The judge in the Johnny Depp libel action concluded that “the great majority of alleged assaults” on Amber Heard by the Pirates of the Caribbean star had been “proved to the civil standard”.
Of the 14 alleged assaults heard in open court – all of which have been denied by Depp – he found that 12 of them were proved on the balance of probability.
1. Los Angeles, early 2013
The first assault allegedly took place after Heard joked about a tattoo Depp had during his relationship with the actor Winona Ryder, which originally read “Winona Forever”, but was altered to “Wino Forever” after they split. Heard claimed Depp had got angry, knocked her to the floor, then cried and apologised, saying he sometimes turned into “the monster”. The judge accepted Depp used the term to “refer to that part of his personality when, affected by drink and/or drugs he would do things which he would not otherwise do.”
2. Los Angeles, 2013
Heard alleged Depp was enraged that she had hung a painting by her ex-partner Tasya van Ree near her bed, and tried to set fire to it and hit her “so hard that blood from her lip ended up on the wall.” . Heard described Depp as “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – on a binge”. The judge concluded Depp had drunk whisky and taken cocaine before the assault.
3. Hicksville, June 2013
Depp had taken alcohol and magic mushrooms, and was said have become angry when one of Heard’s female friends hugged and touched her. He allegedly grabbed the woman’s wrists and threatened to hurt her. He is said to have then thrown glasses at Heard, ripped her dress and damaged the cabin they were staying in. The judge found Depp had been angry when the assault occurred.
4. Private plane from Boston to Los Angeles, May 2014
Heard said Depp, after drinking heavily, had thrown objects at her, slapped her in the face and then kicked her in the back, causing her to fall over. He threw his boot at her on the floor, and passed out in the toilet. Denying the account, Depp said he had given her a “playful tap on the bottom with his foot”, and when she reacted badly, he took a pillow to the toilet and slept there. The judge said “this was more than a playful tap”.
5. Bahamas, August 2014
While detoxing from painkiller dependency on his private island, Depp was said to have pushed Heard to the ground, slapped her, grabbed her by the hair and kicked a door so hard it splintered. The judge concluded it was “more likely than not he pushed Heard on at least one occasion”.
6. Los Angeles, 2014
Heard alleged Depp, after being violent towards her, had sent text messages calling himself a “fucking savage” and a lunatic”. The judge concluded he was not persuaded that this alleged incident “constituted a physical assault”.
7. Japan, January 2015
In a Tokyo hotel room, while attending a premiere, Depp allegedly shoved, slapped and grabbed Heard by the hair. Depp said his children had been with him, and he would not have acted this way. The judge said the children had been in another room, and he did not accept their presence would have “inhibited” Depp.
8. Australia March 2015
Over three days in Australia filming Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp was said to have put Heard “in fear of her life”. Heard claimed he had assaulted her multiple times. He severed his fingertip and scrawled graffiti in his blood on the walls. The judge did not accept Heard had been responsible for the severed fingertip through throwing a vodka bottle at Depp. He accepted Heard had been the victim of “sustained and multiple assaults”.
9. Los Angeles, 2015
Heard said Depp had hit her “hard and repeatedly” before trying to push her sister down the stairs. The judge accepted Depp had assaulted Heard. Heard admitted hitting Depp, but the judge accepted it had been in defence of her sister.
10. South-east Asia, August 2015
The judge accepted Heard’s account that while on the Eastern and Oriental train, Depp had hit her, pushed her against a wall and grasped her by the throat. Her diary said they had fallen asleep “smashed together in desperate child like anger, fear and love finally succumbing to exhaustion and ultimately unavoidable futility”.
11. Los Angeles, Thanksgiving 2015
An allegation Depp had thrown Heard “around the room” and thrown a wine glass and decanter at her was found not proved as it had not been put to Depp in cross-examination.
12. Los Angeles, December 2015
Heard claimed Depp had thrown a decanter at her in their penthouse, headbutted her and pulled “large chunks of hair” from her scalp the day before Heard’s appearance on James Corden’s Late Late Show. The judge ruled the argument was “not just verbal, it became physical”, concluding Depp had assaulted Heard.
13. Los Angeles, April 2016
Heard claimed Depp had arrived late for her 30th birthday meal, drunk and on drugs. After her friends left, he threw a magnum champagne bottle at her, which missed, smashed glasses and grabbed her hair. The next day faeces was found on the couple’s bed.
The judge concluded Depp had “assaulted Ms Heard as he had done on previous occasions when he was stressed”.
Of Depp’s claim that Heard, or one of her friends, had deliberately defecated on the bed, the judge said it was “highly unlikely”.
14. Los Angeles, May 2016
Depp threw a phone at Heard, allegedly smashed items, and kicked a hole in a door at their apartment. After this, Heard filed a petition for the dissolution of her marriage and applied for a domestic restraining order against him. The judge said: “There is evidence which I find compelling of witnesses who saw Ms Heard with injuries to her face and who took photographs of these.”
