Amber Heard was ‘repeatedly’ told it would be illegal for her to take her two dogs to Australia but did so anyway, a former employee of Johnny Depp claimed today.
Kevin Murphy, who worked for Depp for nearly eight years, said Heard ‘demanded’ he make a false statement about the animals being ‘smuggled’ into the country.
He also claimed in a written witness statement submitted as part of Depp’s libel case against News Group Newspapers (NGN) that Heard asked him to contact her former assistant, Kate James, and ask her to ‘lie under oath’ to an Australian court.
Mr Murphy said Heard threatened him that his job was under threat if he did not make a statement exonerating her of blame for taking the dogs to Australia in May 2015 and putting it down to errors committed by him and Ms James.
In October 2015, Heard faced criminal proceedings in Australia for taking the couple’s two Yorkshire Terriers, Pistol and Boo, into the country illegally. Heard and Depp recorded a now infamous video in 2016 apologising for doing so.
A photograph of Amber Heard’s pet Yorkshire Terriers Pistol and Boo, which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing of Johnny Depp’s libel case against the publishers of The Sun
Mr Murphy, who worked as an estate manager for the Hollywood actor until 2016, claimed that on October 11 and 12, 2015, Ms Heard asked him to contact Ms James and ‘ask Ms James to lie under oath to the Australian court prosecuting Ms Heard’.
He said: ‘Specifically, Ms Heard wanted Ms James to give a false statement that Ms Heard was unaware that it would be illegal for her to bring her dogs into Australia.
‘Ms Heard was aware that this was illegal, because I had informed her repeatedly by email, telephone and in person.’
Mr Murphy alleged he had told Ms Heard he was ‘uncomfortable’ with giving a false statement to the court and that ‘he would not ask Ms James to do so’.
In his written statement, Mr Murphy also said that shortly after this, Ms Heard ‘demanded verbally that I myself make a false witness statement regarding the dogs’ illegal entrance into Australia’.
In 2016, Heard and Depp recorded a video apologising for taking their Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo into Australia illegally
He said: ‘I expressed that I was extremely uncomfortable with doing so, to which Ms Heard responded with words to the effect of: ‘Well I want your help on this … I wouldn’t want you to have a problem with your job’.
‘Ms Heard’s threatening language made me feel anxious and uneasy.
‘As stated above, I had instructed Ms Heard on a number of occasions by email, telephone and in person that she could not take the dogs to Australia because the relevant paperwork and permits were not complete and the required ten-day quarantine arrangements had not been put in place.’
Mr Murphy claimed he told Ms Heard the penalties for taking animals into Australia without following the correct procedures ‘could be severe’.
In a second witness statement, Mr Murphy said he was ‘shocked’ to learn that Ms Heard had taken the dogs to Australia, ‘despite our discussions and my warnings of severe legal ramifications’.
Johnny Depp (left, outside the High Court this morning) is suing The Sun’s publisher over an article which alleged he was violent towards Amber Heard (right, at the court also today)
He alleged that he co-operated with Ms Heard’s request to provide her with a statement supporting her account for the Australian authorities, saying: ‘I felt extreme pressure to co-operate, despite knowing this would involve being untruthful.’
Mr Murphy said that on October 13, 2015, he signed a declaration on the circumstances in which the dogs were taken into Australia, claiming this was prepared by Ms Heard’s US lawyer.
‘That declaration contained statements that were not entirely truthful,’ he said.
Mr Murphy said in his written statement that in May 2016, after Ms Heard filed for divorce from Mr Depp, he sought legal advice over the declaration and retracting it.
‘I felt I could take this step at this time because Ms Heard no longer had control or influence over my job,’ he said. ‘This was my attempt to right a wrong.’
Heard and Depp at Southport Magistrates’ Court in Australia in April 2016. Heard received a $1,000 fine and a one-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to one count of falsifying border protection documents when entering the country with the dogs
Heard took the dogs to Australia when she went to visit Depp, who was filming Pirates of the Caribbean at the time.
Giving evidence via video link from Chicago, Mr Murphy said that he also lied because he did not want to oppose Heard.
Mr Murphy told the court: ‘Amber wielded a lot of power. She could have made my life miserable by saying negative things to Johnny about me.
‘If you could imagine what someone in power over you could do to you, I think you would understand.’
After news of the dogs being in Australia became public, Depp and Heard were given 72 hours to send Pistol and Boo back to the US, with officials warning that the dogs would otherwise be euthanised.
In April 2016 in an Australian court, Heard received a $1,000 fine and a one-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to one count of falsifying border protection documents when entering the country with the dogs.
Depp and Heard were given 72 hours to send Pistol and Boo (file picture) back to the US, with officials warning that the dogs would otherwise be euthanised
Australian prosecutors dropped more serious charges of illegal animal importation which could have resulted in Heard being imprisoned for 10 years.
Heard and Depp then recorded a now infamous video apologising for their actions.
Mr Murphy alleged that when Heard asked him to provide a false statement she told him: ‘Well I want your help on this…I wouldn’t want you to have a problem with your job.’
Mr Murphy told the court that travelling with the dogs was always something that Heard wanted and not Depp.
He added: ‘Johnny never wanted the dogs to travel, it was only Amber who wanted to the dogs to travel.’
Ms Wass told the court that the dogs were as much Depp’s responsibility as Heard’s but that she was being blamed for what has been dubbed the dog episode to ‘discredit her.’