As Amber Heard and Johnny Depp both respond to the recently leaked audio recording of Heard allegedly abusing Depp through their respective legal teams, a second audio conversation has been leaked wherein Heard can be heard mocking Depp for being a male victim of domestic assault.
Following the initial leak, both parties provided statements through their lawyers to the USA TODAY. Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, told the news outlet that the audio “reveals a conversation any real abuse victim will recognize all too well.”
“The first confessional tape she made reveals a conversation any real abuse victim will recognize all too well. It exposes that Ms. Heard perpetrated serial violence against Mr. Depp, and then concocted an elaborate abuse hoax to cover it up. Ms. Heard gives a motive for her violence: Mr. Depp was always trying to ‘split’ to escape her abuse.”
Roberta Kaplan, the head of Heard’s legal team, did not discuss the leaked recordings or the allegations of abuse but stated that “the fact that a woman fights or talks back does not mean that she has not been the subject of repeated domestic violence and abuse.”
“The fact that a woman fights or talks back does not mean that she has not been the subject of repeated domestic violence and abuse. It’s a myth to say, as Mr. Depp apparently is implying, that if Ms. Heard slapped him, then she can’t also be a victim. That is just not true.”
Following these responses, The Daily Mail released a second, exclusive audio recording, along with a transcript, featuring further conversations between Heard and Depp.
Throughout the 30-minute audio clip, the couple appear to argue about the situation surrounding their then-impending divorce, with Heard concerned about “being called a liar and a gold-digger.”
“JOHNNY DEPP: But I’m telling you now, if I file, if they file the f**king papers tomorrow, which means the s**t I’ve got to file before we go to court on Friday, if they file those papers, first of all, it’s very bad for both of us.
AMBER HEARD: Well, your people are not going to file anything that’s bad for you, trust me.
JD: No, no what you’re saying, you’ve got to do something to protect yourself which means throwing me under the bus for the, some video about me beating you?
AH: Not me. I have to respond. I mean I’ll have to go and pursue, no I’ll pursue the whole course of action, because here’s what you don’t understand. If, if we do this, and basically will know. I called my lawyers and I said why aren’t we negotiating now, what’s going on, where are we, and they’re like everything’s under court.
JD: No, they won’t settle. Your agents won’t settle. Your lawyers won’t settle baby. I’m telling you.
AH: We want to mediate. We even have a mediator, found a mediator and everything. But that was all worked out. But the thing that Laura [Wasser, Depp’s attorney] wouldn’t agree to, she did not want to agree to a mutual gag order. That’s the problem, she doesn’t want the gag order, why Johnny? Why? Why wouldn’t she? Why wouldn’t she want both parties not to talk about this in the press?
AH: I just want you to know. I’m not doing anything and have not been doing any move. Look it up, the timeline. Nothing was on the offense. Everything has been a defensive move because I’m being called a liar and a gold-digger. And I am not lying about any of this s**t, and I am not after a dime of your money.”
A frustrated Depp then asks if Heard really wants “to go to court with this,” offering Heard “an opportunity for us to make this finish in peace” by proposing the two “write a mutual letter that says look, in lieu of what’s transpiring out there in the world with all this f**king crazy s**t, we have decided to take this private.”
“JD: It’s hurting You. It’s hurting You. And it’s hurting me. But the worst f**king thing is (unintelligible). Do you want to go to court Amber? Seriously? Do you want to go to court with this? I’m offering you an opportunity for us to make this finish in peace. Peaceful, man. We walk away. You go do what you gotta do, I go do what I gotta do. I, I, I’ve been through the f**ing hurt. You’ve been through the f**king hurt. I love you more than anything in life. I do not want to go into a f**king court with you. I do not want to f**king tarnish your name. I do not want to f**king tarnish. I don’t want nothing. I want this to be done peacefully, between us. And if you don’t like the way that mediation is going, take me back to court kid. Cause I can’t. This is the last f**king chance Amber. This is it. Once I file those papers we don’t turn around man. I know you hate me, and I know you whatever, I’m telling you now, there’s no call, it doesn’t need to happen like this. Please, for f**ks sake trust me man.
JD: Continuing through court is going to end up nothing but bad for you, and for me. It’s just going to be bad. In any case, no matter whether we ruin each other or not, it’s going to be f**king heartbreaking, it’s terrible. Let’s write a mutual letter that says look, in lieu of what’s transpiring out there in the world with all this f**king crazy s**t, we have decided to take this private. We’re not going to go to court, right now, over this. We are going to try to work something out, together. And then at least, at the very f**king least. I know you want to respond, and I know you want to defend yourself. Listen to me. Defending yourself by throwing someone under the bus is not going to look good.”
