Christi Dembrowski — Direct/Cross
1,404 linesCOURT BAILIFF: All rise.
THE COURT: Are we ready for the jury? Do we have the Motion in Limine?
MR. MURPHY: Oh, we do, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. If I could just get those, I'd appreciate it.
MR. MURPHY: So we do have the order for Ms. Heard's Motion in Limine, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. MURPHY: Mr. Depp's -- Mr. Moniz and I just agreed to it.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. MURPHY: I don't have it printed, but I can tell you, Your Honor, based on the representation he gave me, we'd agreed, and we will have it printed as soon as I can, but we're not going to, obviously, hold up court.
THE COURT: That's fine. Thank you very much.
THE COURT: Then?
MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Murphy. All right. Are we ready for the jury
COURT BAILIFF: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. All right.
THE COURT: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
THE COURT: All right. Your first witness.
THE COURT: Christi Dembrowski.
THE COURT: All right. Christi Dembrowski, is she outside?
THE COURT: Okay.
THE COURT: Witness called on behalf of the Plaintiff and Counterclaim Defendant, having been first duly sworn by the Clerk, testified as follows:
THE COURT: You have to verbally answer, ma'am
THE WITNESS: I'm sorry. Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Elisa Christine Dembrowski.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He's my younger brother.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: 'Iwo and a half years.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We were born in Kentucky, and we moved to Florida when we were kids.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Our mom, our dad, we have an older O brother and older sister, and Johnny and I.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Johnny.
MR. CHEW: Would you please tell the jurors what your relationship with Johnny was like when you were growing up?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Johnny and I were very close. With -- with having an older brother and older sister, we were the two younger ones, so we were really close and we basically were together all the time. We played together. We played Hot Wheels, we, you know, played Batman and Robin where we each had a role.in that. And he's probably going to be embarrassed if I say any of this, but, you know, we practiced, you know, karate kicks with each other. We were just friends. We were like best friends.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection, Your Honor, 404.
THE COURT: If you want to approach.
MR. ROTTENBORN: It's lack of character evidence.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, he's going to get up and say he was gentle and he wasn't violent and all this stuff, and that can't come in under 404, it's used to prove action and conformity therewith.
THE COURT: Right now all I heard was just information about his background. I mean, I assume we're not getting into that he was gentle.
MR. CHEW: No, it's really we're getting into, oh, I mean it's relevant for both their background as far as the abuse, which is where we're going.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. Well, when he starts asking questions and eliciting testimony about how he's transforming, he'd never hurt a fly --
THE COURT: He said that's not where he's going, so we have notice for that. Okay. Thank you.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He was - he was a shy, sweet little boy. He had a very caring personality, but also was a -- he was a little bit of a clown. He loved to, you know, play tricks on us or try to scare us. He was a very typical, happy, little boy.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Your Honor, move to strike. 404.
THE COURT: All right. I'll sustain the last part of her answer. We'll go forward from that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: That was complicated.
MR. CHEW: Would you please explain to the jury what you mean when you say your parents' relationship was "complicated"?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Our parents were -- we had two completely different personalities, and where our father was also a very kind, patient, loving, gentle man and our mom was the opposite. She was very high-strung, very nervous, anxiety, angry. So they -- they were completely opposite people.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Betty.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Mom would -- she would scream. She would yell at him. She would hit him, call him names, that kind of thing.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. Dad -- Dad never reacted when Mom would hit him or scream at him.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Basically, he would let her scream and get it out or hit and be done, and the way that you dealt with my mom, the way that he dealt with my mom was he always tried to keep the peace. So he never wanted to -- you know, he didn't.want to engage in anything, so he was very, you know, sort of -- he would step back. And whatever it was that she was angry about, he would try to go ahead and make sure that he took care of whatever she p was insisting that he do.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, it's very fair to say he did.
MR. CHEW: What, if anything, did you and Johnny do while your mother was hitting or attacking your father?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We would leave the area. We would run and hide. We would go to our room, you know, either we would go to our room together or, you know, depending on where we lived, you know, if our room was close, we would sort of run off and get away from it.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, there's a similarity, I'm sorry, in how she treated Dad. Again, she was very anxious, high-strung. She screamed, she yelled, she hit, she threw things, she called us names. You know, we each had our own little special set of names, some we wouldn't repeat, .but -- so she gave each one of us a name. My name, for example, was Violet. Which to some people, it wouldn't seem like it's anything. But Violet was my father's mother. And my mom hated my father's mother. So that was my special name, one of them.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, she did. She had a few, again, some I cannot repeat. Her favorite, I think, was she called him "One-eye." And she called him that because when he was young, the doctors thought he had a lazy eye, so they would put a patch on his good eye so that they would strengthen the other eye. So, she used that as, you know, a way to find a new fun mime for him.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He didn't respond in any negative way. Those names were -- they were just a way of life. We got used to them. We accepted all of it.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, she did. But I was also very quiet, very shy, and I learned early on to stay back. So I was - I was more in the background because I would constantly sort of stay in the background to stay away from trouble.
MR. CHEW: Ms. Dembrowski, when she --your mother did get physical with you, what forms did that take?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She would hit us. She would throw things. She would have us go pick a switch, you know, off of a tree, you know, so that that would be what she could hit us with and make sure that we got one that was nice and green.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, if it wasn't a nice, green switch, twig, it would snap. Those didn't break. If you got a dry one, they'd snap. They don't - they don't work the same.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He was a typical little boy where if it hurt, he would cry. That was it I mean, for the most part, he just wanted to get away from it.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No, no, no. When he was older, even if she hit or threw things, he never went to that place. He always - he would get away. He would, you know, leave the area, go to his room
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I left when I was 17. I was pregnant and got married and moved out into my own place.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I think there's a bittersweetness to it. I was really young. I had just turned 17. But, I was so looking forward to this new life that I could create, that was different from what we had at home. And so it was a part of me that was really happy to be able to do this, really excited, and there was another part that was sad because I left behind my little brother and my dad.
MR. CHEW: If you could explain that a bit, how did, if at all, did your experience with your mother affect your ideas about what you intended to do with your own family?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Oh, really early on, as a young child, none of what was happening in our home felt good. And so as I got older, you know, both Johnny and I, actually, we decided that once we left, once we had our own home, that we were never going to I repeat, ever, anything similar in any way to our childhood. We were going to -- we were going to do it different.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Absolutely.
MR. CHEW: When you left the home to start your own family, who, among the original four children, were left at home with your mother?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Johnny.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: There was -- our father one morning decided to pack up everything a.nd leave early in the morning. We didn't know it at the time, I don't think. I didn't. I didn't live there; I was at work. And then I got a call from my mom in the afternoon, light after she got off work. She called me, and I could -- it was hard to understand her voice. She sounded faint and kind of groggy, but she kept saying, "He's gone, he's gone, he's gone.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: And I was trying to get out of her "Was it dad?"
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: And she said, "Yes, your daddy."
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I said, "Mom, are you okay? What's going on? You know, did you take your pills?"
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Because she took what she called "nerve pills," and she said she had.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I asked, "How many?" She couldn't tell me how many she took. But I knew she was getting fainter on the phone, and it was more clear to me that she was not in a good way. So I called our friend, our parents' friend, actually, who was a police officer and told him that he needed to_ get to Mom and what was going on. And so he got an ambulance to get over there to her.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. This is the day.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I know at the time -- because I did try to speak to him after because Mom continued to not do well. At the time, he said that -- he said that they had had the last argument that he felt that they could ever have. He felt he needed to leave home this time. And to be honest, I didn't really understand. It had been so many years that he had been taking all of the, you know, all of her personality. And I didn't really understand exactly, fully what that last argument was, why it was so intense.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We did learn, many years later in our adult life, that what he was referring to when he said --
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Move to strike all of this, Your Honor, as hearsay.
THE COURT: All right. I guess the objection's hearsay.
MR. CHEW: Your Honor, again, I think it's not offered for the proof, it's offered for the abuse and the culture in which ...
THE COURT: I'll sustain the objection. Move on.
THE COURT: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. She continued to not be well, but she recovered.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She did, but she didn't do it to the degree that she had at that point.
MR. CHEW: And going back to the incident that you described, do you know where Johnny was at the time your mother took those pills?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Johnny was home.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry. I think he was sleeping at the time. I think he woke up when Mom came out and the ambulance came.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
THE COURT: He was in the home, but was she in the home, I guess the -- how did she know? So I'll sustain to foundation.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
THE COURT: All right. I sustain as foundation. You want to lay a foundation.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. He came and lived with me for part of the time.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He, you know, lived in different places. He lived with me, and he lived with another family.
MR. CHEW: Did you and Johnny continue to communicate with your mother, Betty, after you both left the home?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Yes, we did.
MR. CHEW: And after what you have described, why did you and Johnny continue to communicate with your mother?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation as to Johnny.
MR. CHEW: I think she's already laid the foundation. They're very close. She was in communication.
THE COURT: I'll sustain the objection for this particular question.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Because she was our mom and we loved her. I mean, we knew, you know, even when we were younger, that things weren't -- they didn't feel right, you know. But what we understood was that, you know, Mom had her own upbringing, you know, so she had her own past, and the way she was raised would affect the way she lived. And so she -- in our mind, she was doing the best she could do.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: You know, we sort of treated it like she -- she did the best that she could do with the tools that was she was given, you know, from her life in the past. And what we decided to do was we just decided to get new tools. We chose different tools from that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm referring to Johnny and me.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
THE COURT: I'll overrule that objection. Next question.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did -- I did live with her briefly. She had gotten diagnosed with asthma when we lived in Florida, and she needed to move to a drier climate. So Johnny moved her to California, to Palm Springs for the drier weather, and I moved also, so that she wouldn't be alone. So I lived with her for a period then.
