Johnny Depp is suing a British tabloid for libel. Photo / AP
Johnny Depp is suing a British tabloid for libel. Photo / AP
Audio recordings said to feature Johnny Depp's ex-wife talking about her hitting him are to feature in a high-profile trial.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star is suing British tabloid newspaper The Sun for libel over an article claiming he was violent and abusive to film actress Amber Heard andreferring to him as a "wife-beater".
His lawyer David Sherborne told a pre-trial hearing that the audio includes Heard, 33, talking about her being violent to Depp.
It "demonstrates in her own voice that she was not a victim... rather that she was the aggressor". At one point she says no one would believe Depp if he claimed to be a victim of domestic violence, the lawyer told the court.
Justice Nicol ordered Depp, 55, to hand over the recordings but refused an application from The Sun's publishers for the disclosure of texts Depp sent to a friend, British actor Paul Bettany.
Johnny Depp, centre, leaves the High Court in London, after attending a preliminary hearing in his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton. Photo / AP
Lawyers for the paper said these were "very damaging" to Depp and included him saying: "Let's burn Amber."
The trial, set to last 10 days, is due to start in the High Court in London on March 23. The publisher aims to prove the article was true and that Depp "beat his wife Amber Heard".
