Doctor Claims Johnny Depp's Behaviour Is Consistent With A Perpetrator Of Intimate Partner Violence

A doctor has claimed that Johnny Depp's behaviour is consistent with 'substance use disorder' and a 'perpetrator of intimate partner violence'.

The defamation trial continued on Monday, 23 May, at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia, with Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft directing questions to their witness Dr. David Spiegel, a psychiatrist and physician, about Depp.

Bredehoft asked Dr. Spiegel to summarise his opinions for the jury. He claimed – based on the evidence, his clinical experience and his publishing and teaching experiences – that Depp, 58, has 'behaviours that are consistent with someone that both has substance use disorder as well as behaviours of someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence'.

Intimate partner violence, or IPV, is domestic violence perpetrated by a current or former spouse or intimate partner in a relationship against the other person in the relationship or the other spouse.

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Dr. Spiegel is a board-certified psychiatrist who has been called to testify as an expert witness. He said that out of the ‘thousands’ of patients he has treated, 75 percent of his patients suffer from substance abuse disorder.

He also studied and taught about how drugs and alcohol can affect the human brain and the causes of intimate partner violence. 

When asked by Bredehoft how frequently he has treated patients who have suffered Intimate Partner Violence, Dr. Spiegel said: “Probably 50 percent of my patients suffer from trauma. If I had to guess of the 50 percent probably 25 percent of my practice is people who have suffered intimate partner violence.”

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He testified that between five and 10 percent of his patients are penetrators of intimate partner violence.

Dr. Spiegel suggested that Depp's drug use could have damaged his memory.

Today (23 May) marks the beginning of the sixth week in Depp's $50 million defamation trial against his ex-wife over an op-ed the Aquaman actress wrote for The Washington Post in 2018.

Depp’s legal team say the article implies Heard, 36, was physically abused by Depp when they were married, although the article does not mention him by name.