just trying to keep him upright at the moment. at least the bitch is gone… sociopathic show-pony… talentless cunt”]

QC I asked you earlier whether you refer to women as cunts and you said certainly not. Yet you did.
SD Yes I did and I regret that.

QC you then later become involved in a campaign to discredit AH. you tell someone that AH has been arrested for domestic violence against a former partner
SD no these were texts between friends
QC you then get a text from a person called Bugle where you were trying to get...

… information about AH’s former partner Ms van Ree
SD there was no pre-meditated plan as I recall
[QC takes him to another document]
[Judge intervenes “last one”]
[If this trial finishes a week on Friday as scheduled I’ll be amazed]
[QC has gone to a newspaper report...

… about AH being a perp of DV just days after his texts with Bugle about Ms van Ree]
SD but the two are not connected
QC that’s not true - you made a concerted effort to get this into the public domain
SD no not true

DS re-examines SD for JD
DS asks for yes or no answers to save a little time, but says please expand on anything he wishes to.

DS you said to QC that you didn’t see JD take any drugs for the first 8 years of working for him
SD yes
DS so you started in 2004
SD yes
SD and was...

… he in a relationship then?
SD yes
DS who with
SD Vanessa Paradis
DS you said it changed in 2012
SD yes
DS why
SD because of the relationship he was in at the time
DS with AH
SD yes
DS was VP submissive
SD absolutely not
DS you were asked about the substances he took on the...

… Boston to LA flight. What effect did marijuana have on him.
SD it would calm him
DS what about the Roxy’s
SD would slow him down
DS you also said it he was in pain
SD yes
DS and QC was slightly dismissive of what she called a tummy ache
SD yes I think I said in a text...

…. he had indigestion.
DS do you think he suffered pain because of the drugs
SD well sometimes yes he would curl up in a foetal position

DS and what would cocaine do to him
SD bring him up to a normal level - the level of a normal person…. hyper or manic were not two words I would use to describe his behaviour ever

[we go to a text from May 2014 to Paul Bettany]
DS do you know PB
SD we’re not close
DS you knew he was afriend of JD
SD yes
DS what’s JD’s text style
SD humourous, colourful, full of exaggeration
DS and he puts himself down a lot
SD yes
DS is he an immoddest person?
SD no

[we go to another text]
DS “I got drink and destroyed my room and there are hookers and animals in here” was he being serious
SD no
DS and you say “watch out for Mike Tyson” - who did you mean
SD Ms Heard.
DS he says “I’ve had to kill a few of the animals for sustenance...

… there’s quite a bit of blood and animal tracks in here.” Joke?
SD yes
DS you said extravagance and exaggeration - was there a lot of that in his communications?
SD well not all the time but occasionally.
[we go back to the plane incident]
DS you said in your evidence to QC

…that when his leg came up it came up very slowly.
DS what was AH’s reaction when this happened?
SD it wasn’t positive - she said he had kicked me and making sure everyone on the plane knew it
DS mild, angry what?
SD moderate to angry
DS what did you and your colleagues do?

SD it became apparent the argument we had got to the point where we needed to intervene
DS what did you think of her reaction
SD I thought it was over the top and yet I saw that JD wasn’t engaging and so I could see to some extent why she was angry
DS was this a normal pattern?

SD I very rarely saw them argue, I just had to deal with the aftermath.
DS do you want to change your view of what happened from your witness statement at all
SD no
DS how did you feel about getting drawn into this
SD not great - I didn’t see it as my job

DS but you said you often get into this sort of thing - what do you mean
SD I’m often drawn in as an intermediary between people - friends and family especially - I try and act as a peacemaker
DS and in asking you to contact AH what was JD asking you to do
SD placate her...

… it was a blanket instruction, not instruction… a request…. To help.
DS help who
SD both of them really
DS what did you believe was the best way to achieve your role of placating…
SD I used her word
DS being “kicked”

SD yes… to go along with it as I thought it would get the desired effect
DS do you think she would have been placated if you’d told her the truth about what was happening.
SD no

DS do you think it would have been better if you took issue with her
SD no
DS how would JD have felt if you’d handled this badly
SD he would not have been very happy.