Ellen Barkin testifies about Johnny Depp's 'controlling' and 'jealous' behavior in Amber Heard trial

Ellen Barkin testified about Johnny Depp's "controlling" and "jealous" behavior during week 5 of Depp's defamation trial against Amber Heard on Thursday.

In a pre-recorded deposition from November 2019, Barkin spoke about her friendship with Depp, which began in 1990. The two would later go on to star in the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas together. "We just developed a friendship over time that lasted maybe 10 years [or] a little less," the Sea of Love star testified. The friendship turned sexual after Barkin moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1994.

Barkin said she was "always aware" that Depp drank excessively during their friendship and sexual relationship, adding, "He was drunk a lot of the time." When asked if there was ever a time Depp was "out of control," she cited the time he allegedly threw a wine bottle across a hotel room during an argument with friends. The bottle was hurled in her direction but did not hit her or anyone else, she said.

Barkin said it "was very common" for Depp to be "controlling" and "jealous," allegations also put forth by Heard on the stand. Depp became angry and "demanding," she testified. "He's just a jealous man [and] controlling, [and would ask] 'Where are you going? Who are you going with? What did you do last night?" Barkin testified that she once had a scratch on her back, prompting Depp to get "very angry" and insistent that she was sleeping with someone else.

As for her relation to the case, Barkin previously testified on Heard's behalf in Depp's 2020 libel lawsuit against The Sun, wherein the actor sued the British newspaper over their use of the term "wife beater" in an article about Heard's abuse allegations. She testified that Depp was never physically abusive towards her, but said he was verbally abusive and had bouts of violence. Barkin also recounted the wine bottle incident. Depp called Barkin's characterization "untrue" in his testimony and said she held a "grudge" against him for not wanting to continue their relationship, per Reuters.

Barkin's deposition comes after Heard finished her time on the stand on Tuesday, doubling down on allegations that Depp physically and sexually assaulted her. She also maintained that her op-ed at the center of the trial is not about Depp, and only reflects her personal experiences after she became associated with domestic violence.

"I was talking about a bigger issue than Johnny," Heard said, adding that she wanted to show that "when powerful men, in general, do something horrible… there is a system in place to clean up after them." Heard said she wrote the op-ed in the context of a "larger phenomenon" amid the #MeToo movement.

Other witnesses called so far include Heard's former makeup artist Melanie Inglessis, who testified that she witnessed visible bruises and a split lip on Heard before her 2016 James Corden appearance, and Heard's sister Whitney Henriquez, who testified that she witnessed Depp grab Heard by the hair and hit her face "repeatedly" during a fight. Heard's legal team is expected to call Depp back on the stand this week.

Related content:

• How actress Ellen Barkin is connected to Johnny Depp's defamation trial against Amber Heard
• Johnny Depp to return to the stand next week, along with Amber Heard, her sister, and actress Ellen Barkin
• Amber Heard's team to call Johnny Depp back on stand: Experts weigh in on how it might impact the case