Johnny Depp "created a persona" for his former wife Amber Heard that painted her as a "stereotype of a nagging wife", a court heard today.
The actor, 57, is suing for libel over an article in The Sun which called him a “wife beater”, insisting he was never violent in his relationship with Ms Heard.
Sasha Wass QC, for The Sun’s publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), argued 14 incidents of violence by Mr Depp had been proved over the course of a three-week trial, saying the star demonstrated a "deep misogyny" that lay at the root of his anger for Ms Heard.
During her closing statements on Monday, Ms Wass said Mr Depp resented his former wife's attempts to help him maintain his sobriety.
She told the High Court Mr Depp's resentment led to him creating a persona of a "stereotype of a nagging wife".
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard at High Court: July 2020
The barrister said this was demonstrated in texts between Mr Depp and his friend the actor Paul Bettany, in June 2015, in which he wrote: “Let’s burn Amber. Let’s drown her before we bury her… I will f*** her burnt corpse.”
Ms Wass said that a “repetitive and downward spiral emerged between Ms Heard and Mr Depp.”
She added: “Alcohol and narcotics brought out the monster in Mr Depp, with his violent explosions, only to be followed by embarrassment, expressions of love and apologies.”
Ms Wass said Mr Depp would lose his temper, lose his self control and assault Ms Heard.
“Ms Heard is not on trial in this case," said the barrister. "She is not a party to this case and what she told the court in the witness box was that the last thing she wanted was to expose herself and Mr Depp to ridicule.
“Mr Depp, on the other hand, has brought these proceedings and as such has put his own character very much in issue.”
Ms Wass referred to Mr Depp’s witness statement, in which he referred to himself as a “Southern gentleman”.
She said: “He described himself as a Southern gentleman who had respect for women. A perusal of his texts demonstrates this to be entirely untrue.
“He described women as sluts, fat ugly whores, he boasted to someone in a text exchange ‘I will smack the ugly c*** around’ after asking whether a ‘worthless hooker’ had arrived.
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“Now, Mr Depp denied that that conversation was concerning the payment of sex. He said that this this was a joke between himself and his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis, whom incidentally he described as a ‘withering c***’ in another email.
“Mr Depp has chosen not to rely on Ms Paradis as a witness in this case but, far from treating women with respect, the evidence in this case demonstrates a deep misogyny which lay at the root of Mr Depp’s anger and the anger that Mr Depp felt towards Ms Heard, which translated into violence when he felt threatened by her.”
Mr Depp’s lawyers are due to make their closing submissions on Tuesday.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
