A psychiatrist has testified in court that Johnny Depp's behavior is consistent with that of someone who "perpetrates intimate partner violence."
The Pirates of the Caribbean star is heading into the final week of a $50 million defamation trial, in which he is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse" in an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post back in 2018. Heard never mentioned Depp by name in the article.
However, According to 58-year-old Depp, he was the real victim of their turbulent marriage, and the article - which he says wrecked his reputation and his career - was untrue.
Heard, meanwhile, has doubled down on her allegations and countersued for $100 million.
There has been no shortage of emotional testimonies and headline-making accusations over the course of the high-profile trial, which started last month in Fairfax, Virginia.
Among the details that have emerged are tumultuous stories of Depp's battles with substance abuse, which Heard claims was a catalyst for his abusive behavior.
Depp testifies about his struggles with substance abuse:On Monday, as the trial entered its final throes, Heard's attorneys called Dr. David Spiegel - a board-certified psychiatrist based in Virginia - to the witness stand to give his expert opinion on the case.
Prompted by questions from Elaine Bredehoft (one of Heard's lawyers), the doctor told the court that in his opinion and based on his experience: "Mr Depp has behaviors that are consistent with someone that both has substance use disorder as well as behaviors of someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence."
Dr. Spiegel did acknowledge that he never interviewed Depp directly. Rather, Dr. Spiegel drew conclusions from reviewing the actor's depositions and other materials in the case.
Dr. Spiegel then explained how he believed substance abuse had caused damage to Depp's memory, referring to a test where his former therapies asked him to remember three words and repeat them five minutes later.
"Mr. Depp was unable to recall any of them and that's very unusual for a 50-ish-year-old male," the doctor said, adding: "Generally speaking that age group should be remembering two or all three of those words."
Referencing Depp requiring an earpiece to be fed lines in movies, Dr. Spiegel then claimed the actor filmed a movie "entirely wasted", per The Independent.
The psychiatrist then said that he believes Depp's "thinking rate" has decreased, along with impairment of his memory and attention.
Dr. Spiegel said that drugs and alcohol "will make us disinhibited and will make us act out, in a lot of different ways" - including "intimate partner violence".
He added: "We all get angry with people... But when our brain is functioning well, we don’t act it out."
Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for this Friday, May 27.