Taking the stand on April 20, 2022, Depp recalled the incident that took place after Heard’s 30th birthday party in April 2016. Depp and Heard had got into a fight, so he left their Los Angeles penthouse. He returned to retrieve some of his items from the property when she and her friends were at the Coachella music festival—but says that before he could go inside, one of his security guards, Sean Bett, stopped him from entering. “I had received some news. I was shown a picture of what the problem was,” Depp said. “I had gone to Mr. Bett and said, ‘She’s at Coachella. I think it’s a good time to go downtown so that I can get some of my things and get them out of there,’ especially things that were precious to me … and he said, ‘I don’t think now’s a good time to go.’ And I thought, ‘It’s the perfect time. She’s not going to be home for two days.’” Then the kicker, according to Depp: “He showed me a photograph on his telephone of … it was a photograph of our bed, and on my side of the bed, was human fecal matter.” He continued, “I understood why it wasn’t a good time to go down there. My initial response to that was, I mean… I laughed. It was so outside. It was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh. So I did not go down there that day.” Depp claimed that Heard tried to blame the mess on their dogs, but says that he didn’t buy the story. “They’re teacup Yorkies,” he said of the pint-sized pooches named Pistol and Boo. “They weigh about four pounds each. The photograph that I saw—I lived with those dogs for many years. It was not the dogs … I didn’t feel like I deserved that kind of treatment.” Heard’s legal team previously denied the allegations, saying Depp and his team fabricated the accusation to humiliate her. Videos of Depp on the stand went viral, and hashtags including “#AmberTurd” and “#MePoo” began trending. Depp previously admitted to referring to his now-ex-wife as “Amber Turd” after the incident, noting that it could possibly have also been one of Heard’s friends behind what he called a “prank” at the time. The spectacle surrounding the feces incident largely overshadowed other serious claims during the trial, including allegations of domestic violence and drug abuse, as well as the entire reason the exes are in court. Depp is suing Heard for defamation to the tune of $50 million, alleging that her 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, in which she describes being an outspoken survivor of sexual violence without ever naming her ex-husband, effectively killed his career and public image. Heard, meanwhile, is countersuing for $100 million, also for defamation, citing claims from Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman calling her abuse allegations a “hoax” to capitalize on the #MeToo movement. Heard first accused Depp of domestic violence in May 2016 when she filed for divorce after a little over a year of marriage. The #MeToo movement didn’t gain steam in the public consciousness until after November 2017. Depp has steadfastly and vehemently denied all allegations of abuse against Heard and, in turn, accused her of domestic violence as well. Next, find out about Johnny Depp’s music career.
