Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's marriage has been officially over since their divorce was finalized in 2017, but as their 2022 defamation trial has shown, the drama from their relationship is far from over. Throughout the course of the trial, which is underway in Fairfax, Virginia, shocking revelations about both Johnny and Amber have captured the attention of the nation.
Although we certainly don't know the truth of what happened within Johnny and Amber's volatile marriage, it's pretty clear that the relationship was toxic for all involved. In the course of the trial, the public has learned a lot about both Amber and Johnny, as well as other celebrities including Marilyn Manson and Paul Bettany, who both probably wish that their names hadn't been made part of the court record.
From accusations of drug use, heavy drinking, and multiple forms of violence to, yes, the poop in the bed incident, the public has gotten quite the look into the gritty reality of this particular Hollywood marriage. Read on for 15 of the most shocking revelations from this explosive trial.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women's shelter (domesticshelters.org).
Terrible Text Messages
We all turn to friends to vent about our relationship drama, but most of us probably don't text friends about a desire to watch our ex's corpse burn. But that (and much more) is exactly what Johnny Depp texted to his friend, fellow actor Paul Bettany. His violent messages are honestly too graphic to repost, so no doubt they were shocking to the jury too.
Johnny's "Little Shiner"
One of the interesting revelations of the trial is the number of people who saw incidents of domestic violence between the couple. One person was Johnny's security guard Travis McGivern, who testified that he saw Amber punch Johnny in the face after an incident where they were both "volatile" and where Johnny was "giving as good as he got."
According to McGivern, Johnny trashed Amber's closet, Amber threw a can of Red Bull and a purse at Johnny, and then she finally punched him in the face, resulting in a "nice little shiner." At that point, McGivern removed Johnny from the situation for his safety.
Accusations of Sexual Assault
Early in the trial, Amber's lawyer made an explosive accusation that Johnny, while drunk and on the drug ecstasy in 2015, sexually assaulted Amber with a liquor bottle. Johnny's lawyers responded by questioning why Amber never reported the incident at the time or prior to the trial beginning.
Using Drugs With Famous Friends
Two celebrities who have been tied to the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial are actor Paul Bettany and rocker Marilyn Manson. Of Paul, Johnny agreed with the statement that he was "a good friend you've done drugs with." Johnny also acknowledged that he did "cocaine together maybe a couple of times" with Marilyn Manson, who is someone who also has been accused of violence against women.
Mutual Abuse
In the early days of their doomed marriage, Johnny and Amber sought marriage counseling from therapist Laurel Anderson, who testified that the pair engaged in a mutually abusive relationship and that she also observed Amber appearing to look bruised on the face during some of their sessions. It's clear from Anderson's testiony that this marriage was toxic from day one.
Poop in the Bed
One of the more disgusting revelations from the trial is that Amber once left feces (Johnny says it was human, she says it was from their dogs) in his bed. She claimed it was a prank gone wrong, but he described it as "so bizarre and so grotesque." We have to agree with Johnny about that one.
Costly Allegations
The crux of this trial is whether Amber defamed Johnny when she spoke publicly about being a victim of domestic abuse and, if she did defame him, what the financial impact of those accusations might be. The price tag for that defamation was, according to a forensic accountant, an eye-popping $40 million.
A Costly Fight
Another shocking financial revelation was just how expensive some of the couple's epic battles with each other could be. In 2015, the two had a major fight while staying at a rental home in Australia that resulted in more than $50,000 worth of damage to the property.
Early Abuse
Although Johnny and Amber married in 2015, their relationship officially began in 2012 and, according to Amber, there was physical and sexual violence from early on. She testified that Johnny sexually assualted her in 2013 after getting into a jealous rage when he believed that another woman was flirting with her while they were staying in a trailer park out in the Calfornia desert.
Infidelity That Led to Volatility
While under oath, Amber revealed that she and Johnny's relationship started with flirtations on the set of the movie The Rum Diary and kissing while on a press tour. At the time, they were both in relationships with other people. Johnny would go on to divorce his wife at the time, Vanessa Paradis, in 2012.
Not-So-Friendly Skies
Amber and Johnny have both testified about experiencing violence and anger from each other. One shocking revelation from the trial was that, according to Amber, she and Johnny once took MDMA with a flight attendant on a private jet (that seems like a bad idea). Per Amber's account, Johnny accused the flight attendant of flirting with Amber and grabbed her arm and "and slammed it down on the table and told her he could break her wrist."
The Severed Finger
In the course of life, most of us prefer to keep our fingers attached to our hands. For Johnny, however, that ended up not being an option. One of his fingers was severed while the couple was in Australia in 2015, but the question is who was responsible.
Amber claims Johnny did it to himself, and Johnny claims she severed it when she threw a vodka bottle at him. What they both agree on was that the finger incident was just one of many dark moments between them.
Mental Health Diagnoses
One of the more shocking trial revelations was that Johnny's legal team hired a psychologist to evaluate Amber's mental health. Some mental health experts were shocked that a professional felt comfortable after only 12 hours of time to diagnose the actress with a series of serious mental health conditions, including borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder.
Makeup Mystery
One of the weirder moments of a very weird trial was when one of Amber's lawyers mentioned that the actress regularly used a particular brand of makeup to cover up her bruises from Johnny. The brand released a TikTok implying that she was lying because that product wasn't made at the time. A company weighing in with snarky TikToks on trials involving domestic violence and sexual assault is super shocking.
A Competing Diagnosis
A psychologist for Amber's team testified that Amber did have a mental health disorder but not the ones identified by Johnny's legal team. Instead, Dawn Hughes stated that Amber actually suffers from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, due to a "high degree of serious violence perpetrated by Mr. Depp."