Heard responds by stating that “it would not be about me throwing you under the bus” before proceeding to detail how she would release numerous forms of evidence proving Depp’s alleged abusive behavior, claiming that a pair of attorneys told her that she had “the most solid evidence, case of domestic violence case we’ve ever seen.”
“AH: I’m not. It’s not about that. It would not be about me throwing you under the bus. You know what it would be? It would be released through documented people, coming on the record, and, having the protection to do so, that haven’t had yet. It would be eyewitness statements. It would be evidence. Tons of it. And it would be through years. And it would be unbelievable. Unbelievable, um, to imagine that either I’m (a) in a secret fight club, or (b) I’ve had um…
JD: A secret what?
AH: A secret fight club. Or that I have been plotting to do this for three years, and, while taking pictures of it, and documenting it, just saving it up for the right time when I’m not asking for any money and have nothing financial to gain from it. But no one is going to believe that. No one is going to believe that one of the two alternatives, that I’m in a fight club or I’ve been getting, going through hair and makeup or going through makeup through all these years where I have corroborating text messages between people that match those dates of those time stamped validated photos of either corroboration between people hearing us.
AH: All of that won’t be me throwing you under the bus, that will be evidence, in the case. Which I will have to, it will be criminal as well, because I cannot go on Friday and file without filing a police statement first. And the only reason I haven’t filed a police statement, which has been used against me by the way, every day, and the only reason I won’t do it, haven’t done it, is because I don’t want to hurt you and that means it goes out of my hands and every, we had a third party guy, a third party prosecutor come and a criminal lawyer come, and they went, the problem is hearing from you like your biggest struggle, this is just, is that it is the most solid evidence, case of domestic violence case we’ve ever seen. And if you get this over to them or any part of it they will prosecute him. And I felt like, I would never want that. For you. Because I don’t even, it’s hard for me, I don’t even call myself, like, in my head it’s hard for me to even accept any sort of victimdom, ever. And I don’t want to hurt you.”
Depp then reaffirms to Heard that he loves her and tells her that he believes “it’s a mistake to go to court,” whilst Heard is concerned with “how to get my reputation back.”
“JD: I understand. I understand. And I don’t want to hurt you either. I’m only going to say this. I love you. I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I know that, look, you do whatever you feel you have to do. I’m telling you now it’s a mistake to go to court. If you want to go to court, we’ll go to court. I would rather take care of it in a different way, I think it would be very good for you, and it would be very good for me. But you know what?
AH: I’ve been called a liar.
JD: Baby, you know what?
AH: And I’ve been called a golddigger.
JD: Baby. Baby. Amber, I didn’t call you those things. I didn’t call you those things.
JD: It’s been going on too long Amber and we’ve got to stop this. It’s got to stop it.
AH: I don’t know how to get my reputation back.”
The writing of a letter which would inform the public that the matter would be resolved privately is once again proposed by Depp, as Heard focuses on how “every ounce of my credibility has been taken from” her.
“JD: We write a letter together. Saying that we are going to take this out of the public eye. Saying that we are going to try and work this out on our own. Saying that the media has created such a f**king hateful storm that it’s sickening. That we love each other. And that we want to make sure each other’s OK. Have we had fights in the past, have we had this or whatever, f**k it, whatever, they already know all that s**t, it don’t matter. Here’s the deal.
AH: Oh, it matters. I have been, I have been, you have no idea, every ounce of my credibility has been taken from. And done so in a dishonest way. You know.”
The discussion then moves to the incident where Heard threw a champagne bottle at Depp, resulting in severe damage to his finger. Heard claims that she was “forced” to publicly accuse Depp of abuse, and when Depp brings up his previously damaged digit, Heard mocks Depp for being a male victim of abuse, claiming that no one would believe “it was a fair fight” and taunting him to “Tell the world Johnny, tell them Johnny Depp, I Johnny Depp, a man, I’m a victim too of domestic violence.”
“JD: Amber, the abuse, the abuse thing is, is we’ve got to deal with that, yeah. We’ve got to deal with that Amber.
AH: We don’t have any way of, my credit, It’s my credibility.
JD: Then why did you put that out there?
AH: I did not. You forced me, your team, forced me to by going on the offense.
AH: Well I’m sorry. I’m sorry because the last time it got crazy between us I really did think I was gonna lose my life. And I thought you would do it on accident. And I told you that. I said oh my god, I thought the first time.
