Amber Heard claims Johnny Depp threw '30 or so bottles' towards her 'like grenades'

22 July 2020, 15:15

Amber Heard has claimed Johnny Depp once threw “30 or so bottles” towards her "like grenades" during a row in Australia.

The actor’s third day of cross-examination by Mr Depp's lawyers began on Wednesday with Eleanor Laws QC asking about the alleged incident in Australia in March 2015, which Ms Heard has described as a "three-day hostage situation".

The pair are in court after Mr Depp launched legal action against The Sun publisher News Group Newspapers and its executive editor Dan Wootton over an article in April 2018 which labelled him a 'wife beater', which Mr Depp denies.

Ms Laws put it to the actress that she "worked yourself into a rage, screaming at him" and threw a glass bottle, adding: "Because you would get yourself into rages on occasions."

Ms Heard said: "No, I got angry at times but not into a rage that would cause me to throw anything at him."

Mr Justice Nicol clarified her answer by repeating that she would sometimes get angry, and Ms Heard continued: "But not to the extent where I would throw anything at him offensively."

Ms Laws said: "I'm going to suggest you threw a bottle at his head and it smashed the mirror behind him."

Ms Heard said the majority of bottles were thrown downstairs, before giving a long answer in which she said Mr Depp had thrown "30 or so bottles" towards her "like grenades".

Ms Heard told the court: "I would like to be clear, I did break a bottle but it was very early on in that evening, it was the second evening, if I recall correctly, and it was before Johnny had started to throw the bottles at me.

"We were in an argument about whether he was going to drink ... the liquor. When I confronted him about it he offered me the bottle ... he said, 'here, take it'.

"He said, 'Oh yeah, you want it? Here, take it', and at that point drinking had already been ... he had already given it up for a while and it was on the list of 'if this happens, I leave' sort of thing. It was no fly.

"And he gestured to offer it to me and I reached to take it and he pulled it back.

"He was teasing me to take it and would revoke it when I reached (for it).

"Then he did it again and I have in my head all the times that he said that I saved his life, and I thought honestly I could short circuit (a row about drinking).

"So I reached for it a second time and I smashed it on the floor in between Johnny and I.

"I regret I did that."

Ms Heard said: "He started picking them up one by one and throwing them like grenades.

"One after the other after the other, in my direction, and I felt glass breaking behind me, I retreated more into the bar and he didn't stop.

"I was too scared to look behind me. He threw all the bottles that were in reach, all except for one which was a celebratory magnum-sized bottle of wine."

Ms Heard said she remembered that was the only bottle not smashed out of 30 or so.

The actress then said: "He (Mr Depp) told me over and over again that my work in trying to get him clean and sober ... when he was clean and sober he would tell me I saved his life."

In response to Ms Laws disputing her version of events, she said: "Absolutely not, Ms Laws, I was there, I watched it.

"I would be shocked if Johnny remembers any of this himself, but I was there."

Ms Laws put it to Ms Heard that Mr Depp's finger was not severed as a result of his hand smashing against the wall, which the actress disagreed with.

The barrister then said: "This injury was you throwing a bottle in his direction, smashing it down and severing the tip of his finger with glass, wasn't it?" Ms Heard replied: "No."

Ms Laws said: "According to you, Mr Depp sliced his finger off all on his own ... and then carried on attacking you."

Ms Heard said: "Yes, he did. I don't think he meant to sever the finger but yes he did continue the attack."

Ms Laws said: "This was a nasty incident in which you were extremely violent." Ms Heard replied: "Absolutely not."