Johnny Depp Denies Amber Heard's Abuse Allegations In Court: I've Never 'Struck Any Woman'

Johnny Depp vehemently denied Amber Heard's abuse allegations when he testified Tuesday in his defamation case against his ex-wife.

The 58-year-old actor took the stand at the ongoing trial in a Fairfax, Virginia, court Tuesday. In his three-hour testimony, Depp addressed Heard's domestic abuse allegations, the former couple's relationship and his history of substance abuse.

The Oscar-nominated actor recalled being in "complete shock" when Heard, 35, accused him of domestic abuse. Depp claimed that the escalated scenarios presented by Heard's camp "were not based in any species of truth."

"Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," Depp said under oath, as quoted by People. "Since I knew there was no truth to it whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but stand up for my children, who at the time were 14 and 16."

Depp shares two children with ex Vanessa Paradis — Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 20.

The Golden Globe winner clarified that he sued Heard because he hopes to "clear the record" of the allegations made against him. "My goal is the truth," Depp said, adding that "it killed me" to have his reputation tarnished and have people in his life "think that I was a fraud and had lied to them."

"It's been six years of trying times," he continued. "It's pretty strange when one day you're Cinderella, so to speak, then 0.6 seconds you're Quasimodo. I didn't deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who have believed in me for all these years. I didn't want any of those people to believe that I had done them wrong or lied to them or that I was a fraud. I pride myself on honesty."

Depp added, "Truth is the only thing I'm interested in."

Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in which she claimed to have survived domestic abuse. She never mentioned Depp by name in the article, but he argued that it painted him as the abuser.

Depp claimed that the fabricated allegations of domestic violence ruined his career. Disney dropped Depp from his leading role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise four days after Heard's op-ed ran, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Heard had been unsuccessful in her attempts to get Depp's lawsuit dismissed. She filed a $100 million defamation countersuit against the actor in 2020, which is ongoing.

Depp will continue his testimony Wednesday. Heard's legal team is expected to cross-examine him by then.