JD: Amber, I lost a f**king finger man, c’mon. I had a f**king, I had a f**king mineral can, a jar, a can of mineral spirits thrown at my nose.
AH: You can please tell people that it was a fair fight, and see what the jury and judge thinks. Tell the world Johnny, tell them Johnny Depp, I Johnny Depp, a man, I’m a victim too of domestic violence.
JD: Yes.
AH: And I, you know, it’s a fair fight. And see how many people believe or side with you.
JD: It doesn’t matter, fair fight my a**.”
Heard then states no one would believe him because he is “bigger” and “stronger” than her before stating that she never sees herself as a “victim.”
“AH: That’s exactly. Because your big, you’re bigger and you’re stronger. And so when I say that I thought that you could kill me, that doesn’t mean you counter with you also lost your own finger. I, I’m not trying to attack you here, I’m just trying to point out the fact of why I said call 911. Because I was, you had your hands on me after you threw a phone at my face. And it’s got crazy in the past, and I truly thought I need to stop this madness before I get hurt.
JD: Oh my god.
AH: And I never think about myself that way. I never defend myself that way. I never see myself as a victim.”
Depp makes reference to another incident where his building manager Travis had to “to come up and f**king pull me away from you” to protect Depp from Heard, before directly asking Heard whether she truly believes that he is “an abuser,” to which she responds with a clear “yes.”
“JD: There’s also Travis coming to get me, there’s Travis having to come up and f**king pull me away from you.
JD: You’re going to have to do this under oath too you know.
AH: I will because the unfortunate part is I can talk about all of this.
JD: Do you believe all this Amber? Do you believe all this?
AH: Yes, the f**k, yes, yes.
JD: You believe I’m an abuser?
AH Yes.
JD: You believe I’m an abuser?
AH: In May, In December, in, in April”
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He then asks her if she believes that she herself is an abuser, to which Heard denies the label on the grounds that she is a “almost 115lb woman” who has “never been able to overpower you” and reminds Depp that “jury and there’s a judge will see that there’s a very big difference between me and you”:
“JD: Do you believe you’re an abuser?
AH: No.
JD: Do you believe you abused me physically?
AH: Do I physically believe, I mean do I believe I physically abused you?
JD: Yes?
AH: Do you know I’m a 115, well not anymore, but I was a 115lb almost 115lb woman and you have the capacity…
JD: That’s not the question. That’s not the question.
AH: Have I ever been able to knock you off of your feet? Or knock you off balance?
JD: You started. You started these things.
AH: You’re going to get up on the stand, Johnny, and say, ‘she started it’? Really? I have never been able to overpower you that’s the difference between me and you.
JD: Why did you try?
AH: And that’s a difference, that’s a whole world, and there’s a jury and there’s a judge will see that there’s a very big difference between me and you.”
Depp then tells Heard that she is “f***ing killing me” and laments how “my boy goes to school and has kids go ‘so your f**king dad’s a wifebeater’?” Heard claims that she and her family had been receiving “death threats” due to Depp’s legal protective actions.
“JD: You cannot automatically, you cannot think that it’s just my side. You are f**king killing me. Your f**king people are trying to kill me. You’ve turned me into a, my boy has to go to school, my boy goes to school and has kids go ‘so your f**king dad’s a wifebeater’? You don’t think about that Amber.
AH: You don’t think also my family, and all the death threats? Me and every single person in my immediate circle of friends and family is getting also matters? And you don’t think I, you don’t think I?
JD: Death threats?!!
AH: Your people put this out. Why, why, why, why did your security go on the record and lie? Why, that’s a proactive measure. Why did your divorce attorney get to file for divorce period? At all? Second, why did she have to go and leak to TMZ? Why if you wanted it private, is TMZ being fed information literally by Laura Wasser and Marty Singer every step of the way? My, my my my arrest records. Who put that in the media? The rumors that I was a stripper? Or, of course I can expect that. I’ve known every step of the way, every single step of the way everything you give ’em.”
The recording concludes with Depp telling Heard he will “see you in court” and that he had ultimately fallen in love with a false version of her, stating “I loved you for so many f**king years but you know what? You didn’t exist. You don’t exist. You’re not there.”
“AH: Thank you.
JD: This is not, no, this is me. This is me saying I tried. And thank you. And I will see you in f**king court. You don’t want to make f**king nice nice? I’m trying. I’m trying. But you know what? You, I loved you for so many f**king years but you know what? You didn’t exist. You don’t exist. You’re not there. You’re not there. You are a f**king made up thing in my head. And I can’t believe you are doing this to me.”
As of writing, none of the involved parties have responded to the leaked recordings.