VA - Johnny Depp's defamation case against ex Amber Heard, who countersued #2

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

'You won't let me f****** leave'

The court is played another audio recording of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arguing.

In it Depp can be heard repeatedly saying "I need to go" and saying they need to go their separate ways "for a couple of hours". Heard is clearly very upset, and says "stop pushing me", although Depp says "I'm not pushing you".

Heard, whose voice gets audibly more and more upset as the recording goes on says to Depp: "You're causing me so much stress... I feel like I'm going to f****** die... I feel like I'm having a heart attack every day.. You're killing me with this..."

Depp then can be heard calling his security guard Sean Bett and asking him to take Heard home, back to their penthouse in LA.

Depp says to Heard: "Please go, take your medicine, I'm sorry I'm upsetting you so much."

The actor says he can't remember when the audio was recorded.

 

[Chelly]

JD and AH arguments remind me of my female relative who believes everything requires a "discussion" to work things out. However, she provokes every discussion into a bullying and lambasting lecture that turns into a nasty circular argument.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

'Spilling my blood'

We are now talking about an audio recording which Johnny Depp was played by Amber Heard's lawyers last week. Depp's lawyer says she won't replay the audio as it visibly upset Depp last week. In the audio Depp appears to threaten to hurt himself.

Depp says the audio in question was recorded in San Francisco, at the end of one of his music tours. He says Heard had requested to meet with him and he had agreed as he was hoping she would "retract her lies".

Depp says: "I had a knife in my pocket and I took it out and said, 'Here. Cut me. I know you want my blood, take it." He says it's "all I had left, I was broken", adding "if she hadn't cut me, I would have".

He continues: "There was no threat to Amber. At that point, it was about spilling my blood because that's all I had left... I was really at the end."

 

[Allabouttrial]

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"I Johnny Depp... am a victim of domestic violence'

Another recording is played in which Amber Heard says "my credibility has been destroyed". She appears to be asking Johnny Depp how she can restore her reputation.

During the audio Depp talks about a previous incident between himself and Heard in which he says "a can of mineral spirits was thrown at my nose". He also talks about his finger being chopped off during an alleged dispute in Australia.

In the audio, Depp says to Heard that they need to "write a letter" saying the media has created the storm between them and that they need to say they will take their dispute away from the public eye, as they "still love each other". Heard also tells Depp "his team" forced her to say the things about him that she has.

Later in the conversation she says he should publicly say: "I Johnny Depp, a man, I too am a victim too of domestic violence, it's a fair fight".

Depp is asked when he believes the conversation took place, and he says he thinks it was shortly before meeting up in San Francisco, which was the last bit of audio we heard discussed.

 

[Allabouttrial]

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New witness - Ben King

A new witness, Ben King, now enters the witness box and is sworn in.

Mr King who has short grey hair and is wearing a navy blue suit says he is a "house manager" who looks after "high net worth people and their families". He says he mainly works in London (he is British) and says one of his first jobs was in Buckingham Palace.

He says he worked with Johnny Depp in August 2014, at a time when he was self employed. He says he was asked, through a mutual connection, to go and manage a property where the actor was staying.

He explains that it was his job to set up the house ahead of Depp and Amber Heard arrived to stay in the house. He would then oversee the "day to day managing of the household" over the month they were staying there.

 

[tlcya]

Ben King on AH's tone during some overheard conversation with JD - spoilt teenage child

 

[shotgun09]

Ben King on AH's tone during some overheard conversation with JD - spoilt teenage child

...who also drank alcohol daily, per Mr King.

? Did she have her own 'Monster'?

 

[Allabouttrial]

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Heard 'drank daily' and acted like 'a spoilt teenage child'

House manager, Ben King - who is British - is now describing the house he managed for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard back in August 2014.

He says it was a large townhouse in Mayfair, with a contemporary interior and small indoor pool. The house had "a fantastic chef" called Russell who cooked for Depp and Heard. Mr Kings says he would start work around 8am in the morning, and finish early evening, unless "there were guests".

Mr King explains he would "interact daily" with the couple, but that Depp was at work during most days as he was working on the film Mortdecai. He says Depp was "a gentleman" and would often "pour a glass of wine" for Heard and treated her lovingly.

He says while "my background was formal" it was nice to be somewhat informal with the couple, as this was their approach. He is then asked to refer back to the his reference to pouring wine, and is asked how much the couple tended to drink.

He is asked what alcohol consumption he "personally observed". He says he didn't see Depp consume any alcohol during his time in London. He says he was asked to put away "a large consignment of wine", and he estimated that around one to two bottles of wine were drunk per day. He says he did see Heard drinking "on a daily basis".

He is also asked to describe any arguments he saw during his time at the house and he says yes, he will describe two arguments he witnessed. The first was ahead of the couple leaving for an evening out, and he says the car and security staff were ready to depart, when he heard Heard shouting from upstairs.

