Johnny Depp claimed he had gone from Cinderella to Quasimodo as a result of Amber Heard’s claims that he physically mistreated her and accused his ex-wife of peddling “diabolical” lies.

Yesterday, the Hollywood actor began his long-awaited testimony, announcing that he has filed a $50 million defamation case on behalf of his children.

Depp sat across from Heard and spoke slowly as he informed the Virginia court that she had made false “heinous and disturbing” charges.

He admitted that their relationship had its ups and downs, but that “never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms Heard,” he claimed.

“I never struck any woman in my life,” the actor added.

Heard’s allegations became accepted as facts, he said, and it was necessary to counter them for his children, Lily-Rose and Jack.

He wanted to clear his “children of this horrid thing that they were having to read about their father that was untrue.”

Depp stated that he did not want his colleagues to think of him as a “fraud,” and that he believed his reputation in Hollywood, where he had worked for more than 30 years, had been seriously harmed.

Depp, who met Heard during the shooting of the 2011 film The Rum Diary, described their split as “six years of trying times.”

He said: “One day you’re Cinderella, so to speak and in 0.6 seconds you’re Quasimodo. And I didn’t deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who had believed in me all these years.”

Depp said he is “obsessed with the truth”.

“Truth is the only thing I’m interested in. Lies will get you nowhere. Lies build upon lies and build upon lies. It’s too much to cover,” he added.

Depp’s close friend Keenan Wyatt previously testified in court that he had never witnessed any violence between Depp and Heard.

Wyatt is a sound engineer who has worked on the majority of Depp’s films, including all five Pirates of the Caribbean episodes.

He’s known Depp for over 25 years and claims he has “British humour” and enjoys watching Monty Python and Paul Whitehouse’s sketch series The Fast Show.

In May 2014, Wyatt was on a private plane with Depp and Heard on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles. He stated Heard was giving him the “cold shoulder” and “seemed quite pouty” and said he couldn’t recall Depp drinking or doing drugs before the flight.

According to reports, Wyatt informed Heard that Depp “cares about you,” prompting her to scream at him, “how dare you talk to me, get away from me.”

“So I went back to my seat and minded my own business,” Wyatt said. “She was abruptly loud, it was a quiet plane — all of a sudden it got very loud.”

During the flight, Wyatt stated he could clearly see Depp and Heard but did not observe any violence. Depp was drunk, but according to Wyatt, “he seemed like Johnny, he seemed normal.”

During cross-examination by Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, Wyatt stated that he never heard Depp make explicit references to James Franco, the actor with whom he accused Heard of having an affair.

Depp, 58, married Heard, 35, in 2015, but the couple separated two years later.

After she represented herself as a victim of domestic abuse in a 2018 Washington Post piece, he sued her for $50 million. Despite the fact that he was not named in the piece, Depp said that he was clearly the target and that it harmed his reputation. Heard countersued for $100 million, alleging that her ex-husband attempted to ruin her life.

The case continues.

Image Credit: Getty

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