MR. CHEW: And if you could just, please, elaborate what role if any Johnny played in your mother's move to Palm Springs?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He -- he was -- he was the only reason the move could happen. He -- he purchased her a home and -- and paid to have everything moved out there.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She -- she moved from Palm Springs to be a bit closer to where Johnny and I lived in the LA area. She lived there for a bit, and then, ultimately, she went back to Kentucky. She had -- her siblings were still there, and a couple of them weren't doing well, so she wanted to be closer to them while she could.
MR. CHEW: And after she moved back to Kentucky from Palm Springs, did there come a time when your mother became chronically ill?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, in 2011, she was living in Kentucky, and we received a call that she had been diagnosed with the final stages of Parkinson's. But then when another doctor looked at her scans, they- they felt it was something different.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: So we had the scans brought to a doctor in California, and they suggested that she come out and see a neurologist right away. So Johnny got a plane, a private plane, and he and I, we flew to go pick her up and bring her back to California to start seeing the doctors.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It became basically a permanent move. She still - she still had her house in Kentucky in the hopes of, you know, her being able to go back and forth, but her health basically kept her in California. So she lived here - or there.
MR. CHEW: And by that time, 2011, when she's moved out to Los Angeles, had her treatment of you and Johnny changed in any way?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Mom - Mom softened as she aged. She - she totally softened.
MR. CHEW: And once your mother moved to Los Angeles permanently in 2011, what role, if any, did your brother Johnny play in her caretaking?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
THE COURT: All right. I'll sustain as to foundation.
THE COURT: I think that's still a foundation objection.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. CHEW: Would you please explain to the jury, because I think Her Honor needs to hear whether there's a foundation?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Okay. I'm sorry.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. When we brought my mom, you know, over time, she had multiple other illnesses that- that came up, and Johnny was - he dealt directly with the doctors, like we did, hired private nurses so that we could make sure that, you know, Mom was taken care of. You know, he, basically, Johnny was the - he took all financial responsibility for anything and everything that Mom could need or want during this time, all medical care, doctors, hospitals, nurses.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was directly involved.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, I was there. I was directly involved in all of that:
MR. CHEW: Did you witness your brother having any interactions with the doctors relating to your mother's care?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. CHEW: 'How often, if at all, did your brother visit your mother, Betty, after she came to live in Los Angeles in 2011? -
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Mom lived in a house that was basically across the street from Johnny. It was a house that he has on his street. And I was there, you know, quite a bit. Johnny was pretty much down there every day, couple times a day, you know, Mom, like, she would see them all the time, you know, one of her favorite things was watching Johnny take the kids to school and waving at them because she never got to do that before, so ...
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Oh, Lily-Rose and Jack.
MR. CHEW: Did there come a time when the family was considering putting your mother in a hospice?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: There was - there were conversations with the doctors that we should start to consider that, since we - we weren't 100 percent sure, with the variety of conditions that she had, what we needed to do.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: The idea of hospice was something that felt like, since we - we - we didn't know a time frame, the idea of introducing, you know, new nurses or something, you know, at a certain point in someone's life where they recognize there's a difference, and that could be - that could be, you know, frightening for them So we didn't want to instill any fear. You know, Johnny's big on Mom not having fear. So, instead, that's when we hired nurses so that the nurses could be there 24/7 and, you know, and she would have people continuously throughout her life that she knew, that they were friendly and, you know, cared for her.
MR. CHEW: Did you actually have a conversation with your brother about the possibility of your mother going into hospice?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Well, there is where it all comes from because the idea - again, the idea of hospice, which is an amazing thing - but for someone who - when you don't know with the variety of illnesses, you don't know what a timing is, the idea of introducing it, new people, is - is something that becomes almost a signal, you know. And this was a very big discussion. This is why the nurses were hired.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Calls for hearsay.
MR. CHEW: I'm not asking for hearsay. I'm just asking about whether it was discussed once or a number of times.
THE COURT: I'll overrule the objection. Go ahead.
MR. CHEW: Was this just one discussion? Or were there more discussions among you and and your brother about how to care -- how to best care for your mother?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We -- we had -- we had continuous discussions. As a matter of fact, I mean, I've -- there were daily updates. He knew even' day, everything that was happening with Mom. Whether he was in town, out of town, because he had to -- he was working or traveling, he had -- I made sure, because it's hard when you know that someone wants to be there and they can't. So I -- I made sure to -- to fill him in on everything.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Hearsay.
THE COURT: I'll overrule the objection.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
MR. CHEW: Did you ever see Johnny's children, Jack and Lily-Rose, over at your mother's house across the street from Mr. Depp?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. CHEW: Ms. Dembrowski, I'd like to change subjects right now, if that's all right, and ask you to please tell us a little bit about your work life.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. I started -- I started working when we moved from Florida to Palm Springs. This is why I lived, for a short period, with my mom. I ended up, I got a job at one of the studios in Los Angeles.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was Columbia Pictures. I was -- my title was I was an executive assistant to the executive vice president of comedy development.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I -- I handled my executive's daily schedule, meetings, budgets, scripts, phone calls. And then in addition to that, we had -- there were four other executives, and they had assistants. So my desk was also to oversee those assistants. And when we had writers come in, I oversaw those assistants as well.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was a good job.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I think it was about a year and a half.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Columbia itself started folding different departments, and ours, our comedy development, being one of them. So some of the employees that worked there went to work for Sony or TriStar, other sort of arms of the corporation. And I was the last one there, sort of, wrapping up the department to go on to my next job.
MR. CHEW: So after you wrapped up the transition, the closing-up of the department, what did you do in terms of your work life?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I went to work with my _brother.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I went to work with my brother Johnny.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Similar things to what I was doing with the other boss that I worked for before. But with Johnny, he was - I was helping him anyway as a sister with assistance. So there was things like travel and, you know, meetings, study meetings, making sure he had his, you know, scripts that were coming in and he knew, you know, all the information about them and, you know, any kind of publicity stuff that he had to do. Because I really started to do this job with him because there was one time that I had gone to his house and I was helping him get ready to go on a trip, and his ticket, I read it out loud, and it said "Standby." And I said, "Why are you on standby?" He had no one looking out for that kind of stuff. You know, so I did all of that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, over time, it sort of grew -- well, not sort of. It did grow. His agent -- I worked sort of hand-in-hand with his agent, and, you know, as she got to know me more and I got to know her more, there were other parts of her job, actually, that she would give to me. So, you know, instead of just doing scheduling meetings and calendars and travel, now I'd become a person who's talking to producers or, you know, as it expands, you know, all the executives at the studios and studios heads, and I, you know, become a part of contract negotiations, et cetera. It just grew.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Movie contracts, I -- because I know the history and because there's a certain amount of parts of life that are important, you know, to a human being, not just to an actor, but to a human being, and I know the human being, I was part of, mostly, negotiating parts, like, there's an area called "perks," and perks mean anything and everything that an actor would need in order to perform his duties, and in order to, you know, to also move, right, to the location to do the duty.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: So I was part of all important dates that, you know, needed to be considered in a calendar, making sure the house was what he needed to have for the family, the travel to get there, making sure he had his staff, drivers, security. Pretty much anything necessary was -- was in that. f 21
MR. CHEW: Ms. Dembrowski can you give the jury some examples of some of the things you put on the I perks list?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Sure. We -- it was more -- it was really important, you know, as Johnny had a family, it was really important to make sure that we were given an opportunity to find the right accommodations and -- accommodations for the children, you know, a house that, you know, could, you know, give them a home away from home with a garden, all the travel to make sure that they all get there.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: There were really important dates that we carved out in every contract for Johnny's kids for their birthday. He never wanted to miss their birthday so if he ever wasn't able to be with them because of filming, it was built into the contract he had their birthday off, and he would have the day before and day after so he would be able to travel to get to them and then get back to working.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: So in addition to that, I mean, there's -- there's -- there's quite a bit. We also had it built in that if he was to be away from his kids filming, if the kids couldn't travel and the family couldn't travel to be there, we had in his contract that he would be able to fly back to them from wherever he is every two weeks. So he - he didn't go beyond every two weeks not seeing his children.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: You know, it's that kind of stuff that, you know, was important.
MR. CHEW: Ms. Dembrowski, do you know what a personal manager is in the context of the entertainment world?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I do.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, I believe it's basically what I - a lot of what I was doing. They- they work with their clients on maintaining different items in their personal life as well as, you know, projects coming in, production, all of the representatives. It's a - it's a sort of a big scope of duties.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I have been called that before, yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did. I did.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He has a production company called Infinitum Nihil.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It's a production company. We develop, you know, projects of - for films or television or, you know, different things.
MR. CHEW: And putting aside your responsibilities after your brother's personal managers, what role, if any, do you play in Infinitum Nihil?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm president of Infinitum Nihil.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: From the beginning of - in 2004. I think we started in July, 2004.
MR. CHEW: And would you please explain to the jury some of your responsibilities as president of Infinitum Nihil?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: My - my duties as president were to - I oversaw everything within the company, the - the staff where we were developing projects, where, you know, maybe that there's a book that people wanted to develop into a film or a TV show or different ideas. So I oversaw that, oversaw all of the development, their schedules of meetings with different people to take those projects out to pitch. There's so many tasks to that job, I don't know how to really lay them out.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I think it was 2003, I think.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He was Captain Jack Sparrow.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: That was - that was the lead.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It did very well. I think it surprised people and did very well. People really - they loved - you know, the - they loved the entertainment of it, you know, the total ride.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I would have to say yes. The success of Pirates 1, it became - Johnny, with that role, and - and other studios and everybody seeing the success of that film and - and - and how the audiences reacted to that character, they were - there was a whole lot more people wanting to be in business with him.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It did.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It -- it did; It did. Because where prior to that, you know, he was able to go out somewhat, you know, he could, you know, go to different stores, go to book stores,. go to restaurants. When Pirates 1 came out, after that, he was much more recognizable now. You know, so many people loved that character, and so he was much more recognizable.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: So it -- it became harder for him to -- to go out in public without having a lot of people come around that, you know, "Like, we so wanted to meet him." But then it also became busier, and so we had even people that were chasing, you know, chasing in cars. So at that point, we had to -- we had to get a security team to kind of come in and help us manage how this all works, you know.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Jerry Judge was -- he was basically Johnny's head security.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, we -- we started working with Jerry Judge back in the '90s. Because Jerry had his own security company in London, and when we would go over there for press or premieres or whatever, Jerry was the one, you know, that set everything up, and we became really close with him back then. And as things grew with Pirates, we brought him over more and more, you know, for some of the items we had, some of the work that he had, if it was a show or whatever, and brought him on. And then he started just working, basically, on every film with us after Pirates probably right around that time.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, again, we met him in the '90s, so and around Pirates is, what, 2003? And Jerry was with us up until we lost him.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We lost him a couple years ago to cancer.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right.
