Amber Heard wasn’t “in love” with Elon Musk, but was simply “filling space” by becoming involved with the billionaire after she split from Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga’s former fiancé claimed in text messages revealed in court Wednesday.
The revelation in the defamation trial between Depp and Heard stemmed from 2017 texts between Heard and Christian Carino, who previously represented both Depp and Heard as a talent agent. Sipping on several beverages during a recorded deposition played in court Wednesday, Carino described his relationship with both famous actors, including how Heard detailed her anguish over the end of their short-lived marriage.
“I hate when things go public,” Heard wrote in one August 2017 text to Carino, which was read during his deposition.
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“You weren’t in love with him and you told me a thousand times you were just filling space,” Carino responded.
When asked about the text message in the deposition, Carino said the two were discussing why the Aquaman star was upset about her relationship with Musk given that she was not in love with the billionaire. He claimed that Heard would get “mad” at men whenever they left her—prompting him to suggest in the texts that the actress stop dating famous people if she didn’t want to make headlines.
Carino’s testimony was the first time Musk was mentioned in Depp’s $50 million defamation suit against Heard, in which Depp alleges the actress ruined his career after a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she describes herself as a domestic violence survivor. Depp has denied allegations of abuse despite a British judge concluding that there was “overwhelming evidence” that Depp had assaulted Heard repeatedly throughout their marriage, and she was “in fear of her life.”
Heard has likewise denied abusing Depp even as he has attempted to argue he is a victim himself.
As a former agent for both Depp and Heard, Carino said that he never heard either of the celebrities accuse the other of abuse. But he did suggest the couple seek a marriage counselor to “mediate the difficulties they were having” during their tumultuous, short-lived union, he said.
Carino appeared to bolster Depp’s claim that his reputation was damaged as a result of Heard’s allegations, referring to the actor losing his role in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 shortly after the 2018 op-ed, and claiming to have had related conversations with Disney executives. He added that while he met Heard through Depp, he was no longer friends with either celebrity.
“My opinion is that Amber’s accusations would have had the most dramatic impact on his off-screen reputation. I’m not talking about any one specific accusation,” Carino added.
