Johnny Depp described the moment he decided to divorce Amber Heard - Insider

• Johnny Depp's opening statement in his libel case against the publisher of The Sun included some wild allegations about his marriage to Amber Heard.
• Depp is suing News Group Newspapers in a libel case over a 2018 article published by The Sun, which labeled him a "wife beater."
• Heard, who alleges that Depp was violent toward her, is The Sun's star witness in Depp's libel case.
• A spokesperson for Heard told Vanity Fair: "Amber never asked for these proceedings to take place. Amber obtained a domestic violence restraining order against Depp back in 2016 and has tried to move on with her life."
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Johnny Depp made a number of extraordinary claims in the opening day of his libel case against the publisher of The Sun newspaper.

The Oscar-nominated actor is suing News Group Newspapers over a 2018 article published by The Sun, which labeled him a "wife beater."

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star claims he has never hit Heard or any other woman in his life. According to The Daily Express, Depp said in court on Tuesday: "I am from a Southern family and rules were instilled in me from birth by my mother: you would be a Southern gentleman or it would be beaten into you."

Heard — who alleges that Depp was violent toward her during their marriage and received a temporary restraining order against him in 2016 — is The Sun's star witness in the libel case. Depp's ex-partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder are due to speak in court on his behalf. Heard is yet to be questioned in the hearing, which is expected to last around three weeks.

A spokesperson for Heard told Vanity Fair, "Amber never asked for these proceedings to take place. Amber obtained a domestic violence restraining order against Depp back in 2016 and has tried to move on with her life. It is Johnny Depp who brought these proceedings against a British newspaper and has dragged her to the UK courts to give evidence on some of the most distressing moments of her life."

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In a written statement on day one of the trial on Tuesday, July 7, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Depp made a number of allegations, including that Heard may have defecated on his bed the day after her 30th birthday party in May 2016, where an argument between the pair took place.

This incident was reported before in 2018, and Heard at the time blamed the defecation on the couple's dogs: "There was never a joke, it wasn't something done to be disrespectful," a representative for Heard told the Daily Mirror.

In his court statement, Depp said that the alleged incident was the moment he decided to divorce Heard, who he married in 2015. It was Heard who filed for divorce from Depp in May 2016, though, citing irreconcilable differences.

The two finalized their divorce in 2017 and have been engaged in a public and legal battle since.

Among the other revelations from Tuesday's proceedings, Depp also told the court that he'd begun taking drugs at age 11, BBC News reported, because he did not have "a particularly stable or secure or safe home life."

His witness statement said that he had been recovering from alcohol and drug abuse during "significant parts" of his marriage with Heard.

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