THE COURT: Sustain the objection. Leading. The next question, that's fine.
MR. CHEW: What, if any, observations did -- were there any times that you saw your brother interact with Jerry Judge?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I saw the two of them interact quite a lot And they- they- they loved each other. They were like, you know, Jerry thought of him as, like, a son, and sometimes as a brother. They really did love each other and so much respect both ways.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Move to strike all of that.
THE COURT: I'll overrule the objection. Go ahead.
MR. CHEW: I wanted to touch on something you mentioned a few moments ago when you were referring to Mr. Depp's children.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Son Jack.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Vanessa Paradis.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I think they were together 14 years, I think.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: When they were in Los Angeles, I - I would say I saw them all daily. Our office, where we work, our office is only - it was only ten minutes from their house. So I would make trips back and forth, or every day after work, I would go straight to the house. So I - I saw them daily.
MR. CHEW: Would you please explain to the jury what it was like spending time with Johnny and his family?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was great It was great. It was a normal, happy family, you know. You'd go there and the kids are playing and, you know, making dinner, everybody having dinner, cleaning up together, sitting around, laughing. It was - it was great.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Yes, I did.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He's, I'm proud to say, he's - he's one of the most devoted fathers I think that I've ever seen. Like, everything - everything in life was about the children. But when he was with the kids, like, the attention that he would give them, you know, it was just constant. Playing with them, listening to them, you know, laughing with them, reading to them, parties. I mean, you - you name it, and he was there.
MR. CHEW: Did you ever observe Johnny treating his children the way you saw his mother treat him --
MR. CHEW: And you may have touched on it earlier, and if so, I apologize. How, if at all, did Johnny communicate with his children when he was shooting a film?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
THE COURT: I'll sustain the objection. If you want to Jay a foundation.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. CHEW: Did you have occasion to observe -- were you ever with your brother when he was shooting a film?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. CHEW: Did you have occasion to observe your brother communicating with his children while you both were there on set?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: When Johnny was filming, most of the time, the family was with him. The family would travel and go - you know, just like I said earlier, we would get a house and garden and all of that to make sure that there was a home. So his family was with him most of the time.
MR. CHEW: What about when the children got older and they started to go to school? Did that change O in any way?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It.changed in that, you know, they didn't want to disrupt the children's lives when they were going to school . So if - if Dad had to go off and go to work and the children stayed home, this is where we get into we still - we still maintained a home for the family wherever he was filming, you know, because they would - if they had the opportunity to come back and forth. I mean, but at the same time, Johnny, he would travel back every two weeks, you know, to see his kids.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I made the travel arrangements.
MR. CHEW: Did you have occasion to observe Johnny interact with the mother of his children, Vanessa Paradis; over the 14 years they were together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, I did.
MR. CHEW: Would you please tell the jury what you observed about the interactions between Mr. Depp and Vanessa?
MR. ROTTENBORN: 404, Your Honor.
THE COURT: I'll allow observations. I'll overrule the objection.
THE COURT: MR: CHEW: Thank you very much, Your Honor.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: They were a great couple. I mean, first you could see that they were friends. They just were happy together. They got along great It y y y y g g g was a happy, normal
THE COURT: I'll sustain the objection at this point, then.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Same objection. And IO it's leading.
THE COURT: That wasn't the question, Mr. Chew.
MR. ROTTENBORN: 404 is the main objection.
THE COURT: Okay. I'll sustain that objection. Next question.
THE COURT: I'll -- go ahead. Finish your question first.
THE COURT: Maybe you should move on, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation. Calls for hearsay.
THE COURT: All right. Hearsay objection.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And 404.
MR. CHEW: It's not offered for the proof of the -- it's what she observed, what she heard. She was the personal manager, Your Honor.
THE COURT: That would be hearsay. I'll sustain the objection. Thank you.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Same objection. 404.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Calls for hearsay as well, and foundation.
THE COURT: I understand. But it's a character evidence issue. So I'll sustain the objection.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: My brother's ex-wife.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I first met her when she came to the office for casting on Rum Diary, probably late 2008, I think, somewhere in there.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: When she was working on set, I mostly observed, you know, some of the, you know, I was there for some of the scenes, and in between, you know, she was a bit sort of, like, you know, standoffish, had all the people, you know, being coming around her. But I don't really -- I don't really have that much time with her on set.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was one of the producers.
MR. CHEW: And after seeing Ms. Heard on the set in 2009, 2010, when was the next time you saw Ms. Heard?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I think the -- the next time I saw her was we were -- we were promoting Rum Diary towards the end of 2011, I think. I was not able to go on the full promotional tour where we do screenings for people around the country, but I was able -- because my mom was sick-- but I was able to attend the one in Los Angeles. So I saw her at that event.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I attended the premiere and - and the dinner afterward, yeah.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: At the dinner?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Because I - I sat outside at the premiere. I didn't actually watch the movie. I had already seen it. I sat at the same table with some of the other people involved in the cast. So I saw Johnny and Amber. You know, they were seated together. I saw them talking quite a bit, and she seemed very friendly that night, yes.
MR. CHEW: Did there come a time when you learned that Johnny and Amber were roman tic ally involved?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I don't recall exactly. I know it was sometime after the Rum Diary premiere.
MR. CHEW: To what extent did you have occasion to observe Johnny and Ms. Heard together earlier in their relationship?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I would see them -- there were times when she would come and -- and, you know, visit our mom, you know. I would see her then. I would see the two of them then. I didn't really spend a tremendous amount of time with them.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did. I did. I didn't -- I didn't know her very well, and I would spend time -- like I said, she would, you know, she would come to my mom's house. I've sat with her and my mom.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Object on 404, Your Honor. What was your question of Amber?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Doesn't matter. It's still 404.
THE COURT: All right. Do you want to approach for a moment?
MR. CHEW: So you can describe what they observed, but if she's getting into, "Oh, she was unfriendly, she was standoffish," that's -- these characterizations can't come in. If she was just observing, "I saw her and him holding hands, I O mean," I mean, that's -- you know what I'm saying? Just her observations she can't characterize them, because that is character evidence.
MR. ROTTENBORN: It's her impression of Ms. Heard. That's not--
THE COURT: So I think you need to reform that question so it's just observations, just the observations, okay?
THE COURT: Okay.
THE COURT: BY MR. CHEW:
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't -- I don't recall the timing. I don't recall the time frame. I believe they had moved downtown to the Eastern Columbia Building, but I don't remember exactly when that was.
MR. CHEW: What type of structure was the Eastern Columbia Building? Was that a freestanding house? Or was it apartments?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It's apartments. And he had the penthouses on the top floor.
MR. CHEW: How many penthouses did your brother own on the top floor of the Eastern Columbia Building?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I -- I think it was -- I think it was five apartments.
MR. CHEW: Do you know who lived in those five apartments when your brother and Ms. Heard went to live there?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I know -- I know who lived don there. I know Isaac, a friend of Johnny's named Isaac, lived down there. I know Amber's friend Rocky and her boyfriend lived in one of the penthouses, Amber's sister, Whitney, lived in one of the penthouses.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Josh Drew.
MR. CHEW: Do you -- do you know why your brother allowed them to live rent-free in his -- in his -- at the ECB?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Object to foundation.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He said we :were -- they were --
THE COURT: Hold. I'm sorry, ma'am.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry.
THE COURT: Foundation. You asked "Do you know why," so if she knows, she can answer. I'll allow it. I'll overrule.
THE COURT: That's fine. Go ahead.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I would give them to the business manager. But I -- I -- I believe they were Amber's family and friends. That's why he let them live there.
MR. CHEW: How often did you see your brother when he was living with Ms. Heard at the ECB penthouses?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We didn't-- we didn't see him as often. I didn't see him as often. He pretty much stayed do"n there. He didn't come back, you know, towards where we were in West Hollywood, very often unless he had a reason to.
MR. CHEW: And on those occasions when you did see I your brother, what observations did you make?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He - he was always in a hurry when he was able to come back. He, you know, he could never sit and spend the time, you know, he - it - it felt like he was always trying to, you know, get back downtown. He - he - he just seemed so much sadder. He did not seem himself. He was - he was always - his - his person was much - just sadder.
MR. CHEW: Did -- in that time period when your brother and Ms. Heard were living at the ECB, did you have occasion to observe them together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: On occasion.
MR. CHEW: Would you please describe for the jury what you observed on those occasions when you saw your brother and Ms. Heard together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I mean, there's different occasions. I've seen them together when they've come into the office. I mean.:.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection, Your Honor. Vague and leading.
THE COURT: All right. I'll sustain as to leading.
THE COURT: All right. Next question.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Leading.
THE COURT: All right. I'll sustain as to -- sustain as to leading.
MR. CHEW: Did -- in your capacity as Johnny's personal manager, do you know whether your brother and Amber ever trialed -- ever traveled together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, they did travel together. There were -- I mean, there were times when, you know, when Johnny had to go do press or film, they traveled together.
MR. CHEW: What type of travel arrangements did you make for the two of them when they traveled together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We -- we would get a private plane that took them to whatever the destination was and make sure that we had, you know, the hotel accommodations taken care of. Part of -- part of what we did was to always make sure that we anticipated, you know, everything. So we would do the -- the travel, the hotels, cars, drivers. I would -- I would make sure that there was an extra hotel room, you know, for trips when they would go.
