10h 15min, jul 7, 2020 y - Depp v NGN & Wootton UK LIBEL TRIAL Day 1: MEDIA COVERAGE & REPORTS DAILY MAIL

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The Daily Mail had journalists in court each day and they more than any other publication had the inside story from the Johnny Depp Team. Articles were published throughout the day proceedings progressed and often included the evidence as presented in court. The Mail also published reports from The Press Association, Reuters and The Associated Press which together form comprehensive coverage of each day in court.

High Court is shown video of Johnny Depp 'smashing up kitchen and throwing wine bottle in drunken rage at Amber Heard' while he tells her 'You wanna see crazy? I'll give you f***ing crazy' as he denies ever hitting her at blockbuster libel trial

* Johnny Depp was called as the first witness as he faced his estranged wife Amber Heard at the High Court
* Rejected claims he had been violent towards Heard, 34, but admitted drug taking had caused a 'lot of pain'
* Depp is suing The Sun newspaper over claims he behaved 'like a violent monster' towards estranged wife

By JAMES ROBINSON and VIVEK CHAUDHARY and RORY TINGLE FOR MAILONLINE

Video was yesterday played in court appearing to show actor Johnny Depp throwing a wine bottle to the floor in a 'drunken rage' at Amber Heard after telling her 'you wanna see crazy? I'll give you f***ing crazy'.

The video, shown on the first day of Depp's blockbuster libel case against the Sun, shows the pair appearing to argue in the kitchen they shared together while an agitated-looking Depp repeatedly slams cupboard doors and kicks at a cabinet. He is also heard shouting 'motherf*****' during the 90 second video.

Depp is seen to grab a bottle of red wine which he pours into a large glass, described by the Sun's lawyer as a 'mega-pint', while in a heated discussion with Ms Heard.

He then appears to throw a wine bottle to the floor moments after telling Ms Heard 'I'll give you f***ing crazy'. The footage ends when the actor, 57, appears to notice he is being filmed and grabs the device from the kitchen counter.

The video was shown yesterday on day one of the High Court legal battle, during which Depp told the court he was 'having a moment' and was 'violent with some cupboards' but said that 'Ms Heard was not struck'.

The Hollywood legend, 57, is suing The Sun for labelling him a 'wife beater' and today branded those accusations 'sick and completely untrue' at the long-awaited libel trial in London.

Earlier in the trial Depp claimed he decided to divorce Ms Heard after she defecated in their marital bed 'as a prank' as he denied hitting her and said that she had abused him throughout their marriage.

In a written statement, the actor said Heard or 'possibly one of her friends' was responsible for the incident after her 30th birthday party in 2016, but claimed she dismissed it as 'just a harmless prank', and he said it was the final straw in their deteriorating marriage.

‘Ms Heard confessed to our estate manager, Kevin Murphy, that leaving the faeces in the bed had been “just a harmless prank”, thereby effectively acknowledging that she had been responsible, whereas she had previously sought to blame our dogs,' he said.

Today, he took to the stand to deny ever hitting Heard, as a series of newspaper stories alleged, and said it was 'inconceivable' that he would ever hit a woman, citing his Southern upbringing and saying he considers chivalry 'very important'.

He said: 'It is a strong and central part of my moral code that I would never strike a woman, under any circumstances, at any time. I find it simply inconceivable and it would never happen.'

While denying attacking Heard he also launched a blistering attack on her, accusing her of being a 'calculating, narcissistic sociopath' who married him to further her career.

His defence reeled off a string of incidents in which she had allegedly attacked him throughout their marriage including when she threw a vodka bottle at him, severing his finger, in Australia in 2015.

Depp also cited another incident in which she 'repeatedly' punched him in the face on a private jet in 2014 and claimed that she punched him again as he fled to the toilet.

In contrast, the actress' lawyers painted Depp as a domestic abuser who repeatedly attacked her when he was drunk or high on drugs.

Depp on the start of his relationship with Amber Heard

Depp started his account of his relationship with Heard by describing how he first met her when she auditioned for The Rum Diary, and later reconnected with her when they were promoting the film.

In one of his witness statements filed as part of his libel case against The Sun's publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), Depp said: 'She was then extremely friendly to me and keen to tell me about the break-up with her former partner that she had recently gone through.

'If I had known then what I know now, I would have seen the red flag warning signs, but I did not. She was beautiful, seemingly incredibly interested in me and my work, and I fell for it. She bombed me with what appeared to be love.

'It was not until much later that I understood that she had an agenda, namely to get married to me in order to progress her own career and/or to benefit financially, and she knew how to bring it about.

'For example, at the time, she repeatedly told me how much she admired my films; however, later in our relationship she admitted that she had never seen any of my films. She knew what she wanted and I was an easy target.'

Depp said their time together was 'incredibly unhappy', adding: 'She is a calculating, diagnosed borderline personality; she is sociopathic; she is a narcissist; and she is completely emotionally dishonest.

'I am now convinced that she came into my life to take from me anything worth taking, and then destroy what remained of it.'

Depp said the pair sought the help of a marriage counsellor who he says confirmed to him that Heard had a 'borderline, toxic narcissistic personality disorder and is a sociopath'

Depp on his drug-fuelled childhood:

'My experience of alcohol and stimulants began at a very young age'

'I remember my mother used to ask me to get her nerve pills. Around the age of 11 it dawned on me that these pills calm your nerves and I brought them home and took one. That began what was the only way to numb the pain'

'Every kind of drug known by man I'd tried' by age 14

Asked whether he had taken drugs with Marilyn Manson: 'Yes. Twice, maybe'

Depp on his heroes:

'Hunter S. Thompson was an idol of mine. I believe he has a very famous quote that says I don't condone the use of drugs or alcohol to anyone but they've always worked for me'

'Keith Richards has been a role model for me. He's one of my favourite guitarists and a great role model'

'I have always been interested in the counter-culture and many literary heroes of mine, including Chaucer, who was an opium addict, and Thomas De Quincey, author of 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater', were into this subject'

Depp on his 'anger problems'

'I don't [have anger problems]. I was angry, doesn't mean I have anger problems'

After being asked about a hotel room he trashed while girlfriend Kate Moss slept: 'Rather than assaulting a human being I assaulted a couch'

Asked about a clip of him smashing cupboard doors around Heard: 'I was violent with some cupboards'

Depp on his alcohol addiction

Asked whether it was 'nonsense' that he spent more than $30,000 a month on wine while with Ms Paradis because it was 'more than that': 'It was'

'I would definitely say that towards the end of my relationship with Ms Paradis, the mother of my children, it was a very painful time... I was more than likely trying to numb myself'

Depp on getting sober:

In an email to Elton John in 2012: 'My dearest Elton, 100 f****** days of clarity for an old reprobate t**t like me. No one would ever have believed it possible but for a select few, most importantly you

'I would have been swallowed up by the monster were it not for you'

Depp on his own fame:

'It's a very confusing thing because you become a product and your name no longer sounds the way it did when you were growing up... When I speak my own name it sounds foreign to me'

'When you are trying to figure out what it's all about, when success and notoriety and all these things come to you and you don't quite understand why you have them and you don't feel very worthy, it's very confusing'

Depp on his violent upbringing:

'The best way that I can explain it was that when I was going to have a baby back in 1998 [with partner Vanessa Paradis], one of my promises was that I would raise my child in the exact opposite manner that I was raised'

'It was not a particularly stable or safe home life, there was a lot of unpleasantness in the house'

'I'm well aware that there's been a lot of pain the way I was raised'.

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