Johnny Depp testified that he's never hit a woman in his life during his defamation trial against Amber Heard on Tuesday.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is suing his ex-wife for $50 million (£38 million) over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse". The Aquaman actress is countersuing Depp for $100 million (£77 million), claiming his former lawyer defamed her by rejecting the abuse claims.
Depp took to the witness stand in the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia on Tuesday and answered questions from his own legal team.
During his testimony, the 58-year-old insisted, "I never struck Ms Heard in that way, nor have I struck any woman in my life." He also called the allegations "quite heinous and disturbing" and "not based in any species of truth", according to Variety.
The actor told the court he was "obsessed with the truth" and explained that he brought the case against Heard to stand up for himself and his two adult children Lily-Rose and Jack. He also spoke of how the abuse allegations have harmed his career, saying, "It's been six years of trying times - so strange when one day you're Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds, you're Quasimodo."
The Edward Scissorhands star also admitted he was "ashamed" of the text messages he wrote about Heard, in which he used dark language such as "rotting corpse", insisting he has a tendency to use "dark humour".
In addition, Depp claimed Heard's account of his drug use was "grossly embellished" and he was not "some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time". He said he used drugs to help him escape his "own brain" rather than to party, and acknowledged that he became dependent on the prescription painkiller Roxicodone after suffering an injury on the fourth Pirates movie.
Depp's testimony will continue on Wednesday. Heard is also expected to testify during the trial, which began last week.
They were married between 2015 and 2016.