MR. CHEW: Why did you make sure there was an extra hotel room when Johnny and Ms. Heard went on trips together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Because their --
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection to the extent the answer calls for hearsay.
THE COURT: All right.
THE COURT: Okay. That's fine.
THE COURT: You can answer, ma'am.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Oh, thank you.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I booked the extra hotel room because if Johnny was at home or, you know, anywhere like that, he was able to -- if they argued, he was able to leave the room, leave the argument; and go like he's always done and hide in a different room to get away from it. When -- when they were traveling for, you know, the different reasons for press or whatever and we booked the hotel rooms, I wanted to make sure that there was an extra room, you know, because it -- it wasn't unusual, you know, for them to have an argument. So I wanted to make sure there was an extra room.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation. Calls for speculation.
THE COURT: All right. I'll sustain to foundation if you want to lay a foundation.
MR. CHEW: I think the foundation is she always made all of the travel -- well, I can lay it through some other questions as well.
THE COURT: Okay.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was my idea.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was my idea because, you know, I saw a repeat happening in life. When we were - when we were kids and - and arguments and fighting would start to happen, our first thing was to go and hide and, you know, get away from it. And since I recognized what felt to be a pattern, it was a repeat pattern from his childhood, I - I wanted to make sure that there was a place that he could do just that.
THE COURT: Mr. Chew, the question was do you -- "Did Mr. Depp ever use the extra room?" And the objection was foundation. So if you want to lay a foundation of how she would have known that he used that extra room, then it's not based on hearsay. That's -- that's the issue.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I move to strike that as nonresponsive.
THE COURT: All right. I'll strike that. Okay? Go ahead.
MR. CHEW: Did you ever book an extra -- did you book your brother's hotel accommodations during the 14 years that you -- when he was with Vanessa Paradis?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Leading.
THE COURT: Overruled. I'll allow that one.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry. No, I did not.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Calls for hearsay. Also leading.
THE COURT: I'll overrule that.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
MR. CHEW: What can you tell us about what you did observe of your brother and Ms. Heard together?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: To me - when I saw them, to me, he was always trying to make sure - he was always trying to make her happy. He always made efforts to - to sort of make her happy. I - 1-.I think she had a very - she has a very strong personality, and - and my brother's personality came off much more soft at that point, to me.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, I've seen her be nice to him.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I've seen her be nice in - in, you know, offering to, you know, bring him a drink or, you know, get him whatever. I mean, just in typical, like a typical nice. I've seen that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I -- I have, actually.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yeah. We had -- I had -- on one occasion, because this one -- this one really -- this one really stayed with me. On -- on one occasion we were -- I was at the office, and I'd had the meeting with Dior who had wanted to sit with Johnny and talk about, you know, working together. And Amber had come in and asked if she was interrupting us, and we said no.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: And we weren't supposed to really talk about the meeting with anyone. But Johnny told Amber that I had just had a meeting with Dior and that, you know, they were interested in him. Her -- her reaction to that was she was in disbelief and sort of disgust because she said "Dior? Why -- why would Dior want to do business with you? They're about class and they're about style, and you don't have style."
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: You know, so it was a -- the insulting kind of taking away that one moment, you know, that insult is there. You know, I've seen - I've seen the insults, multiple times, actually.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She called him an old, fat man.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He had - I believe he heard her call him that himself.
MR. CHEW: Now, Ms. Dembrowski, I'd like to ask you about a specific event that is relevant to this case. And just for -- to -- for the background, I'll say, did there come a time in 2013 when your brother was working with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones on a documentary?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, I was - I was present at that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. CHEW: If you could, please tell the jury how physically close you were, or how far you were, from Ms. Heard while the three of you were on the set.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was - I was - I was right next to her. They had - they had gotten there, and I was close enough that I hugged her, and I was standing next to her. It was a small set.
MR. CHEW: And when you were standing next to her and when you were hugging her, what, if any, marks or physical injuries did you see?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I didn't see anything.
MR. CHEW: Did you observe your brother's interactions with Ms. Heard while the three of you were on the set?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: They - they - they were fine. She was laughing and happy and holding his hand and, you know, leaning on him, hugging him, you know, that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. But it was mostly her hugging.
MR. CHEW: And switching -- switching subjects from that time on the set, did there come a time when you learned that Johnny was going to marry Ms. Heard?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. CHEW: And this is a little complicated, so I'm just going to ask you in a -- in a narrative form. I understand there was a wedding and that there was -- there were a couple of ceremonies. If you could, just please describe that to the jury.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: They- there was a wedding celebration that was put together on the island. So, they had a, like, a wedding ceremony on the island. But prior to going to the island to do that, they actually got married in Los Angeles, because they - they had to get married in Los Angeles because they couldn't get married, you know, paperwork, et cetera, on - on the island. So they got married in LA.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We were - we were already working on the celebration part, and I knew - I knew that the date was - at some point they were going to pick a date to - to try to get married in Los Angeles. But I didn't - I didn't know the actual date that had been decided until he called me, which was pretty much right before the day.
MR. CHEW: What was your reaction upon hearing . from your brother that he was going to marry Ms. Heard?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was - I was scared. I was devastated, actually, that it was - it was going to happen as - as quickly as it was being pushed for. I - I actually tried to talk him into just - just waiting a little bit longer, just a little bit, and not - not rushing.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: There had been- there had been conversations about a prenuptial agreement that had been going on for a while, and as the date was approaching, you know, for the island ceremony, there was no success in the prenuptial conversations. And I knew it was important. His representatives had explained the importance, and I knew it was important to him for his children. And I - we were rushing to do something without his children being protected.
MR. CHEW: Specifically, if you could, explain to the jury what involvement you had in those discussions about a prenuptial agreement.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation. Discussions with whom?
THE COURT: I'll allow it. Go ahead.
MR. CHEW: I think, what was your involvement in the discussions involving the prenuptial -- a prenuptial agreement?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Mostly, it was I spoke with the attorneys and the representatives so that they - they explained the importance of it, and they explained the reasons behind it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Move to strike. Hearsay.
THE COURT: I'll allow it. Go ahead.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: So that - so that we could have further conversation and-with Johnny and they - there was an attorney that they coordinated with - for Amber. So that - that was where I was involved, in coordinating that part.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Johnny's side wanted a prenup.
MR. CHEW: And I believe what you said may have gotten lost. Why did Johnny's side want a prenup?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, the prenup was to - to make sure that his children were protected.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Jack and Lily-Rose, yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Amber didn't sign it.
MR. CHEW: Did you end up -- despite your misgivings, did you end up attending the wedding between -- or the ceremony between your brother and Ms. Heard on the island in Bahamas?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, I did. But I also attended the actual wedding in Los Angeles.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, yes.
MR. CHEW: Did you have occasion to speak with Ms. Heard either at the ceremony -- the formal ceremony in Los Angeles or the celebration in the Bahamas?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did. At the actual - at the actual ceremony in Los Angeles, they - they - they had the ceremony at my mom's house. And at that ceremony, I didn't have occasion to really speak with Amber. She, Rocky, and Whitney, I don't believe, wanted necessarily to speak with me that I did, after the ceremony was done, I was standing not far from them, and they were having a conversation. They were having a conversation, actually, about - excuse me - about should they leak the information that they had already gotten married at the house to the press so that they could - maybe they didn't have to worry about the island when they did the celebration.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: And Amber - Amber actually reached out to me and said - because I was standing seven, eight feet away from her - asked my opinion, you know, what I thought about that, which I - I basically said I didn't know why they would do it since all the information for the island was already out and that it wasn't going to help them I didn't know why they would want to leak it at all, but it was up to them.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I saw her on the island as well. But on the island, she was actually extremely friendly when when I got there. Because, if I'm honest, I -- I debated going. I -- I didn't really want to. I almost didn't. But I -- I took my dad. Dad wanted to go, and I wanted to make sure that I showed up anyway because I wanted to make sure that, honestly, that my little brother would know that I was going to be -- I was always going to be around no matter what. But Amber was extremely friendly and thanked me for coming to her special day. You know, it was a very big day for her.
MR. CHEW: Can you remember any other interactions you had with Ms. Heard or your brother on the island at the celebration?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Interactions on the island? Not really.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was -- it would have been -- it would have been when she came back from Australia.
THE COURT: Sure. Are you gonna -- are you -- you still have quite a bit of direct left, I assume.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, why don't we go ahead and have you take your afternoon break of 15 minutes, okay? Again, don't do any outside research and do not talk to anyone about the case. I know you're going to hear me say it so much.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE COURT: So why don't we just go ahead and make it at 3:30 then, so it's close enough?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, may I just make one request?
THE COURT: Sure.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Would you mind instructing the witness -- I think this would go for all the witnesses -- that on the breaks, they're not to discuss their testimony today?
THE COURT: All right. You understand, ma'am, that since you are right now on the stand, you can't discuss this case not even with the attorneys, okay? So don't discuss it with anybody until we get you back here in 15 minutes, okay?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Thank you, Your Honor.
COURT BAILIFF: All rise.
COURT BAILIFF: All rise. Be seated. Come to order.
THE COURT: All right. Are we ready for the jury?
MR. MURPHY: Before we take the witness back, Your Honor, if you please, we have that second order.
THE COURT: That's great. I am very pleased.
MR. MURPHY: Both of them are completed.
THE COURT: That's great. I'll have an entry for my diary. Thank you so much.
THE COURT: All right. Yes, sir. Yes, we're ready.
THE COURT: All right. Everybody can be seated, and we're ready to start again.
THE COURT: Yes, Mr. Chew.
MR. CHEW: Good afternoon again, Ms. Dembrowski. I'm told that both you and I need to speak a little closer to our microphones.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Oh. All right.
