In court, Johnny Depp presents himself as a victim of domestic violence

Europe 1 with AFP 10:27 p.m., April 26, 2022, modified at 10:35 p.m., April 26, 2022

Actor Johnny Depp on Monday played down the cruelty of his messages insulting Amber Heard, his ex-wife, whom he has also accused of domestic violence, as part of the defamation lawsuit he is bringing against her.

"Yes, I was a victim of domestic violence"

"What did you say when Mrs. Heard said 'Tell the world Johnny! Tell them: I, Johnny Depp, am a victim of domestic violence?'" Asked Jessica Meyers, one of the actor's lawyers, after the broadcast of an audio message in which we hear the couple arguing.

"I answered that yes, I am", launched Johnny Depp, ending with these words his testimony which was spread over four days of hearing at the Fairfax court, near the American capital.

A sign of the toxicity of their marriage, the 58-year-old actor had previously explained that they had, each on their own, got into the habit of recording their altercations.

In another audio extract, presented this time by the lawyers of Amber Heard, we hear the 36-year-old actress accuse her husband of having "beaten her".

Johnny Depp has denied ever hitting Mrs. Heard or any other woman in his life.

Married from 2016 to 2018, the former spouses accuse each other of defamation during this trial, very followed and partly broadcast on American news channels.

"It's just irreverent humor"

Among the audio recordings produced by Amber Heard's lawyers, we hear Johnny Depp yelling "shut up big bunch" to the one who was then his wife.

In messages sent to friends in 2013, the actor wrote that he wanted to "burn Amber" and "closely kiss her burnt corpse, to make sure she was dead".

Johnny Depp downplayed the cruelty of these remarks by speaking of "misunderstanding".

"It's just irreverent, abstract humor," the Hollywood star explained.

"It's a reference to Monty Python," he added to justify himself.

The eighth day of hearing of the trial was the occasion of long skirmishes between lawyers.

Johnny Depp's legal team has widely disputed the relevance of private messages, exchanged between the actor and his relatives, which the defense tried to add as evidence in the file.

Johnny Depp claims to have "lost everything"

Among other incriminating evidence, Benjamin Rottenborn, who represents Amber Heard, presented the jury with various magazine press headlines that detailed the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star's alcohol abuse.

While the actress had already obtained, in 2016, an order which prohibited her ex-husband from approaching her within 100 meters, Mr. Rottenborn wanted to know why Johnny Depp had waited for the publication of the tribune signed by his ex-wife to file a complaint.

In a weary tone, the star replied that he was tired of seeing that "his relentlessness against him did not stop".

In the text, published in 2018 by the Washington Post, Amber Heard did not mention Johnny Depp by name, but she mentioned the accusations of domestic violence that she had brought against her husband in 2016. Last week the actor had assured to have " lost everything because of his ex-wife's abuse charges.