Ellen Barkin’s fling with Johnny Depp in the 1990s lasted only a few months, but in their brief time together, the actor was a “jealous man†who accused her of infidelity, she said in sworn testimony. Barkin’s comments on her relationship with the Edward Scissorhands star were played in Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard’s defamation trial. Heard, who has claimed Depp was abusive, showed Barkin’s previously recorded deposition to jurors, ostensibly to back her claims that he often flew into a jealous rage. “He’s just a jealous man, controlling,†Barkin said when asked to describe his possessiveness. “‘Where are you going?’ ‘Who are you going with?’ ‘What did you do last night?’†Barkin, who spoke matter-of-factly, recalled one time when Depp accused her of cheating. “I had a scratch on my back once,†Barkin said. Depp became “very, very angry, because he insisted it came from me having sex from someone who wasn’t him.â€
When asked whether she was aware of Depp drinking to excess, Barkin responded, “I was always aware.†She said shortly thereafter that Depp “was drunk all the, most of the, a lot of the time.†Depp, a heavy “red wine†drinker, did hallucinogens, pot, and cocaine, she said. Barkin was asked whether she knew what kind of hallucinogens. “I don’t really know,†she said. “He called me and told me he was tripping.†Barkin said that Depp once spiraled out of control in front of her. “Mr. Depp threw a wine bottle across the room, the hotel room, in one instance, in Las Vegas when we were shooting Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,†Barkin said. The dispute was between Depp and his friends or his assistant, Barkin said, not her. The bottle didn’t hit anyone. “I don’t know why he threw the bottle,†she said. (Depp has previously denied Barkin’s account of bottle throwing.) While their relationship was characterized by drama, the breakup seemed to end with unceremonious ghosting. “I went to go home. There was a big good-bye, crying, a lot of jealousy. ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that,’†Barkin recalled. “I never heard from him again after that.†Barkin did downplay her emotional connection with Depp. At first, Barkin described their time together as going “from a purely platonic friendship to a romantic one.†When the attorney mirrored Barkin’s language and used the word “romantic†in a follow-up question, the actress corrected her. “Can we change that to sexual?†Barkin said, raising her hand.