MR. CHEW: Thank you. And when we took the break, I think you had just testified that the next time you had seen Ms. Heard was when she had just returned from Australia.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We - excuse me - we met for dinner late - a late dinner, and she was - and she was telling me that she and Johnny had had a fight in Australia, and I was - I was trying to talk to her about the idea that that kind of fighting is not normal; it's too much. It's - it's not okay.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: But she - she told me that I needed to basically get down off my cross and mind my own business. She said that Johnny liked that she was feisty. You know, she was feisty and he loved it and that Jerry Judge and I needed to stay out of her marriage. So that was the basic conversation.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I just kept saying that it - fighting is not normal, this kind of fighting is not
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We were right next to each other. Right, like, right here (indicating).
MR. CHEW: Now, Ms. Dembrowski, I would like to O shift gears again and ask you about the period in April and May of 2016. If you could please let us know, as of April 2016, what was the state of your mother's health?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Excuse me. Mom had been - she had been in the hospital for quite some time and, like, a long, steady case from November. So by April she was - we knew that she was towards the end of her life. So that's what April basically was, and it went into May. In May, we gathered everybody to. come say goodbye to her.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She was in the hospital, sol was -- I was with her pretty much every day. I was 24/7 when I wasn't, you know, at the office or something, you know.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know how often I saw him. I mean, he would come and see her, you know, regularly, even before that, when -- there was a period we were trying to help her communicate, and he, you know, brought in, you know, different-type tools, pens, pencils, you know, of drawing, crayons, just to try to help her communicate. He came as often as he could. He was -- he was there quite a bit.
MR. CHEW: And when you said you called the family together in May, would you please explain what you meant?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We were told by -- by the doctors that Mom was at a point where there was nothing else that we could do for her and - so that we should start calling anybody that wanted to, you know, come and, you know, spend a little bit of time, say their goodbyes. So we did that. We did that in May.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She was - she was basically in a coma. She was medicated and - and just on machines, life support, where it was, you know, slowly going away on May 19th.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was with he.r.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Mom passed away that morning. We had all the family was there. Johnny was there with his kids until the wee morning hours of May, you, May 20th. My kids, my sister, we were all there spending our last bits of time. And everybody else had gone home, and Mom passed away probably a few hours after that, maybe, five, six hours after that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Sorry.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did. I called him, and I called my-- our other siblings to tell them.
MR. CHEW: And I'm sorry; I know this is painful. How did Johnny react when you told him that your mother had passed?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He was -- he was sad, but there was a -- also, there's a relief that, you know, suffering is done. So he was mostly trying to make sure that I was okay and I was going to leave and not stay there and, you know, sort of take on everything by myself.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Oh, yes. That became quite a big topic. Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did. I had - I had gone to his house the night :we lost mom. I think we all kind of gathered our children, right, and I had my sister with me. So I had driven her back on the Saturday, and we were going to go to the funeral home. So I was - while I was waiting for her, I went to go check on Johnny and see if he was okay and wanted to go.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Yes. I went - I went to see him because he was - we had talked about maybe he would also go to the - to the funeral home. But when I got there, he seemed - he seemed upset because he and Amber had been fighting.
MR. CHEW: What else happened when you first met up with your brother on the morning of the 21st when you were talking about going to the funeral home?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I just -- I went to go see if he was going to go with us. I got there; he was upset -- excuse me -- because they were fighting. I got upset because of the day that was chosen to fight. But I went ahead and left and went to the -- to the funeral home with my sister and then came back that evening.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Our -- our -- we had just lost our mom the day before, so I feel like, you know, there might be the need for a little compassion, no fighting on that day.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I went ahead and went, and he was -- he was gathering his stuff because he had to go pick up some items because he was going to go on tour.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yeah. I came back. That evening, I came back. I was taking care of my sister for a bit, and then before I left to go home, I stopped at his house to make sure that he was okay, you know, and I saw him then.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He was - he was talking to a couple of people. I -you know, I saw him briefly. He seemed to be all right, and I spoke to Jerry Judge. And they had just come back from him picking up items down at - at the downtown at the loft.
MR. CHEW: When you met him the second time that day on May 21, did you meet with him at his Sweetzer house or at the ECB?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No, I went to the Sweetzer house. He had gone down to the - the penthouse to pick up some of his stuff because he was going to be g g leaving, you know, to go on - on tour, and I just stopped by after - they had just gotten back.
MR. CHEW: And as of that time, the evening of May 21, your mother had just passed, what plans, if any, had been made for a funeral service for your mother?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We - we hadn't made any plans for a funeral service. We wanted to wait until we could get, you know, all the friends and family. Because we weren't expecting the date, necessarily, but we wanted to wait until we could get all friends and family to come together to have more of a, like a dinner, like a celebration, like Mom would want at her favorite place. So we -we waited. We decided to schedule it, like, a month or so out instead of immediate.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Right.
MR. CHEW: What, if any, other formal events had been planned for that next week before he was going on tour?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, he was -- he had a -- he had the premiere for Alice that was on the Monday night. Mom passed on Friday, and the premiere was Monday night. And then he was going to take a flight after that. Immediately after the premiere, he had to get on a plane to go to New York to meet the band and go on to Europe.
MR. CHEW: And when you say ''Alice,"just so the jury may understand, if you could, please explain to them what Alice is.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Oh, I'm sorry. Alice -- and I'm so sorry right now. I don't know if it's Alice Through the Looking Glass, maybe, was that one's name or the Alice in Wonderland Disney series where he played a Hatter.
MR. CHEW: And so that premiere for Alice in Wonderland was going to be on Monday. And what day was Mr. Depp planning to go on tour with his music band?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He had to be there Tuesday morning. He - so we had to schedule it - it was very tight. We scheduled a plane for him immediately after the premiere, he would get on the plane.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I believe it was a couple of months, something like that.
MR. CHEW: Going back to the premiere, how, if at IO all, did your mother's passing affect the premiere of Alice in Wonderland?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We didn't-we didn't let anybody know that Mom had passed away. We kept that really close to just our, you know, just family and friends because he - because he had to go do the premiere. And with the premiere, he's on the - the carpet, and on the carpet, he does a lot - he does interviews. And it didn't feel right, on many levels, to have him where people knew that Mom had passed away and while he's trying to do interviews, to sort of, you know, give their condolences and their sympathies and all of that. So we kept it just with us so that it wouldn't become a, you know, a worldwide thing and he could do what he was supposed to do and do his job and ...
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I -- I didn't think he should handle it. I didn't think -- I thought it would be very hard on him, you know. I -- I -- it would be very hard, question after question and condolences.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I learned that she had filed on the Tuesday morning. After that premiere, Tuesday morning I was at the funeral home, and I got a call from the attorney to let me know that she had filed.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: He was -- he was already in New York and getting ready to travel to Europe for the tour.
MR. CHEW: How did you react, initially, when you heard from Mr. Depp's attorney that Ms. Heard had filed for divorce?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I mean, I think understandably, you know, I - the timing of this, it made me sick, actually. It really made me feel ill. It made me sad, frustrated. I don't - I don't - I can't even find the word to describe how I felt when I heard that the divorce was filed the day after, you know, while I'm at the funeral home.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I did not. I thought - I thought it was - I thought something like that might have been able to wait.
MR. CHEW: Did there come a time when you learned that Ms. Heard had also filed for a restraining order against Johnny?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Yes. I think I heard that, also from the attorney, I believe - I believe the day before she was - I think it was a Thursday, I think, I learned that one.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. Yes. Because I was shocked at that - at that. I was shocked at that and concerned that he was out of town and didn't know if he needed to be there. He was gone, you know, and - and I was asking the attorney and they said, "No, he doesn't have to be there. No one has to be there. Amber won't be there, no one will be there, just attorneys. It's a very simple process."
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. He was not in town; he wasn't in the country.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, I did.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Calls for hearsay.
MR. CHEW: Not asking for the proof of what was in the articles. It's a present-sense impression.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Irrelevant. Why is it relevant?
THE COURT: I'll sustain it to hearsay. and relevance.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: There was a tremendous amount of press coverage.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I did- I did. I did read some of it. You know, I saw some of it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Relevance.
THE COURT: Why is that relevant?
MR. ROTTENBORN: And hearsay.
THE COURT: All right. I'll sustain the objection.
THE COURT: Next question. Go ahead.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Relevance. How the witness felt is irrelevant.
THE COURT: What's the relevance, O Mr. Chew?
THE COURT: Okay. I'll sustain the objection.
THE COURT: Next question.
MR. CHEW: Moving ahead two years in time, did you see Ms. Heard's Washington Post op-ed when it was published in December 18, 2018?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Relevance.
MR. CHEW: It's entirely relevant. They're -- they're trying to argue somehow that people didn't understand what -- what the op-ed meant. We heard an opening where there was --
THE COURT: I want you to approach.
THE COURT: What is her opinion of the op-ed? How is that relevant?
MR. CHEW: What was -- not her opinion, but what did she think it was about. He's arguing that -- that because it didn't --
THE COURT: But that's still her opinion of what she thought it was about.
MR. CHEW: Right. But, I mean, they are trying to argue that people didn't understand that this was about Johnny Depp. I mean, she's a human being.
THE COURT: I understand. But I'll sustain the objection, okay?
THE COURT: Uh-huh.
THE COURT: BY 11:R. CHEW:
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. I--
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: 11:R. ROTTENBORN: Object to anything after the "yes" as hearsay
THE COURT: I'm not sure if it is or not.
THE COURT: 11:R. CHEW: It's a yes-or-no question.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Next question.
MR. CHEW: As Mr. Depp's brother [sic] and as his personal manager, do you have any understanding how the publication of the op-ed has affected your brother's career?
THE COURT: I don't know if it's hearsay.
THE COURT: 11:R. CHEW: I apologize, Your Honor.
THE COURT: That's fine.
THE COURT: I'll allow it. Let's see where the answer goes.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry. Would you mind asking it again?
