Elton John dragged into Johnny Depp Amber Heard case as emails read out in court
Johnny Depp testifies during the Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia. (AFP via Getty/ Pool/ JIM LO SCALZO)
Johnny Depp sent expletive-filled emails to Elton John about his ex-partner Vanessa Paradis, describing her as a “French extortionist ex c**t”, a court has heard.
Depp, 58, is suing ex-wife Amber Heard, 35, in a $50m (£38m) defamation suit over her claims that he abused her. Heard has filed a $100m (£79m) countersuit seeking immunity from Depp’s allegations, and insisting that the legal action is a continuation of his “abuse and harassment” against her.
The defamation trial, which began on 10 April in Virginia’s Fairfax County district courthouse, has seen Heard’s attorney allege that Depp sexually assaulted her, claiming he “dragged her across the floor” and “penetrated her with a liquor bottle”, while Depp has attempted to paint Heard as the aggressor, insisting that he “never struck” her, or any other woman.
He has denied the sexual assault allegation vehemently.
The court also previously heard the couple’s marriage counsellor describe their relationship as “mutually abusive”.
On Thursday (21 April) Heard’s lawyers presented the court with an email sent by Depp to Elton John in which he described Paradis, the mother of his two children, as his “ex c**t” and a “French extortionist”.
Depp told the jury that his children – Lily-Rose Depp and John Christopher Depp III – did not like Heard, and that she had described him as a “bad father”.
But, countering his claims, Heard’s lawyers presented the 2013 email to John, which read: “On the other side of the coin… my kids have fallen head over heels in deep love with Amber (my girl) and that pressure off my shoulders is f**king gone!!!
“That is unlike the French extortionist (ex c**t) attempts to brain wash them against her… which, I’m sure is imminent.”
Johnny Depp described his friendship with Elton John, and credited him with ensuring his sobriety.
He said: “Elton was a dear friend who had been sober for 40 years … We had [a] discussion, and he wanted me to get clean, sober.”
Johnny Depp texted a friend about ‘drowning’ and ‘burning’ Amber Heard
On Thursday, the jury heard further shocking texts written by Johnny Depp, having previously been shown messages in which he said he “hoped that Amber Heard’s rotting corpse is decomposing in the f**king trunk of a Honda Civic”.
This time, the messages were sent by Depp to his friend and British actor Paul Bettany in 2013, before he was married to Heard.
In one text, Depp wrote: “Let’s burn Amber!!!”
Questioning Depp, Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn asked him: “You see that?” Depp responded: “I do see that.”
“You didn’t stop,” Rottenborn continued. “The next text down says: ‘Let’s drown her before we burn her!!!'”
Rottenborn then added that he would “like to apologise to the court and the jury for some of the language I’m going to use”, before reading a third text: “I will f**k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead.”
He asked Depp: “You wrote that about the woman who would later become your wife?” He replied: “Yes.”
The trial continues.
