Johnny Depp’s libel trial against News Group Newspapers, publisher of U.K. tabloid The Sun, has entered its second week in London’s High Court. Depp sued the company for labeling him a “wife beater” based on 14 allegations of abuse made by Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard. On Friday, Heard’s lawyers questioned Depp about the jealousy he admitted feeling towards Heard; they stated that near the end of their marriage, Depp attempted to control her life, to the point where Heard requested that her assistant stop sharing her schedule with Depp’s assistants, for fear that he wanted the information to stop her from filming any sex scenes.
According to The Guardian, Depp responded to those accusations by saying that he was only trying to be a helpful resource for Heard, offering her guidance with what roles to take and even what to wear in public, which he claims was done in good faith to further her career. “Ms. Heard was uncomfortable being thought of as a sex object, and she was hoping to do better films with more meat to the part, if you will, and did not want to be objectified and did not want to have to do nude scenes anymore,” he said. “Well, I would never tell her what to wear, but I would certainly make mention if I thought what she was wearing was completely against the grain of what she told me her wishes were, because I did not find it very helpful to what she was looking for in terms of being taken seriously as an actress. I told her she did not have to be naked in films.”
He also stated that he was jealous she was considering working with actor James Franco, whom he believed had made sexual advances towards Heard in the past. “I was uncomfortable with that, yes, because it was quite inconsistent with the feelings that she had told me of... She was upset that she was being objectified and she wanted to do deeper material, more profound, something where she could show her abilities as an actress.”
On Monday, Depp told the court the reason he was late to Amber Heard’s 30th birthday party in April 2016—the site of numerous allegations, including the accusation from Heard that Depp threw a magnum bottle of Champagne at her, and from Depp that Heard or one of her friends defecated in their bed—was that he had just learned he lost $650 million (and had $100 million in unpaid back taxes) from former business managers who had “absconded with quite a lot of my money,” The Guardian reported Depp as saying Monday morning. He also claimed he could not have hit Heard because he was still healing from an incident involving his finger in 2015. (Heard claims he violently ripped a phone out of a wall, causing him to injure his finger. Depp alleges Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him, severing the tip of his finger.)
The trial is expected to continue throughout this week and next. Jezebel will continue to follow this case.