Thread by @nickwallis

Welcome from the very cold queue to get into Fairfax County Court for Week 2 Day 6 of Depp v Heard. Can you spot your favourite YouTuber in here? I counted at least four.

Proceedings begin at 10am ET with the cross-examination of Sean Bett, then it’s….

…not Johnny Depp, but his band’s sound engineer Keenan Wyatt. THEN it’s Johnny Depp. If I had to bet on it (no pun etc), judging by the speed of proceedings to date, I reckon we’ll get to JD’s evidence at around 4pm ET, by which stage LA will be fully awake.

Once more I have forgotten the hashtags:
#deppvheard
#JohnnyDepptrial

Update - Mr Wyatt was seemingly dispensed with rather swiftly, but there is going to be an extended lunch break so the parties can deal with some administration. This means Johnny Depp will take the stand at 2pm ET.

#deppvheard
#JohnnyDepptrial

By the way I was told, before he gave evidence, that Mr Wyatt was a sound tech for Johnny Depp’s band. This was not how he introduced himself on the stand - he is a long-standing Hollywood movie sound tech having done many of JD’s films including Pirates.

I have been out of court since Mr Wyatt introduced himself, so I’m going to catch up on youtube and note anything of interest here on twitter. Apparently Mr Wyatt’s cross-examination was quite something...

Mr Wyatt saying JD has used earpieces in movies.

First time was to allow him to act up against someone else’s performance.

Then JD used it to listen to music whilst acting - infering he used it to aid the character - in every movie!

Did KW ever read lines to him?
Yes

Why?
He often re-writes his dialogue in the morning which does not give him time to learn them - so I would speak them to him over the music.

Nonetheless claims JD is very prepared for his character and true professional.

Mr Wyatt says JD has a very British sense of humour and loves the Fast Show.

Says he never saw JD abuse Vanessa Paradis.

KW says JD was a loving father - took them scuba diving, did art work with them. Never yelled at them.

Drunk alcohol with JD quite often.

Don’t remember him changing - didn’t make him angry. Sleepy.

Seen him take pills. Didn’t know what they were. No change is in his behaviour.

Met AH on the set of Rum Diary. Met her several times after.

Don’t really have a relationship with her. Never really talked.

Don’t recall seeing her much after JD and AH hooked up.

We get to the plane incident.

Boston to LA flight. KW was on it. Stephen Deuters, Savannah (AH assistant) JJ

Why were you on that flight?
Can’t remember.

What drugs or alcohol did JD take in the car on the way to the airport.
Don’t recall any. We were listening to the World Cup on the radio.

What did you observe about AH’s behaviour on the flight.
Giving JD the cold shoulder. Quiet. Pouty.

Did you speak to her?

I went up to her and said “he cares about you.”
And she said “How dare you talk to me. Get away from me.” She was abruptly loud.

KW went back to his seat. JD stuck up for him.

KW could observe JD and AH. Did not see any violence to AH. Or any violence between each other.

DId he consume alcohol on the flight?
Yes

Did he seem intoxicated?
No he seemed like Johnny.

Has KW ever seen any marks or bruises on AH?
No

Ever made aware of anyone else other than AH accusing JD of abuse?
Never seen him abuse anybody ever.

Cross examination of Keenan Wyatt.

Establishing JD puts KW in his contract. And gets perks as a result of JD’s patronage.

Go to Pirates 5. Was he late to the set a lot?
He was late
Sometimes 6 or 7 hours late
yes
Do you recall him going on a binge with Marilyn Manson for a few days
Don’t recall

You don’t know what was causing him to be late
No

How many crew members were impacted by JD’s lack of availabilty after he lost the tip of his finger?
The kept working as best they could.

Did Mr Baily collab on any projects with Mr Depp after 2015?
A PR stunt at Disney

Any film project?
I don’t know.

You have no knowledge of whether JD abused Vanessa Paradis.
I never saw anythign

Do you know why they split up?
No

You don’t know if he raised his voice on a daily basis to ehr do you when you weren’t around.
True

You said you never heard of anyone accusing JD of violence - heard of Greg Brooks?

[KW acknowledges he has heard of Greg Brooks and his accusation of violence against JD]

We are getting to the plane ride and I have to go out and do something for Law and Crime network. Damn.

I’ll try to catch up with this bit before JD takes the stand at 2pm.

