Amber Heard Recorded Johnny Depp ‘Freaking Out’ on Private Plane After Accusing Her of Affair

Actress Amber Heard recorded her husband Johnny Depp "freaking out" on a private plane ride from Boston to Los Angeles in 2014 after accusing her of having an affair with actor James Franco, the High Court in London has heard.

Depp is suing News Group Newspapers - owned by Rupert Murdoch - and Executive Editor Dan Wootton over an article which claimed the actor was violent and abusive to Ms Heard.

​In court on Thursday, 9 July, Sasha Wass QC, counsel for The Sun newspaper, asked Depp about an incident on his private island in the Bahamas in 2014 when Ms Heard claims she was trying to break his addiction to the opioid Roxicodone.

He admitted he was "flipping'' and "screaming" but denied lashing out.

​Depp told Miss Wass: "I remember that I was in a great deal of pain and uncontrollable spasms and such...So flipping could be a word that was correct. I was not in good shape. It was the lowest point I believe I've ever been in in my life.''

But he accused her of telling "porkie pies'' - cockney rhyming slang for lies - about his behavior and he denied he could have hit her and forgotten it.

Miss Wass said: "There were times when you don't remember the conduct you were responsible for. You blacked out."

​"There were blackouts, sure, but in any blackout there are snippets of memory,'' Depp said.

Miss Wass read out text messages Depp sent to Ms Heard's mother Paige, in which he praised Amber's "heroism" in "taking care of this old junkie" and added: "It was Amber and Amber only who got me through it."

Depp had also sent a text to Ms Heard saying: "Thank you so much for getting me f***ing clean baby."

Asked about the text message, he said in court he did it "to make her happy."

On Wednesday, 8 July, Miss Wass had asked Depp about an incident on a Boston to Los Angeles plane during which Ms Heard claimed he slapped her and kicked her in the back.

​Depp - who is most famous for his appearances as Captain Jack Sparrow in the five Pirates of the Caribbean films - denied assaulting Ms Heard or being out of control during the flight.

Ms Wass then read out a text message Depp had sent to his friend, actor Paul Bettany, in which Depp said he had taken “powders...half a bottle of whiskey. A thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of champers [champagne] on plane” and this had resulted in “blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting anyone who got near.''

Depp, 57, replied: "I may have done things that I have no memory of (but) I am certainly not a violent person, especially with women.''

​An audio clip of Depp making strange howling noises was played to the High Court in London on Wednesday, 8 July.

The plane "freakout" is one of 14 alleged incidents in which Ms Heard claims Depp was violent towards her between 2013 and 2016.

In her witness statement Ms Heard said she often covertly recorded conversations "to remind Johnny of what he would do when using drugs and alcohol because he wouldn't remember, or deny what he had said."

Depp is suing News Group Newspapers - owned by Rupert Murdoch - and Executive Editor Dan Wootton over an article which claimed the actor was violent and abusive to his film star wife Amber Heard.

​Depp has always denied the allegations, which were made during the couple’s 2016 divorce.

He is expected to conclude his evidence on Thursday, 9 July.

The trial, which was postponed from March because of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to last three weeks and Depp’s former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder are due to testify on his behalf.