Johnny Depp jokes he gave Marilyn Manson drugs so he'd 'stop talking so much' in Amber Heard defamation trial

Johnny Depp had the courtroom in laughter as he fielded questions about his drug and alcohol use with Marilyn Manson during his defamation trial against Amber Heard in Fairfax County, Va., on Thursday.

When Heard's lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, inquired about the actor's recreational substance use with the embattled musician during the actor's cross-examination, Depp said, "Yes, we drank together and we've had cocaine together maybe a couple of times."

Rottenborn replied, "Pills, right, with Marilyn Manson?"

Depp responded, "Um, I once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so that he would stop talking so much." Some spectators at the trial began to chuckle after his remark.

Text exchanges between Depp and Manson from September 2012 were also presented as Rottenborn attempted to paint a portrait of the actor's heavy drug and alcohol use.

"I use marijuana… a lot!!!" one text message from Depp read. "The pill and the plant stuff keep me calm and detached."

Rottenborn also cited substances that Depp and former costar and friend Paul Bettany have taken together, including cocaine. Photos of four large bags of marijuana were also shared.

However, Depp pushed back on claims that he abused drugs and alcohol, at one point testifying, "I wasn't drinking that heavily. It's what you define as 'heavily.'"

Rottenborn then cited Depp's testimony in his failed 2020 libel lawsuit against British newspaper The Sun over characterization of him as a "wife beater" in response to Heard's abuse allegations, reading aloud Depp's previous remark "I was abusing alcohol, for sure."

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed chronicling her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. Though Heard never mentioned Depp by name in the piece, his lawyers maintained the references to him and her public abuse allegations were clear, claiming that the op-ed damaged his career and reputation.

Heard filed for divorce from Depp after a year of marriage in 2016, obtaining a domestic violence restraining order against the actor and accusing him of physically and verbally abusing her during "violent and volatile" episodes while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Depp has called the allegations "heinous and disturbing" and "not based in any species of truth."

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