Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard arrive at London's High Court for legal showdown. Video / AP
Johnny Depp's former bodyguard has told the court Depp said Heard "cut [his] f***ing finger off" and stubbed a cigarette on his face during a fight.
Malcolm Connolly has worked for Depp and his family for around 16 years and said the actor was "in emotional distress and panicking" after his fingertip was severed on a trip to Australia, the Daily Mail reports.
The incident is one of several allegations of violent behaviour at the centre of Depp's libel claim against newspaper the Sun being heard at London's High Court.
Connolly said in a witness statement that when he and another security guard arrived at the property, Depp said: "Look at my finger. She's cut my f***ing finger off. She's smashed my hand with a vodka bottle."
After the incident, Connolly said the actor told him Heard put a cigarette out on his face and he saw the mark it left. It happened just a month after Heard and Depp married in Las Vegas in February 2015.
Connolly said Heard's account of what happened had "no resemblance" to his recollection and that she "did not have any marks on her face or arms" when he arrived at the house.
He said he arrived at around 1.30pm after receiving a call from Jerry Judge, the late head of Depp's security team, who said "Malcolm, get in the car, extract the boss from the situation".
Johnny Depp's former bodyguard claims Amber Heard cut off his finger. Photo / AP
"I opened the door, which wasn't locked, and saw Johnny in the foyer area of the house. He and Amber were screaming at each other.
"She was wearing a sort of green silk night thing, you might call it a slip. I shouted at Johnny words to the effect of 'Come with me, you are coming with me'.
"I then took his arm trying to move him out, but he broke away. I said again words to the effect of 'Johnny, come with me'. It wasn't easy but I did get him outside.
"I had the car door open and when we were outside Johnny said to me words to the effect of 'Look at my finger. She's cut my f***ing finger off. She's smashed my hand with a vodka bottle'. I saw his finger and it was a mess."
Depp says Heard "severed" his finger with a broken vodka bottle. Photo / AP
Connolly's statement continued: "Amber appeared at the door and then came close to the car, screaming and crying, calling out words along the lines of 'Are you just going to leave it like this, you f***ing coward?'
"Then she was saying 'I love you, I love you. Is this how you are going to end this?'. She was not making a lot of sense - one second she was begging Johnny not to leave the house and then she was screaming at him for running away.
"She was absolutely hysterical. I was worried that she might start throwing objects at Johnny, or at myself, as I had seen her throw objects before.
"For example, I had seen her lob a fork in Johnny's general direction once; another time I recall she threw a lighter at him, another time a can of coke. I knew that we needed to get out of there as soon as possible."