Okay back following KW’s evidence whilst sitting outside court. There is a huge queue outside court which has just been let in. I think it’s fair to say people are expectant. I’ve counted 7 deputy sherrifs keeping an eye on things.

KW says he didn’t see JD taking drugs on the Boston to LA flight.

KW says whilst on the flight AH had a bad tone of voice with her.

Elaine Bredehoft, xe-ing KW suggests that actually JD had a bad tone of voice with AH

[swear warning] saying things like...

“Get fucked on set. Get fucked with fucking James fucking Franco.”

KW does not recall

“At least you fucking liked it”

KW does not recall

“I bet you slipped a tongue in there and you liked it”

KW “No"

“Did you hear him make references to Amber’s pussy and asking her if her pussy was wet.”

KW did not hear any of that.

Do you recall JD insisting he get an oxygen tank on the flight.

KW doesn’t. Doesn’t recall seeing JD kick AH.

Remember him passing out at the back of the plane and moaning loudly?

KW doesn’t

EB: JD could have kicked AH on that flight and could have passed out

KW not that I recall

EB how many times were you with AH and JD together…?

KW no idea...

KW is re-examined by JD’s attorney

Why was JD late to Pirates 5

KW because he was having arguments with AH

[witness is subject to recall]

[it’s over. right I am diving into court for JD’s testimony]

We are on a break from court so I'm going to try to summarise what we have just heard.

We have been treated to a wide-ranging (and thank God) largely uninterrupted interview, rather than an examination, of Johnny Depp. He spoke of the childhood abuse he and his siblings...

suffered at the hands (and mouth) of his mother, Betty Sue.

He started very hesitantly, mumbling and unsure and was very slow into the witness box - a different proposition from the rather perkier Johnny Depp in the High Court two years ago.

He said “Ms Heard” had alleged a series of “heinous, disturbing, criminal acts… that were not based in any species of truth.”

He said the couple argued, but never did he “reach the point of striking Ms Heard in any way. Nor have I struck any woman in my life."

JS says AH’s accusations “permeated the industry, the media and became quite global… became ‘fact’ if you will and as I felt there was not truth to it whatsoever” he decided to stand up for himself and his children for whom these allegations would be “diabolical."

He told the jury ‘My goal is the truth. My goal is the truth. It killed me that people... would think that I was a fraud and that I’d lied to them. So I had to wait for the opportunity to address the charges - criminal charges which weren’t true."

He gave some good quotes, including: “One day you’re Cinderalla then in 0.6 seconds you’re Quasimodo. I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children nor the people who beleived in me all these years.”

He told the jury “I pride myself in honesty, the truth. It’s the only thing...

… I’m interested in.” and “I’m obsessed with the truth. This is my first opportunity to speak about this case in full for the first time.”

He described the psychological abuse he and his siblings suffered at the hands of his mother as “worse than the beatings… that really...

… tore us up.” Said his dad was… is a kind, quiet man. When his dad abruptly cleared out his clothes and left home JD went to see him and said:
“It looks like somebody stole all your clothes out of the closet.”
His dad replied:
“Yeah, I’m done. I can’t do it any more. You’re...

… the man now.”

Spoke of how it broke his mother and how he resented his father for leaving the way he did, calling it cowardly and sneaky.

The only thing that JD was not allowed to tell the court was related to us what he learned from his father about the real reason he left.

Spoke of meeting AH: “She was too good to be true. Attentive, caring, smart, kind, funny, understanding. We had many things in common.” including blues music, literature “for the first year and a half it was amazing.”

Said the first warning sign came when he came home...

… and she was on the phone so he took his boots off. She was visibly upset as she saw this as her job “I did take pause at that” as she was clearly annoyed he had “broken her rules of routine.”

He then spent a good 45 mins talking about how he became an actor. Went to LA...

… to try to make it in a band. Band broke up. He was applying for jobs, any jobs when his friend Nicolas Cage decided he was an actor and took him to meet his agent. He got a part in Nightmare on Elm Street paying $1284 a week. He said he’d “never seen that kind of dough before

… in my life”

Was then cast in 21 Jump Street TV series and his life changed. Got a little bit of fame “It was foreign to me. I didn’t have any great ambition to be an actor.” Says he’s always been quite a shy person and was suddenly having to deal with new-found “notoriety”...

