Actor Johnny Depp took time out to joke about his injured finger with a young fan in England, the same finger that became part of the testimony during his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.
The former Fantastic Beasts actor has been putting his lawsuit woes behind him by joining up with guitarist Jeff Beck on his tour of the UK.
This outing led to Depp getting mobbed by fans in Newcastle, England, last Thursday night, where he cracked the joke while signing autographs.
Johhny Depp joked with fan about his disfigured finger
According to TMZ, the 58-year-old actor bent down towards a young fan and compared their fingers with his own disfigured hand: “You have five, I have four and seven-eighths. Mad,” he joked.
Depp was referencing his now-infamous finger injury that became the subject of debate at the recent trial in Fairfax, Virginia. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor claimed that the top of his finger was sliced off during an argument with Heard in Australia in 2015.
He said his ex-wife threw a tantrum after his lawyer asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement one month following their marriage. He said Heard flung a number of items at him, including a vodka bottle which shattered on a nearby countertop causing Johnny’s finger to be severed and the bone broken.
Depp further claimed that he had to undergo multiple surgeries and even contracted the MRSA superbug as a consequence.
Amber Heard denied she injured Johnny Depp’s finger
Amber Heard had a very different version of events. She claimed that Depp injured his finger on the same night she accused him of sexually assaulting her with a liquor bottle.
Last month, AP News reported that surgeon Richard Moore told the court that the finger injury could not have occurred in the manner Depp described. Moore had not treated Depp at the time and made his analysis by examining photographs.
After deliberating for 13 hours, a jury in Fairfax, VA., ruled last Wednesday that Amber Heard had defamed her former husband by claiming she had been a victim of domestic abuse, despite not naming Depp when she’d made the claims. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Heard was successful in winning one of her counterclaims and was awarded $2 million in compensation.
In the meantime, Depp missed the jury’s announcement because he was in England performing with Jeff Beck. The actor has joined Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and in Newcastle.