Johnny Depp takes the stand in Amber Heard trial, says claims have 'no truth'

Johnny Depp is sharing his side of the story amid his vicious $50 million (or more) libel lawsuit trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.

A week into the trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, Depp, 58, is the first half of the divorced couple to take the stand and testify against his former spouse.

Depp is suing Heard, 35, for $50 million, alleging she defamed him in an opinion column she published in The Washington Post (which is printed in Fairfax County) in December 2018. In the column, she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.

Depp opened his testimony Tuesday by calling Heard's Washington Post story "heinous," adding, "I never struck Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any women in my life."

Here's what Depp said Tuesday during his testimony, before taking the stand again on Wednesday.

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In terms of Heard, Depp said she seemed "too good to be true" at the beginning of their relationship.

"She was attentive," Depp said of the woman he married in 2015. "She was loving. She was smart. She was kind. She was funny. She was understanding. … We had many things in common, certain blues music … literature."

He said there were little things, though, that gave him indications of a rocky relationship ahead. She became upset, he said, when he broke an established routine in which she took off his boots for him when he came home. And he said she was angry when he wouldn't go to bed when she was ready.

"I didn't understand why, as a 50-some-year-old man, I couldn't go to sleep when I wanted to," he said.

Depp said he was cognizant of the age difference between him and Heard. "I acknowledge the fact I was the old, craggy fogey and she was this beautiful, creature," he said.

But Depp said that within a year and a half, it was as if Heard had become another person.

Depp took the stand to 'stand up for my children'

He went on to say that he is taking the stand to prove her claims have "no truth to it whatsoever" and because he feels a responsibility to "stand up for my children," referring to daughter Lily-Rose, 22, and son Jack Depp, 20.

"I thought it was diabolical that my children would have to go to school, have their friends or people in the school approach them with the infamous People magazine cover with Ms. Heard with a dark bruise on her face," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star said. "I didn't deserve that nor did my children nor did the people who have believed in me for all those years."

Alluding to the fall his career has taken since Heard levied abuse allegations against him, the former "Pirates of the Caribbean" star said, "it’s been six years of trying times. It's very strange when one day you're Cinderella, so to speak, and then in 0.6 seconds you're Quasimodo."

Depp continued in his testimony by discussing the physical and emotional abuse he, his siblings, and his father suffered from his mother — something his sister Christi Dembrowski testified to on April 12.

More: Amber Heard, Johnny Depp's former marriage counselor testifies, recalls 'mutual abuse'

Depp talks oxycodone addiction and sobriety

Depp also admitted to having been addicted to oxycodone for about five years after receiving a prescription when he hurt his back while filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."

According to Mayo clinic, oxycodone is used to "relieve pain severe enough to require opioid treatment and when other pain medicines did not work well enough or cannot be tolerated." When used for a long time, the medication "may become habit-forming, causing mental or physical dependence."

Depp said he detoxed from the drugs during his relationship with Heard and has not taken opiates since stopping.

"Once you've been bit, you'll be bit again. So no, even with my finger (I) took Motrin 500, but I haven't taken opiates. I won't unless I plan on going through the hell, the pure horror of coming off those drugs. No," Depp said.

Depp also said Heard's allegations of his substance abuse have been "grossly embellished" and that there have been no moments where he's been out of control.

"I'm not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time," Depp said, though he admitted to doing "a line or two" of cocaine with Heard's sister, Whitney.

"The characterization of my 'substance abuse' that’s been delivered by Ms. Heard is grossly embellished," Depp said. "And I'm sorry to say, but a lot of it is just plainly false. I think that it was an easy target for her to hit."

Opening statements from Depp and Heard's attorneys on April 12 set the tone for a hostile fight.

"You’re going to see who the real Johnny Depp is — behind the fame, behind the pirate costumes," Heard lawyer J. Benjamin Rottenborn told the jury during opening statements in the civil trial.

Rottenborn said the evidence will show that Depp physically and sexually assaulted Heard on multiple occasions.

He argued that Heard was exercising her First Amendment rights as an advocate when she wrote the article, which focused largely on the broad topic of domestic violence. He also pointed out that the article in question never even mentions Depp's name.

Heard first raised the domestic violence claim during her corrosive divorce proceeding with Depp in 2016 in Los Angeles. Heard never proved she was abused because their divorce was settled out of court in the midst of a media uproar. And the settlement statement they jointly issued said in part: "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future."

More: Johnny Depp's friend rejects Amber Heard's abuse claim as 'malicious lie'

On Depp's behalf, his co-counsel Camille Vasquez said, "You’re going to learn that (Heard) is a profoundly troubled person who manipulated people around her, like she manipulated Mr. Depp."

Depp's attorney Benjamin Chew said the case is about how devastating words can be when uttered publicly. "They can cause irreparable harm to someone's reputation, and when your career depends on your reputation that harm can be particularly devastating," he said.

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Another of Depp’s lawyers, Camille Vasquez, told the jury that Heard refuses to admit she lied and has now dug in even deeper.

“She can’t back down. She has been living and breathing this lie for years,” Vasquez said. “She’s going to give the performance of a lifetime in this courtroom.”

Contributing: Maria Puente, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Johnny Depp testifies against Amber Heard during libel lawsuit trial