Johnny Depp s attorneys say that in publishing her Washington Post editorial on domestic abuse, Amber Heard took the good, clean name of a fine actor and ground it into the dirt. The Post editorial did not name Depp, but readers who knew the troubled couples history could easily connect the dots, as Heard had obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp at the conclusion of their brief marriage, in 2016.

Obviously, she was writing about Depp, who had already denied hurting her.

A false allegation can devastate a career and it can devastate a family, Depp attorney Benjamin Chew said during opening arguments at the defamation trial against Heard that has been playing out in Virginia.

But in day after day of testimony six weeks this trial has slogged on, with more to come what the public has been shown is just how much Depps name had already been marred by the awkward open secret of his alcohol and drug abuse and erratic behavior.

I never said to him, Youre a difficult client, his former agent Tracey Jacobs said in videotaped deposition showed in court Thursday. I never used those words. But I was very honest. I said, Youve got to stop doing this. Its hurting you.

And it did, she said.

Jacobs didnt seem eager to be giving testimony, offering clipped responses to Heards lawyers. By the end of her decadeslong time representing Depp, she said, His star had dimmed.

That was late 2016 .

Heards editorial was published in December 2018.

This past week of testimony, led by Heards team, was heavy on ex-friends and industry insiders who knew the couple, or who had previously worked closely with Depp, building on past testimony that treated Depps substance abuse as fact the only room for debate seemed to be just how much maleffect it had.

One of Heards witnesses this week, the actor Ellen Barkin, told a story about Depps overindulgence that long predated his marriage. In Barkins telling, Depp was drunk all the time during production of the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and once threw a wine bottle across a room during an argument in a hotel room.

The behavior issue had leaked out into the press in recent years. In late 2020, The Hollywood Reporter published a piece declaring Depp radioactive and out-of-control, calling him a casualty of Hollywoods sycophant culture in which his wild spending and substance abuse was rarely challenged. Depp earned hundreds of millions through the wild success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, although his fortune had largely been squandered . As a producer who worked on a film with Depp told the outlet: Hes just never been told no for the past 35 years. Thats typical in Hollywood. But Ive never seen it to this extent.

The current defamation trial proceedings, all streamed live online, allow curious members of the public a peek inside that world.