MR. CHEW: Do you have an understanding of how the publication of the op-ed has affected your brother's career?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. The op-ed - the op-ed is written with - the way it was written, the wording within the op-ed make it very clear of the time frame.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection, your Honor.
THE COURT: Direct her to answer that question again. Maybe you should ask it again. J 8
MR. CHEW: How has the publication of Ms. Heard's op-ed -- putting aside for a moment its relationship to your brother, its references to your brother -- how has it affected his career?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I believe there's a negative effect on anyone's career when there is accusations, you know, as as there have been.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation.
THE COURT: I'll allow it.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Okay. Personally, I know - I know he - I know he doesn't want people to feel that he - you know, that he could ever be that type of person, which he isn't. And to know that, actually, that is something that is attached to him now, which trickles down to his children, you know, where I think that part, more than anything, is the part that has bothered him, you know, the fact that his children have to, you know, have this in their life.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection, Your Honor. Relevance, foundation.
THE COURT: I'll sustain the objection.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No, I don't. I believe the opposite.
THE COURT: Excuse me. I'll sustain the objection.
THE COURT: Thank you. And you strike that answer, please. Thank you.
MR. CHEW: As his sister and as his personal manager for decades, are you aware of any occasion on which any woman other than Ms. Heard has ever accused your brother of any type of physical abuse?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Foundation, hearsay, and leading.
THE COURT: I'll allow the answer.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Objection. Relevance.
THE COURT: What's the relevance?
THE COURT: Okay. Withdrawing the question. Okay. All right. Cross-examination.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Good afternoon, Ms. Dembrowski.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Good afternoon.
MR. ROTTENBORN: So I believe we covered some of this, but I just want to make sure. So you're -- your employed at a company your brother owns, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: It's called Infinitum Nihil?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Is that right? And it's Mr. Depp's production company?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you're the president of that company, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And that is your only source of income, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I have other projects that I work on on the side.
MR. ROTTENBORN: It's your only job, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It's my full-time job, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. And job-wise, you don't have any other sources of income other than Infinitum Nihil, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Other projects. I- I have the opportunity with other projects to make more money.
MR. ROTTENBORN: All right.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, may I approach?
THE COURT: All right. If you could, just show counsel what you're approaching with.
THE COURT: All right. He's just giving -- I think he's just giving copies, Mr. Chew.
THE COURT: I assumed there wouldn't be.
MR. ROTTENBORN: May I approach the witness?
THE COURT: Yes, please.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Ms. Dembrowski, do you remember giving a deposition in this case?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And just a couple months ago, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I believe so, yeah.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you remember, before you started that deposition, being under oath, right?
MR. ROTTENBORN: A. Yeah.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And you swore to tell the truth?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yeah.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And you were asked questions by counsel for Ms. Heard, and you gave answers, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Could you please take a look at page 19 of that deposition transcript in front of you.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And do you see on page -- sorry, page 19, line 8 through 10, you were asked a question: Do you have any other sources of income other than from Infinitum Nihil?
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you answered, "No. Job-wise, no."
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you see that?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I do.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Was that testimony correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. But it's the same as what I said today.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Now, you have a huge financial interest in your brother's career, right? The money that Infinitum Nihil makes comes from money that Mr. Depp makes, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It hasn't always historically, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: What else does it come from?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We've had deals with other entities, companies.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And for the most part, the better your brother does in his career, the more money Infinitum Nihil makes, though, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I - I don't think it's exactly like that, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you have a -- your brother has done projects that Infinitum Nihil has been the production company for, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you have a financial interest in that company, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm an employee.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Are you employed by his other companies as well?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm employed by Infinitum Nihil.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Are you employed by the other companies that your brother has?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do -- where do you receive your paycheck from? Infinitum Nihil?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Infinitum Nihil.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And you have a financial interest in how Infinitum Nihil performs financially, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I have a salary that I get, so that's not a financial interest. If you're asking if I get a piece of the pie, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You wouldn't consider salary financial interest; is that your testimony?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I consider it a salary, yes. But it sounds like you're asking something different. I'm sorry. Maybe I misunderstood.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah. So the bottom line is you draw a salary from Infinitum Nihil.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And that's your brother's production company, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Now, you feel protective of your younger brother, always have, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you testified earlier today about Mr. Depp's reactions to some of your mother's anger growing up.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
MR. ROTTENBORN: How -- how old was Mr. Depp during the periods you were talking about? Like, when he was a kid, is that basically what you were talking about?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: The reactions to Mom's anger began as - when we were children, and we had - we had the same reaction always was to leave.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. And when you were testifying earlier about Mr. Depp's reaction being to leave, you were referring to when he was -- before you left the house, when he was a kid, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. But we - we left the house not too far apart from each other, but, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: When -- when Mr. Depp would leave as a child during the times when your mother was angry at him, was he addicted to drugs back then?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Was he addicted to alcohol?
MR. ROTTENBORN: You testified a little bit about Mr. Depp's former partner, Vanessa Paradis. You were friends with Vanessa, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: We were - it was a family, so ...
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. You considered her family?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes. She was part of the family, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you were friendly with her?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You liked her?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You were happy that your brother was with her?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was happy that my brother was happy.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah. And you -- you didn't want to see him split up from Vanessa, did you?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: You know what? I wanted both of them to be happy. I - I - it didn't matter to me if they split up or not.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You were -- you were devastated when they split up, weren't you?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't think I was devastated.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Were you happy about it?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I wanted my family to be okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: What were your emotions when you learned that your brother was splitting from Vanessa?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: If I had to say, I was probably, you know, a little sad for both of them. I mean, beyond that, I - I don't - I don't really recall big emotions about it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You were sad because you were losing her as part of what you just testified was your family, right?
MR. ROTTENBORN: You weren't sad about that?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Now, on May 21st, 2016, you were asked some questions about that, and I know your mother's passing must have been very tough, so I'm not going to ask you specific questions about that.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I'm going to ask questions about the next stages to make sure that I had your testimony right.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Can you remind me, you said that you saw your brother the morning of May 21st.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I stopped by there at some point, yeah, in the daytime, in the early part of the day.
MR. ROTTENBORN: What -- approximately, what time?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I honestly don't remember.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Was it before lunch?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I - I don't remember the timing. It was just daytime.
MR. ROTTENBORN: It was daytime? And you testified that when you stopped by there for the first time that day, that you were -- you were upset because it seemed like he and Amber had been fighting.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Is that what you said?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I said that they had been arguing. They had been arguing, and I said that I - I didn't love that they were arguing on - it was a - a horrible day to argue on.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And that was, your testimony was that you were upset that they had been arguing when you stopped by that -- during the daytime, right?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. You have no understanding of any of Amber or Mr. Depp's communications leading up to May 21st, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know that I have a lot of that, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And but your testimony is that when you stopped by during the daytime on May 21st, that they had been fighting and that made you upset; is that right?
MR. ROTTENBORN: I'm just trying to understand what you testified to.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It's -- it's not that it made me upset. I found it upsetting.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Did you ever become aware that they hadn't actually seen each other or communicated at all before he came over at 8:00 p.m on May 21st?
THE COURT: Foundation.
MR. ROTTENBORN: She testified that she said that they were fighting earlier in the day. I'm asking her if she ever became aware that they actually hadn't seen each other or talked that day.
THE COURT: I'll allow the question. Go ahead.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I'll ask it again. Did you ever become aware that Amber and Mr. Depp hadn't seen each other or talked that day before he came to the Eastern Columbia Building the evening of May 21st?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I just know that when -- what I understood was that they had had a fight, whether it was over the phone or -- I don't know. They were arguing.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Now, when your mother was in the last days of her life in the hospital, Amber visited her, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Amber did come one time by herself if that's what you're referring to. She -- she did come one time shortly before Johnny was also coming.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And she visited her actually more than one time, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't recall her visiting on her own more than one time, no. I remember her coming one time, because I didn't know she was coming, and Johnny was actually also coming. So they ended up there together.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I guess I'm a little confused because you just testified that she only visited one time.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Alone. This is what I'm saying. I only remember the one time alone. Where she showed up alone, I only remember one time. And Johnny came shortly after she was there.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And other times she visited with Johnny or other people; is that right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She visited with Johnny sometimes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. During the time that Amber and Johnny were together, you became aware that he was using drugs and alcohol excessively, correct?
THE COURT: All right.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, she's testified to what she observed during their relationship. I think it's within the scope.
MR. CHEW: Your Honor, I think her testimony is that she's never observed Mr. Depp using drugs. I think it's beyond the scope.
THE COURT: I'll overrule the objection. You can ask the question. Go ahead.
THE COURT: Did you want to ask the question again?
MR. ROTTENBORN: I do, yeah.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: During the time that Amber and Johnny were dating, did you become aware that he was using drugs or alcohol excessively?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I became aware that he had been drinking, and I - during the time they were dating, I became aware of, at one point, you know, a certain - a certain medication, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you formed the opinion that not . only had he been drinking, but he was drinking excessively, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know that I formed excessively, but he was drinking.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You -- you became aware that he was using booze, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I knew he was drinking.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you knew he was using cocaine, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I never saw him do that, so ...
MR. ROTTENBORN: You became aware that he was using cocaine, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I never saw him use anything like that.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I- I became aware of people saying that.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you became so concerned about that that you told your brother to stop using cocaine, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't - I don't - I don't know that I remember telling him to stop using cocaine. I think I might have told him anything that he was doing, he should stop doing.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Heather, can you pull up exhibit 214, please. Your Honor, I'll obviously move for admission before it's published to the jury.
THE COURT: That's fine.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be on their screen.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Can you flip it?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Just trying to figure out how to rotate this, Your Honor.
THE COURT: !fit's coming from her computer screen, you have to rotate it on there.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I figured.
THE COURT: All it's doing is mirroring what's on the computer screen.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Sorry for the delay, 1: Your Honor. Appreciate your patience.