“I’m still not used to it now” he said “I’m glad I’m not used to it otherwise I wouldn’t be the same person.”

Realised he couldn’t go back to music and studied acting, but found that “ the only way to react and behave is to do it… trial by fire.”

First film he felt like...

… he knew what he was about was when he was cast in Platoon in 1986 by Oliver Stone.

Suddenly he was asked to jump forward to being case in Pirates. Says he took inspiration from Wile E Coyote as he’d been watching so many cartoons with his daughter. Wanted to see if he could..

“mesh” the concept of cartoons with real-life to create Jack Sparrow and “control the suspension of disbelief and put [him] in a place where the things he would do or say were so ludicrous” as a way of “stretching the parameters of a character”

Says edward scissorhands was...

… based on a dog he had and his sister’s new born babies.

Says Pirates was great because Jack Sparrow and the film was written rather more conservatively than it became. Says other influences were Pepe le Pew, Keith Richards and a guy who’s been at sea for most of his life...

… so he’s half-baked in the sun, and whilst he has his sea legs, he can’t quite cope with dry land, hence the constant swaying.

Asked if he was pleased with the result he confesses to not seeing the film, but recognises the studio was pleased (not initially, but with the...

… success) and wanted to keep making more. It “did very well, apparently and they wanted to keep going…. and I was fine with it.”

The result was that “anonymity left the building” he had people trying to get over his fence to see Jack Sparrow or “break in the gates dressed...

… as Captain Jack Sparrow.”

Life became tricky - especially when it came to protecting the kids. Things like going to the park became impossible. Doing anything had to become “a strategic mission”.

We finished up with a long discussion (prompted by JD’s attorney) about his...

… security team personnel, their lengths of service and roles.

So that’s part one. I’ll play catch up on what’s happening now.

Part two (final session of the day) concludes about his length of service of his security team and the sacrifices of his success. He says he wouldn’t complain.

“People are generally kind and curious and if they’ve grown up with you in their living room from a televsion...

… series or the various films they’ve seen, there’s nothing menacing about being recognised” admits sometimes “people get weird” but “it’s better all around if I stay in my hotel room and don’t go out to too many restaurants because it generally causes a bit of a hubbub"

says he finds it uncomfortable to say his own name because he finds it “a commodity, a product” and with that name an image was cultivated by the media…

Says that music and being a musician “saved my life”. “I was obsessed with my guitair”

asked about any other hobbies he mentions drawings and paintings.

Talks about his older brother getting rid of a Peter Frampton record from his player and playing Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. Danny also turned him on to Clockwork Orange soundtracks, Last Tango… Jack Kerouac, Philip K Dick, Joyce, Hemingway “the whole thing”

Describes becoming close to Hunter S Thomson and cites him as a big influence - gonzo journalism - the author putting himself into a situation as a character, not just a perspective.

"Great embellisments and ways that he would twist things and express his feelings and he became a huge hero to me of course and became a great friend.”

JD says he takes subjects in his own writing and text and express them in his own vernacular.. references the text messages...

… that “everyone has had to experience” - ones he sent about AH and says he is ashamed and embarrassed that in the heat of the moment - heat of the pain he was feeling "went to dark places”. "If you’re writing there is no set place you have to stay in - you can travel"

“and sometimes pain has to be dealt with with humour and sometimes very dark humour. I grew up watching Monty Python so yes it can tend to get into dark humour."

“I tend to be quite expressive in my writing… after the unfortunate words of Ms Heard made their way into my heard and my head… those are two very opposing things and you’re trying to find the best way to express something to a friend. Sometimes you’re exaggerating…"

JD is invited to list his history of substance abuse.

“I can remember 4 or 5 years old my mom telling me to go get her nerve pills…"

… after a while he started taking them himself to escape “caring so much,… feeling so much to escape the chaotic nature of what we were living through. So that was the beginning…"

“Everything was…. essentially it was self-medication” he wanted to escape from his “own brain” his “own head”.

“It’s never been for the party effect. It’s for trying to numb the things inside which can plague someone who’s experienced trauma, but the characterisation of...

… substance ‘abuse’ that’s been delivered by Ms Heard is grossly embellished."

Talks about taking drugs and not taking drugs whilst being professional on set and his noted capacity amongst his peer group not to appear loaded even when intoxicated. Says he has been addicted to roxycodone - an opiate.

