Depp's former psychiatrist took the stand on day 20 of the trail to testify about the actor's well-being and relationship with Heard.
Johnny Depp's former psychiatrist is shedding light on the actor's alleged drug use and mental health issues. On Thursday, Dr. Alan Blaustein testified virtually at Depp's defamation trial against Amber Heard, where he claimed that the actor had a substance abuse issue and had expressed feelings of anger toward Heard.
Speaking about Depp's drug use, Blaustein claimed that Depp had issues with marijuana, alcohol and opiates. He also alleged that Depp suffered from anxiety and claimed that Depp turned to drugs to combat psychological issues he was facing -- later adding that at one point, he questioned if the actor had bipolar disorder.
"Certainly his drug use and his turning to drugs to help relieve lot of the psychic pain he was facing," Blaustein said of the behaviors Depp acknowledged that he wanted to change, before adding that the actor also "expressed having issues with anger."
"Part of his goal of therapy was to work through the anger that he and his fiancée had toward each other," he added.
Blaustein said he couldn't recall why Depp had anger towards Heard but acknowledged that there was a level of anger present towards the actress.
"I can recall now he expressed feelings of jealousy," Blaustein added, but said there was no talk of affairs, something Heard testified about earlier in the trial.
Blaustein went on to call the pair's relationship "chaotic."
"It was a very chaotic relationship, with a lot of fluctuation, ups and downs and lots of difficulty in emotional expressions -- and lots of anger in both places. You know, high intensity affects in emotional expression."
He continued, "A lot of love, a lot of disappointment, a lot of fears."
Blaustein, who saw Depp on 18 different occasions between October 2014 and January 2015, claimed that Depp called Heard "a pain in the ass," and said the relationship "reminded him of his relationship with his psychotic sister and his mom."
While Depp was struggling with substance abuse, Blaustein said that there were points during that time, when he saw Depp in what he called "relative sobriety." While Blaustein alleged that Depp always used marijuana, he said there were some instances of "breakthrough usage" of other drugs and alcohol.
That drug use, Blaustein said, caused "brain changes" over time and memory loss for the actor. He recalled a particular exercise in which he was given three words to remember and was then distracted by other conversations. After five minutes, he would then be asked to recall the words.
Blaustein said that Depp was unable to recall those words.
Depp's former psychiatrist also testified to the Pirates of the Caribbean actor expressing feelings of "paranoia, fear, envy" and about "fighting the devil" which Blaustein said, "was a representation of the battle he had many days when we woke up with depression and anxiety and fears that he had."
Blaustein's testimony follows a parade of witnesses who testified on Heard's behalf, including Depp's ex-girlfriend, Ellen Barkin, who labeled him as "jealous" and "controlling" in videotaped testimony.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in response to an op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post in December 2018 about being the victim of domestic violence.
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