Johnny Depp appeared in London's High Court on Wednesday as part of his libel suit against British tabloid the Sun. He is suing the newspaper over an article that alleged Depp had been physically abusive to his ex-wife Amber Heard, but Depp's lawyer, David Sherborne, has claimed Heard was "the aggressor." In previously unseen text messages from 2013 that Depp reportedly sent to his friend Paul Bettany, however, the actor said he wanted to "drown" and "burn" her.
The texts were read aloud in court, while the Pirates of the Caribbean star was present, Page Six reports. "Let's burn Amber," Depp allegedly texted Bettany in November, 2013. "Let's drown her before we burn her!!! I will fuck her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead." Later in May 2014, he reportedly told Bettany he would "stop the booze thing." He continued, "Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA, this past Sunday... Ugly, mate."
He's also said to have detailed some of the drugs and alcohol he had around the same time. "No food for days…powders…half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane and what do you get?" he allegedly wrote. "An angry, aggro Injun in a fuckin’ blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any fuck who got near…I’m done. I am admittedly too f–ked in the head to spray my rage at the one I love…For little reason, as well I’m too old to be that guy But, pills are fine!!!"
Adam Wolanski, who is representing the Sun, said that the texts from 2014 referenced an alleged "altercation" Depp had with Heard on a plane. Wolanski claimed that Depp was "screaming obscenities" on the flight, slapped and kicked the actress, and threw a book at her before "passing out." He has denied that he was drunk or abusive to Heard during the flight.
"These texts go to the very heart of the case, they are really very important and set out the claimant’s thinking in respect of a number of different incidents and his recollection," Wolanski added. The texts surfaced after Depp's previous lawyers reportedly shared 70,000 text messages from him with the Sun's legal team. Heard's legal team has not received the messages. His libel case against the paper will start on Mar. 23.
Recently, recordings in which Amber Heard admitted to starting a "physical fight" with Depp surfaced online. He is currently suing her for $50 million in Northern Virginia, and has claimed she defamed him in an op-ed for the Washington Post.
If you or someone you know has been affected by domestic violence call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
