JOHNNY Depp's assistant texted Amber Heard to say "it's disgusting and he knows it" after the star allegedly kicked her in a plane bust-up, the High Court was told today.
Stephen Deuters said he saw an "argument of sorts" between the 57-year-old actor and Heard on the plane from Boston to LA in 2014 but denied Depp had been violent.
Instead, he told the court today he had only seen Depp raise his leg at the 34-year-old in a "playful" way, adding it had been a “jokey” attempt to “tap Heard on the bottom”.
Sasha Wass QC, who is representing News Group Newspapers then read out text messages that Mr Deuters had sent to Heard after the flight, saying: “He’s just texted you… He know he’s done wrong.”
He said in another message: “He was appalled. When I told him he kicked you, he cried.
“It was disgusting. And he knows it.”
The text then went on to say Depp didn’t know “the severity of his actions”, and would be “appalled” if he could remember.
The High Court heard today:
- Johnny Depp claimed Amber Heard was the aggressor in the relationship
- The actor claimed he contracted a bacterial infection after severing his finger in Australia
- Heard wrote in an email Depp had called her a "w***e" after an alleged attack on the plane from Boston to LA
- The Pirates of the Caribbean star was told he had lost $650 million before going to his wife's 30th birthday
- A photograph emerged of Depp covered in ice cream after passing out the day he was due to enter detox
But Mr Deuters today claimed the messages he been sent to "placate" Heard.
He said: "As a domestic abuse survivor myself I don't do well with confrontation, I always seek to mollify.
"I wasn't comfortable in this position or sending these texts, all I said was to say what I thought people wanted to hear, to be quite honest."
The High Court was told today that Mr Deuters referred to Heard as a “show-pony”, “Mike Tyson” and “a b****” when the couple divorced in 2016.
And after Depp's mother Betty Sue died in 2016, the court was told Mr Deuters messaged the actor's friend Paul Bettany, saying: "Poor Betty Sue (Mr Depp's mother) has been on her way out for the last six months – it was a relief to all, most of all herself."
The next message by Mr Deuters, apparently describing Ms Heard, read: "Sociopathic show pony. Machiavellian overlord.
"Talentless c***. Good riddance to bad s***. Yes, I do mean Amber not the Mom, even though she was a devil herself."
But Mr Deuters, who is now European president of Mr Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil, denied he was "lying to save his livelihood" as he was paid by Depp.
It comes after an email written by Heard about the alleged plane incident was today read in court, with the actress: “If he doesn’t know how scared I am, then I have overestimated him.”
She is then said to have written she had tried to make many apologies but claimed Depp didn’t “have the impetus to fix us”.
The actress then added that she needed “Time and space to recover”, adding: “The man I loved called me a disappointment and a w***e before kicking me in the back, and mocking me when I cried about it.”
The claims come after a string of allegations around the couple’s turbulent relationship have been heard in the High Court over the past four days.
Depp is claimed to have attacked Heard 14 times over three years, with allegations that the star threw a magnum of champagne at her, pulled her by her hair and slapped her.
The man I loved called me a disappointment and a w***e before kicking me in the back
The 57-year-old has consistently denied the charges, launching a libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife.
And today Mr Deuters, who is now European president of Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil, claimed it was in fact Heard who had abused Depp during the relationship.
In his written witness statement, Mr Deuters said: “At no point did Ms Heard ever mention any physical abuse and I never saw evidence of any injury to Ms Heard.”
He added: “In contrast, Mr Depp told me on multiple occasions that Ms Heard had attacked him or abused him physically and verbally.”
Mr Deuters took the stand this morning after Depp stepped down after about 23 hours in the witness box.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star today finished giving evidence in the fifth day in the libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife.
But the actor has claimed the allegations are part of a "choreographed hoax".
The actor’s case against NGN and executive editor Dan Wootton came after an article was published in 2018 with the headline “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”.
NGN is defending the article as true and says Mr Depp was “controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs” between early 2013 and May 2016, when the couple split.
The pair met in 2011 and began living together in 2012 before marrying in Los Angeles in February 2015.
If you are affected by domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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