He says the shouting "went on for some time" and he knew the couple were "meant to have left already". He says "they left eventually albeit late. I don't know how it resolved."

He says the second argument he witnessed was when the couple were in the TV room, while he was "replenishing drinks and lighting candles".

"Why did you take your hand away from me Johnny, don't you love me any more?" he says this was not said "in a playful way". He says he heard Depp apologise. He said he was "scuttling away at the time" doing his job. Mr King says "it was a strange, banal way to start an argument" going on to say it was said in "an accusatory tone, like a spoilt teenage child. Not playfully, let's put it that way, more angrily".

Mr King says he never observed any physical violence or injuries on either Depp or Heard.

 

[Allabouttrial]

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The Australian incident

House manager Ben King also worked for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard again in Australia, the following year. He says this came about after Depp suggested he come with them for the filming of Pirates 5, which he mentioned to him at the end of his stay in London.

He says he arrived on 4 February 2014, and it was his job to set up the house. This is of course the house that would later become the venue of the 'Australia incident' we have talked about lots in this case already, in which Depp alleges Heard threw a bottle at him cutting off the tip of his finger.

Mr King is asked how many entrances and exits the house has, and he says "many" listing around 15 ways to get in and out of the property.

He says he also witnessed Depp and Heard's interactions together in Australia, and while they were initially loving, they then deteriorated into arguing.

He says they "followed a similar pattern" to the arguments in London, and would involve Depp moving away from Heard, and her following him. Mr King says he observed "several" arguments between Depp and Heard, and that there were "more than in London".

He says part of his job was buying in the red wine for the house, and that Heard would "drink one or two bottles a day".

 

[Allabouttrial]

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An 'unusual weekend'

We move on to questioning about Friday 6 March 2015. House manager Ben King says it was a normal day, and a "beautiful evening", during which he took a photo of "the sunset on the creek". He says Depp was out filming, while Heard was home.

Mr King's asked if anything "unusual happened that weekend" and Mr King answers, "Yes, something pretty unusual happened". He's asked to elaborate, but at this stage the judge says we will take our afternoon break.

 

[squareandrabbet]

I remember Ben King from the UK trial. He’s one of the people who Amber tried to roll up into her ‘JD’s yes men’, to which he of course said ‘I work and have worked for many people’, and that it was ridiculous to accuse him of pro-Depp bias.

 

[Allabouttrial]

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'I found Depp's finger'

We are now discussing Sunday 8 March 2015. House manager Ben King says he was called back to the house in Australia by one of Johnny Depp's assistants, arriving around 2.30pm.

He says that was outside of his normal Monday to Friday working hours. He says Amber Heard, nurse Debbie Lloyd, Doctor Kipper and Jerry Judge (Depp's former head of security) were also there.

He says that on entering the house: "I head historical sobbing, which sounded like Ms Heard to me." He says he could see Heard, and she was "hysterical" and "crying uncontrollably". He says she was being comforted by Mr Judge.

This is of course the time around the 'Australia incident' of which we have heard much before, during which Depp's finger was severed.

Mr King says he went to talk to Dr Kipper who "was rummaging through a bin" looking for the tip of Depp's finger, and he offered to help "as you would". He says he was the one to find Depp's finger, "downstairs in the bar area".

He says there was a lot of damage to the house, including "a big chunk out of the marble staircase", "a broken ping pong table" and "lots of broken glass".

 

[Allabouttrial]

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'I found Depp's finger and put it in tuppaware'

Mr King now elaborates on exactly where he found the finger and he says it was "in a scrunched up piece of tissue paper, covered with blood". He says it was under a bar stool, and that there were pools of what looked like alcohol over the floor, including a vodka bottle, which was smashed.

He describes the finger tip as being damaged. He goes on: "I gathered it up in the kitchen paper, I might have shouted out to Dr Kipper 'I've found it' I can't remember... I put in a little plastic kitchen container and handed it over to Doctor Kipper and Jerry Judge, to see if it could be reattached."

He says he found the finger around an hour after he arrived at the house.

He then describes the damage around the house, saying there were "blood drips" all around the bar area on the lower ground floor [where the finger was found], with chunks out of the plaster and cans and bottles around.

He says the next floor up had a cream sofa with blood stains on, a smashed coffee cup near the TV, lots more cans and bottles and within an "art area" that had been set up more "blood drips and paint on the floor".

Up on the next floor he says "there were blood drips on a duvet" and removed and broken lampshades. There were "blood smears" on the walls, and drips of blood on the cream carpet. He then describes the damage around the master bedroom and master bathroom, with the mirrors above the his and hers sinks with the writing on the mirrors we've previously seen.

He describes one of the bedrooms as containing "Mr Depp's bloodstained guitar". He says the floor had "blood and paint" on. Mr King concludes, "that was about the extent of the damage". When asked by Depp's lawyer who would clean it up, he says with a wry laugh, It "was my responsibility to clear it up".