Got sciatica doing a stunt and was prescribed them as painkillers and got addicted.

We get onto how he met Amber Heard. He was working with Hunter S Thomson going through manuscripts “his long lost novel. In fact the only novel he ever wrote. I showed it to him and he was shocked and he said ‘oh my god that’s where it is’"

Thomson said it should be a movie and JD agreed. They got the money together. “Bruce [his director] said he\d been auditioning this actor Amber Heard and that he’d auditioned her five times. He wasn’t sure about her capabilities as an actress with regard to the film…"

“… so he asked me if I would read with her for the film… so I said ‘if you’ve auditioned her five times, so me putting this girl in an uncomfortable situation… it’s a far better idea if we just meet and see how she behaves, how she reacts."

“She came to my office. I took one look at her and I thought ‘yup - that’s the schenault [?] that Hunter wants. That’s the one’ I thought, ‘yeah - she could definitely kill me. That’s what Hunter wants.”

She was “sweet as pie. Pleasant. Intelligent. Literate. Very good taste….

… and I made suggestions of films which might give her some insight into what we were looking for in terms of the film”

Asked to describe their interactions whilst working on the film.

“There was a requirement for nudity for the part and I was on set the day they were shooting that. And as I was watching the crowd coming in on her… I realised that with the crowd surging in towards her we wouldn’t have to do the nudity… if we took her red bra on and her skirt

[complex description of how she would not need to be nude or take her top off if they filmed it right]

“and she was appreciative. But other than that we didn’t really have much interaction until there was a scene where I’m taking a shower and then she comes into the room...

… and opens the shower and we kiss, and that was… [long pause]… it was… it was… it felt like something. It felt like something that I shouldn’t be feeling, because she had her wife and I had Vanessa and kiddies. Yeah."

Says there was something in the kiss in the shower that was very real. Ms Heard then came to his trailer and JD was listening to blues music and they had a glass of wine and “we kissed”.

Describes how they had a lot in common and that for a good year, year and a half, she was wonderful. Then says “things started to change. Or.. things started to reveal themselves. That’s a better way to put it."

Describes how they took the names Slim and Steve from a Humphrey Bogard and Lauren Bacall in the film acknowledging the age difference between them.

Goes on to talk about meeting AH’s parents.

Describes her dad david as “a cartoon cowboy” who was “rascally”. He says “I grew to love them both very much"

Says he set it up so they could have a bill-free wedding anniversary every year. “I was very fond of them”

Describes meeting Whitney
“there was something that I saw in W which was much less confident that Amber. Much more revealing of insecurities."

His relationship with W:

“Great/ fantastic. I called her ‘sis’ - I loved her, you know. I always felt that W had missed out on something."

Says he saw W a lot in the early days of his relationship with AH. AH liked having people over for dinner and parties at her place.

Admits to doing drugs with W: “Maybe twice, three times maybe…”

Moves on to W moving into the ECB penthouses:

“It was after Rocky Pennington and I believe Josh Drew was there already as well. W I can’t remember why needed a place so we gave her PH4 to live in”

Lived there for a couple of years, rent-free. Says he did a line or two of...

… cocaine together.

Got to know Rocky, iO, Brittany [?], Whitney “who else? that’s all that comes to mind at the moment"

“Brittany Eustace was just one of the gals you know.. quite bubbly and funny. Real sweet girl. Southern girl. I haven’t seen her… I think something went sideways beteween BE and the girls because she suddenly went from the group."

Now talking about iO Tillet-Wright. A friend of AH’s from NYC.

“who identified… was born a female, but she was… she had chosen at a very young age… she had decided she was a male and she identified as a male and iO seemed to be… again… she was very intelligent, very...

… literate go get-em activist type."

JD gave iO a place to write their book. Lived there for a year. Rent free.

Rocky moved into PH1. Not long after AH began “to dress that place up as our residence”

“I had already had my friend Isaac - who you’ve met - Isaac Baruch a painter. I’d already given him PH2 to stay in and live in and paint in because he’d just come back from Florida…"

“… his mom had passed away and I think he had about three dollars in his pocket."

Asked why Rocky [RP] moved into the PHs “something to do with not having a place and Amber had asked if I would be okay with RP moving in"

[we’re done for the day]

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