Johnny Depp’s Assistant Says Amber Heard Texts About Alleged Assault Were ‘Heavily Doctored’

Anyone expecting the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard drama to wrap up quickly will be sorely disappointed. Less than two weeks after Heard surprised the public by filing for divorce f-rom her movie-star husband of 15 months, the situation is murkier than ever. 

On Wednesday, text messages published by Entertainment Tonight between Heard and Depp’s assistant, Stephen Deuters, appeared to confirm the claims Heard made in legal documents that Depp had been physically abusive throughout their relationship. 

“He’s incredibly apologetic and knows that he has done wrong,” Deuters allegedly wrote in a May 2014 message to Heard. “He wants to get better now. He’s been very explicit about that this morning. Feel like we’re at a critical juncture.” 

Heard then replied, “Yes, but I don’t know how to be around him after what he did to me yesterday. I don’t know if I can stay with him.” 

The Magic Mike XXL actress also referred to several previous incidents in which she claims she was abused. 

However, Deuters told TMZ on Thursday that the text messages were heavily doctored and that Depp has never been violent toward his estranged wife or anyone else. The website didn’t include any direct quotes f-rom Deuters but reported he “will testify under oath he never had a conversation about alleged violence with Amber.” 

Heard last week gave a statement to the Los Angeles Police Department about her allegations that Depp hit her, pulled her hair, and threw his phone at her face on a night last month in which police were called. “No evidence of a crime” was found, according to officials. 

Then, after showing photographs of bruises on her face, allegedly inflicted by Depp, Heard was granted a temporary restraining order as part of the divorce proceedings.  

Related: Johnny Depp’s Divorce F-rom Amber Heard Could Cost Him Big

His team issued a statement about the split: “Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation, and lies about his personal life. Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.” 

Depp’s former partner of 14 years and the mother of his two teenage children, Vanessa Paradis, reportedly came to his defense with a letter posted on TMZ.  

“In all the years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive with me, and this looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years,” Paradis wrote. 

Meanwhile, both sides insist that the bottom line is about money — the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement — and Depp is much wealthier than Heard. 

Related: Amber Heard’s Monthly Expenses Revealed in Court Docs Amid Johnny Depp Divorce Dispute

But Depp is apparently not putting his life on hold.

People reported Thursday that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was out until 4 a.m. the previous night following a concert by his band, the Hollywood Vampires, in Denmark. 

“[Johnny] spent the night drinking with the bar staff and the local customers until 4 a.m.,” a source told the magazine. “He was in a good mood, and they all had a big Danish party.”