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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial: The most explosive moments so far

The actress is preparing to take the stand

amber heard and johnny depp trial
Gemma Strong
Online Digital News Director
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The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial has made headlines across the globe, not least because of the explosive testimony so far heard in court.

RELATED: Johnny Depp's $100m property portfolio revealed – from island retreat to a French village

Johnny is suing his ex-wife for $50million (£39m) over an article she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse. In response, the actress has filed her own $100million (£79m) counterclaim.

WATCH: Johnny Depp testifies in court against Amber Heard

The defamation trial, which is now in its third week, has already heard from Johnny on the witness stand. Amber is now expected to testify under oath about her marriage to the star in the coming days.

SEE: Decoding Amber Heard's courtroom looks

MORE: Johnny Depp's daughter pays tribute to her mom amid Amber Heard court drama

Ahead of her testimony, we take a look back at some of the biggest moments from the trial so far…

johnny depp court trial

Johnny Depp is suing his wife in a defamation case

Amber Heard diagnosed with two personality disorders

A witness for Johnny's team, Shannon Curry – an expert in intimate partner violence – testified that her assessment of Amber had revealed two psychiatric diagnoses: borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder.

She said the actress displayed a "reactive" and "overly dramatic presentation" and flitted between "princess and victim".

Anyone attempting an intimate relationship with such a personality, Shannon said, would likely go from "idolized to dumpster". It was typical of borderline personalities, she added, to be "assaultive as partners. They'll make threats using the legal system, threaten to file for a restraining order, claim abuse".

johnny depp stand© Photo: Getty Images

The star spent many hours being questioned on the stand

Johnny Depp questioned on shocking texts

During his time on the stand, Johnny was questioned about texts he had sent his friend, fellow actor Paul Bettany, regarding his wife.

"It's directly from Monty Python in a sketch about burning witches and drowning witches," Johnny testified. "This is a film we had all watched when we were ten. It's just irreverent and abstract humor. That's what we were referring to in those texts."

READ: Johnny Depp's son Jack is his double in rare photo

MORE: Johnny Depp shares rare glimpse inside his huge garden at home in LA

Answering questions from his own lawyers, he then described Amber's prior interactions with Paul as "abominable", adding: "Ms Heard despised Mr Bettany, mainly because we had become such close friends and for her, he was a threat and would take me away from her, with regard to if Paul Bettany were getting the attention from me, that was a show-stopper. It would cause all kinds of unpleasantries."

He further testified that Amber had once made Paul and his wife Jennifer Connoly's son cry during a lunch after belittling him.

amber heard johnny testimony© Photo: Getty Images

Amber looks on during the court proceedings

Amber admits to hitting Johnny

At one standout moment, Amber was heard admitting to hitting her husband in a recording. The couple were arguing in the tape with the actress stating: "I didn't punch you by the way.

"I'm sorry that I didn't hit you across the face in a proper slap," she added. "I was hitting you, I was not punching you. You're not punched." Amber also told Johnny to "grow up", calling him a "baby".

amber heard court

The actress is being sued for defamation by her ex-husband

Shocking photographs

The court has been shown a number of disturbing images throughout the trial so far, including physical injuries submitted by both parties.

At one point, Johnny reacted to an image Amber had taken showing him asleep on the couch with ice cream spilt over his lap.

The actor stated that he had worked a 17-hour day, taken some opioids, and that Ms Heard gave him the ice cream "because she knew what was going to happen".

"And if you'll notice, my right hand is in my pocket, so I wasn't participating in the festival of ice cream," he added. "I was holding her ice cream because she knew what was going to happen – that I would fall asleep and it would drop and that was a wonderful picture to take for her."

amber heard under oath© Photo: Getty Images

Amber will soon take the stand to deliver her own testimony

Johnny reacts to being axed from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean

During his testimony, Johnny was asked how he felt when he learnt he had been dropped by Disney and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise just days after the publication of Amber's open-ed piece.

"Hurt. Blinding hurt," he admitted. "It was like somebody hit me in the back of the head with a 2x4... Captain Jack Sparrow was a character I built from the ground up and was something that I, of course, put a lot of [myself] into the character and also having worked on these films with these people and added much of myself, much of my own re-writing of the dialogue and scenes and jokes.

"I didn't quite understand how, after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship certainly for Disney, that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent."

The star also confessed he hasn't seen the first movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – but added, "I believe the film did pretty well."

johnny depp trial stand© Photo: Getty Images

Johnny gave explosive testimony to the court

Johnny accuses Amber of defecating in their bed

One of the most shocking elements of the trial came when Johnny described seeing a photo of faeces on his bed, days after an argument with Amber.

He explained that while his wife was out of town, he had wanted to visit the penthouse where she was staying to collect items that were important to him, but his security guard said it wasn't a good time.

He said he was shown a photo of "our bed and on my side of the bed was human faecal matter, so I understood why it wasn't a good time to go down there".

Johnny said his "initial response" was to "laugh". "It was so outside, it was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh," he added.

johnny depp experience© Photo: Getty Images

The star has alleged he was hit by Amber

Johnny confirms his daughter skipped wedding

Johnny testified about his and Amber's wedding day, including why his daughter was not in attendance. The former couple married back in February 2015 in an intimate celebration on his private island in the Bahamas.

"My daughter Lily-Rose did not come to the wedding. She and Ms. Heard were not on particularly great terms, for several reasons," he said.

lily rose depp vanessa paradis

Lily Rose Depp (pictured with her mother) did not attend the wedding

'Mutual abuse'

The stars' former couples' therapist said the pair engaged in "mutual abuse" during the final months of their stormy marriage.

Dr Laurel Anderson said she had seen the pair for several therapy sessions between October and December 2015. Amber filed for divorce in May 2016 after just 15 months of marriage.

Dr Anderson described a volatile dynamic, stating that both parties had both threated to walk out of their sessions. She confirmed that Amber had alleged physical assault at the hands of her husband when he wasn't present, but also said Amber initiated violent interactions in an attempt to stop Johnny leaving.

amber heard johnny depp

Johnny and Amber were married from 2015 - 2017

"It was a point of pride to her, if she felt disrespected, to initiate a fight," Ms Anderson told jurors. "If he was going to leave her to de-escalate from the fight, she would strike him to keep him there, she would rather be in a fight than have him leave."

She added: "Ms Heard had a jackhammer style of talking. "She was very amped up. He had trouble talking at a similar pace. He was cut off a lot."

Ms Anderson further testified to both Amber and Johnny's family history of domestic violence. Ms Heard was beaten by her father, she said, and Mr Depp was beaten by his mother.

elon musk

Elon Musk is one of the notable names embroiled in the case

Romance with Elon Musk

Amber dated Elon Musk while trying to reconcile with Johnny, the couple's former talent agent, Christian Carino, testified to the court.

Some of Mr Carino's texts with Ms Heard were shared with the court, and in a 2017 one she complained about her break up with Mr Musk.

"Why would you be sad if you were not in love with him to begin with," Mr Carino replied to her. He added: "You told me a thousand times you were just filling space."

In another exchange, Amber texted Christian: "I hate it that yet again a man lets me fall on the spikes by myself." He responded: "If you don't like your personal life being in the press, don't date famous men. You could stop that if you stop dating uber-famous people."

The agent also testified that he never saw Johnny abuse Amber nor did he see injuries on her, but stated that Amber's accusations against Johnny had negatively affected his career.

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