THE COURT: All right. Yes, sir.
MR. MURPHY: If I may, Your Honor, the issue is what's on the screen is not on the laptop. So that's the difficulty.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you want to unplug it and plug it back in, just to see -- to the system?
MR. ROTTENBORN: All right. I think we have it.
THE COURT: When you turn off and on, that works with everything.
MR. ROTTENBORN: That's the secret.
MR. ROTTENBORN: All right. That looks better.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Ms. Dembrowski, I'd like to direct your attention to the four texts in the page. If you look in the "From" column, there's a name that says "Christi Dembrowski," and it has a number. Is that your number?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And are those texts from you to your brother Johnny Depp?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And those texts were sent on or about February 5th, 2014?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, I'd move for the admission of Defendant's exhibit 214.
THE COURT: Any objection to 214?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Can I -- can I just say something?
THE COURT: No,just wait ma'am.
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: It seems to be more than the four texts on here, though.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I just told Heather to start with what you see.
MR. CHEW: Well, that's one problem. And then one problem is that there's a lot of other messages on that.
THE COURT: Right. I mean, it has to be just redacted.
THE COURT: With the phone numbers.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I mean, what do we do about it?
THE COURT: We can redact the phone numbers. She's already agreed that the -- she sent these texts and they're texts between her and Mr. Depp. So I -- we don't want to have the phone numbers out.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Why don't we have the text and date and we can -- we don't even need this in the From column. For today. Maybe we'll figure out something for tomorrow
THE COURT: Well, we just need a -- I need a redacted copy from you and hard copy before you can post it to the jury. Like, you can't publish it to the jury today if I don't have the redacted copy.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Can we -- can we display if she's able to get the column with the text and the --
THE COURT: If she can get just the column -- I think she's trying to do it just with the ...
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah, you can see it.
THE COURT: Well, she would have to explain who's talking to who because you don't see that without the numbers column.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. I'll ask the witness that.
THE COURT: But she can move it over. Would you have an objection to that? She's starting to move it over. She's included just those for to not being identifiers.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah. I'll take out the identifiers. Sorry about that.
THE COURT: That's fine. And this can only be an exhibit tomorrow. We were going to have to do these, I understand that. So if she can -- if she can just get this one column and then that's the next column is the one you want?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah, just those two.
THE COURT: So all the identifiers will be gone. It would just be the two texts.
THE COURT: I understand that. I'll overrule that. But if you can just observe just that part of it, just show that to the jury, you owe me that redaction tomorrow, okay?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
THE COURT: If you can just get that to me.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Apologize for the delay, Judge.
THE COURT: All right. So you're moving in 214; we'll receive it redacted --
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Correct? Okay. Over objection. That's fine. And you wanted to publish just the redacted parts, correct?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. That's fine. Right now you just have the dates up. Is that what you want to start with?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yes, Your Honor. Thank you.
THE COURT: Okay. You can publish that to the jury.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Ms. Dembrowski, I just -- because we can only show part of this page, do you see that these -- you just testified these were text messages between you and Mr. Depp, right?
MR. ROTTENBORN: And do you see that these text messages were sent on February 5th, 2014?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: The bottom three? Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And those bottom three, you just looked at when we saw the whole page, and I know it's a little cumbersome for the jury not seeing that, but you testified that the bottom three were text messages from you to your brother, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Heather, could you just scroll to the right, please. That's good. Thank you.
MR. ROTTENBORN: So on February 5th, 2014, you sent three texts to your brother. You sent one that said, "Stop drinking," Right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You sent one that said, "Stop coke," right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I assume you weren't talking about the p soft drink, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It doesn't appear to.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You were talking about cocaine, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know what these are in reference to, so - I remember they brought this up at my deposition, and these are something t.hat they're - I don't know if there's more context to them. I don't know what they're in reference to. I know what they say, but I don't know what they're in reference to.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And what they say is that on February 5th, 2014, you were telling your brother Johnny Depp to stop using cocaine, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I wrote those words. But I - that's what I'm saying. I don't know that I was telling him to stop doing that. you know, in context it would be different, it could be a different scenario.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, let's take it word by word. Coke, when you wrote "coke," you meant cocaine, not the soft drink, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And when you wrote "pills" you meant prescription pills, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yeah.
MR. ROTTENBORN: So you were telling him on February 5th, 2014 to stop drinking, stop coke, and stop pills, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I wrote the words.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And did you have any reason to believe, when you wrote that, that Mr. Depp had been on a bender recently?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't recall writing this, so I don't recall the context of it. I understand that the word are there, but I don't- I don't recall the timing or the writing of it. I don't recall anything about it, necessarily.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You weren't joking when you wrote that, right? It wasn't a joke, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I probably was not joking, but - but, you know, maybe I was repeating something that someone else told me to write.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You were telling your brother to stop drinking, stop cocaine, and stop pills because you believed that he had a problem with drinking, cocaine, and pills, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I didn't believe he had the problem as much as - as much as someone else is trying to make me believe that he had the problem.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Did you have any reason to believe that Mr. Depp had been on a recent bender?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I am reading the word bender. I'm not involved in the benders.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I'm talking about the time you sent these three texts on February 5, 2014. Did you have a reason to believe that Mr. Depp had been on a recent bender?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I couldn't tell you about February whatever date that is back then and what I would know at this moment.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Did you have any reason to be worried about Mr. Depp when you sent these texts?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Again, I don't know what was happening in life at that time. I don't recall that period, the dates. I don't recall where we - I don't recall anything about that time. These - these texts, I know - I know what the words are, but I don't know what the context is of them.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. So I'm asking you -- I'm asking you a question as best I can, which was when you sent these texts, did you have any reason to be worried about Mr. Depp's use of alcohol cocaine or pills?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Again, I don't - I don't recall the O time period of sending these texts, so I don't know that I would have any reason at that time. I don't know.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Would you have sent a text if you didn't have a reason to believe worried about his use of alcohol cocaine, or pills?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I could see those three separate lines like that, three separate texts, I could see that if there was, you know, there's different reasons that maybe I could do that. Doesn't mean that was me giving him a message.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Have you ever sent texts to anyone else to tell them to stop drinking, stop coke, or stop pills before?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Again, I don't know that I'm telling him to stop drinking, stop coke, and stop pills. That's what I'm saying. It's the context of this.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And -- and I appreciate that, but that wasn't my question. My question was have you ever sent texts to anyone else, in your life, telling them to stop drinking, stop coke, or stop pills?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't believe I've ever told anybody to stop doing any of those things in a text message, but I also don't know if that's what I was doing here is what I'm trying to say.
MR. ROTTENBORN: But you wrote those words to Mr. Depp, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I wrote those words.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you didn't love the behavior that Mr. Depp was engaging in around this time frame, did you?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know the time frame. I don't know what time frame you're actually referring to.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, around -- in the days leading up, on or around February 5th, 2014, you didn't love the behavior that Johnny Depp was engaging in, did you?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I don't -- I don't recall anyone's behavior from February 2014. I don't recall February 2014:
MR. ROTTENBORN: Would it -- would it refresh your recollection, perhaps, to see other text messages that you sent on or around this time to determine whether or not you were worried about Mr. Depp?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: If there's other context, I guess. I don't know.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Why don't we do this?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Heather, can you please pull up Exhibit 210.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, may I approach?
THE COURT: Allright.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Thank you.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Now.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I just want to preview
THE COURT: All right. What do we have here?
MR. ROTTENBORN: She's going to say -- she says that she doesn't know whether she was worried about him. So I'm going to ask her -- I'm going to ask her about some of these texts, but obviously -- I'm just trying to short-circuit some objections here.
THE COURT: So these are texts between Amber --
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, I'm going to ask her about her statements.
THE COURT: My question first is who are these texts from?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Between amber and Christi.
THE COURT: Amber and this witness. Just making sure. Get nomenclature together. You guys have been living there a lot longer. I want to make sure.
THE COURT: Okay. I see what your objection is going to be, so what's your basis?
MS. BREDEHOFT: So I'm going to ask Ms. Dembrowski about her texts. Obviously that's not hearsay.
THE COURT: Are you offering them into evidence? Or are you just...
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah, I'm offering them into evidence. I mean, she says, "I don't love any of it."
THE COURT: I mean, how do you get them in without --
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, they're Ms. Dembrowski. I'm going to ask her about them.
THE COURT: I understand you're going to ask her about these statements. I understand those are her statements. How are you going to get them into context if you're not getting ...
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, I don't know, and that's why I wanted to preview. Because I have to be able to ask her about contemporaneous writing that she made, particularly that are impeachment or 787. She just said she doesn't know if she was worried about what she texted on page 2. She said, "I don't love any of this behavior." She tells Amber "Worry about everything."
THE COURT: Go ahead. Everybody, it's late, I know sunshine.
MR. ROTTENBORN: They are not hearsay. So I'm going to ask her about that.
THE COURT: I think you can ask her about that, "did you recall texting with Ms. Heard, where you said that you were worried about him?" I think that's fine. And if she doesn't remember, you can show her the text yourself But if she doesn't have a memory, I don't see how you can get these texts in evidence.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, I'm going to try it one more time.
THE COURT: So far you haven't done it, okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: But I want to preview this.
THE COURT: That's all right. That's fine.
MR. ROTTENBORN: These when she says "No one told me, no one ever told me that he was on a recent bender
THE COURT: All right. So are you -- but if she says, "Yes, I recall doing these texts, and yes now I remember she told me he was on a bender. So that's why I sent them," or something, are you saying these texts still come in even though she's admitted to it?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah.
THE COURT: But she might not.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Yeah. Maybe not. Maybe we can take it back.
THE COURT: Yeah. If she doesn't admit to it, then I think you can do intrinsic evidence. But if even after showing them to her, if she says no, I think you have a basis for putting them into evidence, not for hearsay. There'll be limiting instructions later that it's not here for the truth of the matter. I'm not sure exactly what all these says, but --
MR. ROTTENBORN: I'm sorry.