 

[Allabouttrial]

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'Have you ever got so angry with someone that you just lost it with them?'

House manager Ben King says Amber Heard was "very resistant" to returning to LA after the Australian incident.

He says in the end it was decided that he would return with Heard on the plane to LA. He says he sat behind her on the plane, and observed no injuries on her. He says her "eyes were red from crying" but that was all.

They flew back on the morning of Monday 9 March 2015. He says Heard had calmed down by this time, and in the car ride to the airport together "was on her phone most of the time, including to Mr Depp".

He says they were "running a little late" but as they were travelling first class they were able to "pull up in a VIP area close to where they were taking off". He said as Heard was on the phone, he went in to check in their baggage and returned to get her. He says "it was a close call" as to whether they would get on the plane, but they did.

He says once they were on the plane, Heard went into the bathroom and had to be asked to come out, and after around 15 minutes did, and they were able to take off. He says he did ask her what had happened the night before and he says Heard asked: "Have you ever got so angry with someone that you just lost it with them?" He says he replied no, and that he's "a pretty calm person". He says Heard looked "incredulous" and couldn't seem to believe he'd never lost it with anybody.

Mr King says that towards the end of the flight he did notice some physical marks on Heard's left forearm, describing them as "long, uniform evenly spaced long think marks". He says he only saw them as they were gathering their things to land.

When back he says Heard was friendly with him, offering some restaurant recommendations to him as he was staying for a few days. He then flew back to Australia around five days later. On his return, he "put the house back together" and with the help of "professional contractors" got the house "back to how it was originally".

Mr King says that when Heard later returned to Australia the couple were fine together, initially in a sort of "honeymoon period" before again deteriorating into numerous arguments. He tells us the arguments followed the same pattern as the previous arguments he had witnessed.

 

[Allabouttrial]

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Cross examination begins

House manager Ben King has now finished asking questions from Johnny Depp's legal team, and the cross examination from Amber Heard's team begins.

We are hearing of the moment Mr King found Johnny Depp's finger wrapped in a piece of kitchen paper. Heard's lawyer is making a point about what kind of paper it was, as it appears American terminology is slightly different to UK terminology for kitchen towel. After some semantics, they agree it was a "paper towel".

 

[Allabouttrial]

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Marilyn Manson

House manager Ben King is asked whether singer Marilyn Manson came to the house during his time in Australia, and Mr Kings says not to his knowledge.

He is asked whether Johnny Depp met with Manson during that time, and he says not to his knowledge, however he didn't often leave the house with Depp so couldn't be sure.

Damage to the house

Heards lawyer asks if the Australian house was "wrecked" and whether there was "chaos" inside.

House manager Ben King says the house was indeed in a state. He details "blood on the floors, blood on the walls" on parts of the three floors of the house. Mr King says "there was blood on the stairs" and agrees it could have been caused by someone walking up or down from the main level to the third floor".

He is asked about the cream sofa on the main floor which had blood stains on. He is also asked to confirm he saw alcohol bottles on the floor, which he says he did. The lawyer says "the floors were ruined" and Mr King says he did indeed have to "have the floors sanded".

Mr King is again asked if he saw any damage to artwork in the house, and he says no. He's asked if he saw "a penis drawn on one of the artworks" and Mr King says "no, thankfully not".

 

[Allabouttrial]

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The cleaning lady

There was apparently a resident cleaning lady who should have been coming to the house, but housekeeper Ben King says he told her not to come "as the principles [that is Johnny Depp and Amber Heard] were not there". He also says he asked the chef not to come.

Mr King is asked by Heard's lawyer if it's true that he told security guard Jerry Judge he "could swear the cleaning lady to silence". Mr King says he believes he said it was probably better for him to return to the house to manage the clean up himself.

He is asked whether "trust and discretion" are part of his role, and he agrees they are. He is also asked who paid his wage, and says it was Disney.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

'Around £50,000 worth of damage'

House manager Ben King is now being asked whether he took photos of the damage in the house, and he says yes. He says he "took more than 10" and that he still has them on one of his devices. He says he gave some of them to be used as evidence in the 2020 London defamation case between Johnny Depp and The Sun newspaper. He says he can't remember exactly who he gave them too, "but I've never shared them with anyone else".

He says he took a photo of the smashed vodka bottle, as well as the damage to the plaster on the walls and various bloodstains. He says he took images of "most of the damage in the house".

As to the cost of the damage caused, Mr King says it was "around £50, 000" once all the contractors had finished up.

 

[turaj]

Ben King hoping that JD makes a comeback and he can get more 2-3 month gigs. I am not understanding that he had all these photos and no one asked him for them?

 

[turaj]

I think we have an evidence issue here. They would have had to share those.