Johnny Depp v Amber Heard: Depp 'passed out' in front of his children

Actor Johnny Depp in the courtroom. Photo / Steve Helber, Pool, AP

In the latest developments of Johnny Depp's defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, the movie star has been accused of passing out on a beach in front of his children.

Tara Roberts who has managed Depp's Bahamas property for the past 15 years - earning an astounding US$10,000 a month - has been called to the stand to testify about the embarrassing incident which occurred in 2013.

The NY Post has reported Heard's lawyer, Elanie Bredehoft, asked Roberts during cross-examination, "Do you recall Mr Depp passing out in the sand face first?"

Roberts answered, "I recall he was passed out on the beach."

Bredehoft then asked, "Do you have a recollection of Jack being present when Mr Depp was passed out face first in the sand?"

Roberts responded that the star's son was present.

Heard's lawyer was referring to Jack Depp, the star's son who was 11 at the time. Bredehoft also stated that the star's oldest child Lily-Rose Depp and Heard were also present at the incident.

The latest cross-examination reveals Lily-Rose Depp was "upset" about her father's drinking habits. Photo / Getty Images

Bredehoft went on to ask if Depp's estate manager remembers the actor's daughter being "upset because her father was drinking and he was trying to hide it from her".

Depp's lawyers quickly objected to the question preventing Roberts from answering.

The estate manager then recalled a fight she witnessed where Heard clawed at Depp. Roberts said she was "viciously trying to pull him back in the house".

"I was between them … I was getting worried about what was going to happen, and felt it best that I remove him from the situation."

She said after she saw Heard "clawing, grabbing at his clothes, grabbing at his hair" Roberts saw Depp with a "marking across the bridge of his nose" but later admitted she doesn't know how Depp got the mark.

Bredehoft also hinted during the cross-examination that the estate manager had become "quite wealthy" from her yearly six-figure salary.

Heard's team of lawyers have tried to discredit Depp's witnesses many times throughout the trial on the basis that they are financial beneficiaries of the actor and therefore have a stake in his success and repeatedly raised the issue of the actor's drug and alcohol abuse.

New facts have been presented to the court in the explosive defamation trial. Photo / AP

Depp brought the current defamation suit against his ex-wife after Heard wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in 2018 in which she alleged she had been a victim of domestic abuse.

While Depp was not named in the op-ed, the actor's lawyers said it was a clear reference to accusations Heard made when she sought a restraining order against him in 2016.

Depp has claimed the accusations and the article made him a Hollywood outcast, costing him his role in the lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

The trial, currently taking place in Virginia, has recounted various dramas which are alleged to have taken place throughout their tumultuous marriage including domestic abuse, explosive text messages, sexual abuse claims and drug and alcohol abuse.

The trial is expected to last for several weeks.