The volatile relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, who were married for 18 months in 2015-2016, is in the news again. Depp has sued Heard over a 2018 op-ed article in the Washington Post in which she wrote: "Two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse." Depp took that to mean him.
Depp's four days of testimony drew headlines about drugs, alcohol, fights and arguments that plagued the marriage.
Asked about his prodigious drinking at one point, Depp quipped, "I mean, isn't happy hour anytime?"
Johnny Depp: "I use marijuana... a lot!!! The pill and plant stuff keep me calm and detached."
He acknowledged an addiction to opioids, but repeatedly said cannabis was his favorite recreational drug: “When I was with Ms. Heard and her friends and we were all drinking wine and I was smoking marijuana, they used to tease me because of what they sort of said was a ludicrous tolerance. Because I’ve never appeared loaded or high or any of that... no one would have ever know."
Heard's attorney produced a photo taken at Depp's recording studio showing four large bags of marijuana as evidence (see photo above).
Text messages indicated his preference. One to Marilyn Mansion in 2012 reads: "I use marijuana... a lot!!! The pill and plant stuff keep me calm and detached."
Depp also wrote to actor Paul Bettany: "Weed, pills, fine. Booze? My capacity is too large and won't stop. Ugly and sad, Oh, how I lovie it."
About the musician, he said: "Yes, we drank together and we've had cocaine together maybe a couple of times. I once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so he would stop talking so much."
Another evidence photo shows lines of cocaine. Asked if the box in the photo was used to store the drug, Depp explained, "No, but it looks like it would fit some cocaine. Cocaine is, in my experience, normally given in plastic bags. When you put it in a box like that, chances are you'll leave a trail, a long line of cocaine behind you as you walk down the street."
Depp admitted to being violent, but not directly to Heard. The case is expected to continue for another month, with Heard most likely testifying. In Depp's libel suit vs. The Sun in 2018, the court ruled that "12 of the 14 incidents of violence claimed by Heard were 'substantially true.'"
Depp and Heard met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2010 while Depp was still married to Vanessa Paradis. It was the second time Depp portrayed gonzo journlist Hunter S. Thompson (the first was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in 1998). It would appear Depp has modeled his life on Thompson's drug-fueld antics.