THE COURT: But, I mean, it's a bender. She's talking about a bender. There are
MR. ROTTENBORN: I don't know. And that's going to --
THE COURT: Well, I mean, we'll have to parse it. It wouldn't be able to come in today, but you can definitely talk to her about it and then we can figure out on our own what actually would be able to come in. You can talk to her about it and show it to her. That's fine. You just won't be able to show it to the jury, give it in evidence today. Does that make sense?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Thank you. Yes. I just wanted to --
THE COURT: All your objections.
THE COURT: It would have to be redacted for sure, but at least today she might
MR. ROTTENBORN: Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: No, that's fine.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Ms. Dembrowski, do you recognize this document as a text message chain between you and Amber Heard on February 3rd, 2014?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And you see the chain starts at about 5 -- 5:20 p.m., right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And there's messages from -- from Amber to you are the ones on the right, correct, in blue?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And messages from you to Amber are the ones in gray on the left, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And if you go -- take a minute and y g just -- just read that first page, please.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Does -- does this refresh your recollection about a text conversation you had with Amber on or about February 3rd, 2014?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, I can see this is our text exchange.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And does this refresh your recollection about concern that you may have had O about the behavior that Mr. Depp was engaged in on or around that time?
THE COURT: I'll allow that question. Go ahead.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I' I ask it again. Does this refresh your recollection about the behavior that Mr. Depp may have been engaging in around that time?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It -- I remember -- I remember -- I remember this period and what Amber was believing that he was doing, yes, at this period.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And but does this refresh your recollection about your worry and concern for your brother Johnny Depp around this time?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't - still don't recall having a severe worry around this time.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. Well, before you didn't recall have any worry. So does it -- does this at least refresh your recollection that you had some worry?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - honestly, I don't recall having a worry. You know, I've had worries in the years, but I don't recall having a worry at this time. I don't recall it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. So did you -- did you have any reason to doubt what you were reading from Ms. Heard in these texts?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: To be honest, she was - she would write things quite often or explain things quite often, and - and is a bit more dramatic, maybe, than what we understood it to be, or - or maybe even sometimes the instances were different than what she was describing. So, I...
MR. ROTTENBORN: But in any event this conversations that you had with Ms. Heard gave you concern enough to tell your brother stop coke, stop pills, top booze, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No, I don't think it did.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I didn't? Did -- and I've asked this before, but we'll take a look at this. Is it true you didn't love the behavior he was engaging in around this time, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Again, I didn't witness a lot of the behavior that people are - you know, that you guys are referencing. I didn't witness a lot of . it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Take a look at page 2, please.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And just take a minute to read that, and I'll have some questions about both of the pages.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
MR. ROTTENBORN: What you had been told by Ms. Heard on the first two pages of these texts gave you concern about Mr. Depp's behavior and made you not love anything that he was engaging in behavior-wise around this time, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: What I heard from her in - in these texts, I didn't really love where life was at the time.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, I'd move for the admission of these two pages in their entirety for the reasons that we discussed, both as impeachment of the witness.
THE COURT: All right. There are other statements in here that I do find as hearsay, so we can work with it. I'm not -- I'll reserve on that for the time being, and we'll have other -- other issues with it outside the presence of the jury and we'll work on redactions, okay?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. That sounds good.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Can I -- can I ask her questions just about her language?
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And then we can work on redactions.
THE COURT: Yes. Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Yes, sir.
MR. ROTTENBORN: On the first page, Your Honor -- or I'm sorry -- on the first page, Ms. Dembrowski, you write, "Where are the kids?" Why did you write that to Ms. Heard?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know. I - I don't know. I mean, I remember they asked me that at the deposition. I'm - I'm not sure.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You wrote that because you had concerns about where Mr. Depp's kids were at this time, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Well, if she was saying he wasn't home, I was asking where the kids were.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Because you were concerned for the kids' well-being, particularly when Mr. Depp was in this sort of state, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I was curious about where the kids were if he wasn't home.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Were you ever concerned about the impact on the kids of Mr. Depp's drug use and alcohol use?
MR. ROTTENBORN: So when you wrote, "Where are are the kids?" you had no concern for their actual well-being; is that right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: The concern is - it was - it's not that kind of concern. She's saying he's not home. I was wondering where the kids were so that they weren't alone.
MR. ROTTENBORN: When you wrote her on page 2, "Do you want to come to office to talk?" you wrote that because you were concerned about what was going on with Mr. Depp at that point, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No, actually. I wrote that so that she could come to the office so that we could talk -
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: About all of it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: All of what?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Of - of her texts.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Your Honor, I'd ask for permission to push the bottom text on page 2 that I think --
THE COURT: It's not up here. You just mean her text?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Sorry. And I guess while she's pulling that up, I'd move for partial admission of Exhibit 210, with redactions to be ...
THE COURT: Again, I'm going to reserve on that. I'm still going to reserve on the admission of it, so I'm not going to show it to it jury at this time, okay?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
THE COURT: Thank you. But you can ask her questions about it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. ROTTENBORN: When you wrote Ms. Heard on February 3rd, 2014 at 5:42 p.m., Ms. Dembrowski, I worry about everything, you were telling her to worry about everything and all the types of behavior Mr. Depp was engaging in at that time.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was not telling her to worry about anything. That's -- the way I wrote that sounds like I say "I worry about everything."
MR. ROTTENBORN: You're saying that you're worrying about everything? Is that right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes, as a whole.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. So in contrast to what you testified a few minutes ago, you actually were very worried around this time frame, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I was worried about what life was. That's what I had said.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And the life that you are referring to here, what was going on in life was Mr. Depp's drug and alcohol abuse, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: What was going on in life was someone who constantly wanted to point out some sort of drug and alcohol abuse.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Is that unfair? For a spouse not to want their husband to abuse drugs and alcohol?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It's not unfair at all.
MR. ROTTENBORN: So was that a negative to you that Ms. Heard didn't love that?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Was that a negative to you that Ms. Heard didn't love Mr. Depp's drug and alcohol abuse? Was that unreasonable of her?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: To me it was exaggerated is the problem, so ...
MR. ROTTENBORN: It was exaggerated. But -- but you testified that you personally have no personal knowledge of your brother doing cocaine.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I never saw him do it, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. But -- but you had enough concern to text him "stop doing coke, stop the pills and stop the drinking, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I really don't think that's what I was doing with him
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, what you were you telling -- you weren't talking about the Super Bowl, right? You were talking about drinking, coke, and pills?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I understand. But the way it's written -- and I know my writing - the way it's written, I don't feel like what I was doing was me giving him an order to do that. I wouldn't typically do that.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You were recommending --
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: So there's other context somewhere that, you know, for that.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. That's what we're trying to explore is what is that context? Because you're very direct in those texts that the jury just looked at, "Stop the booze, stop the bills, stop the coke."
MR. ROTTENBORN: So if you weren't telling him to stop the booze, stop the pills, stop the coke, what were you telling him?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I could have been telling him that, you know, because I've had this conversation before, I could have been telling him, you know, that in order to make her not constantly accusing, you know, this is what she would need.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. You didn't write those words in your text, though, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No, I didn't.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And when you said in the February 3rd text message exchange with Ms. Heard "I don't love any of it. I really want to be able to talk with him," that was you expressing concern about Mr. Depp's drinking and drug use, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: That was me expressing concern about what life was. And it was - there was arguments all the time, and it was. - it felt like there was just constant unpleasantness.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. And would it be unfair -- well, let me ask it this way: That unpleasantness, to your knowledge, was caused, in part at least, by your brother's drug and alcohol abuse, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know that.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Did you ever reach your own conclusion that your brother had a problem with drugs and alcohol?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I knew he was drinking.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I'm sorry?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I knew my- I knew my brother was drinking. But in terms of, like, drugs, you know, honestly there was - I have only one medication that I really knew of that, you know, was an issue to him
MR. ROTTENBORN: And what was that?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't remember the name of the medication. It was a prescription medication.
MR. ROTTENBORN: What was the -- what was it?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It was a -- it was like a pain medication that he had been taking for a long time.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And that was what you were referring to when you said, "stop pills," was prescription pain medication, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Again, I wasn't necessarily referring to anything in particular. I know I wrote those words. I don't know the context of the words.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. But in any event, you don't dispute that on February 5th, 20 -- 20 -- whatever date that was, on February 5th, 2014, you wrote your brother "stop drinking, stop coke, stop pills," right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I wrote those words, but I don't know the context of the words.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Now, February 2014 wasn't the first time that you had had communications with Ms. Heard relating to concerns about drug and alcohol abuse, right, by Mr. Depp, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Heather, if you could, pull up Exhibit 163, please.
THE COURT: Which exhibit number? I'm sorry.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Oh, I'm sorry, Your Honor. 1-6 -- 1-6-3.
MR. ROTTENBORN: While she's pulling that up, Ms. Dembrowski, let me ask you this: You knew that Mr. Depp's drug and alcohol problem was affecting his relationship with Ms. Heard, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I knew that she would say that. I mean, I knew that she would say that she had issues with, you know, him with drugs and alcohol.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And -- and you knew from those communications that it was negatively impacting their relationship, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I knew that she would -- she would write me about them, you know, and I knew that she would -- I know that she would, you know, try -- try -- you know, try to talk about them. And I knew that she would say they were negatively impacting.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know that that was the whole situation that they had going on, to be honest, though.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, you didn't disbelieve her when she told you that, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: When she told me?
MR. ROTTENBORN: What you just testified to, that drinking and drugs were negatively impacting their relationship. You didn't disbelieve her, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I didn't necessarily think it was true, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: You didn't think it was true?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: That it was negatively impacting their relationship?
MR. ROTTENBORN: Uh-huh.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I didn't necessarily think it was a hundred percent true, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, you just said "true" and then "a hundred percent true," so I'm --
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: True.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Trying to figure out -- I'm trying y g g y g to figure out where you're going with this.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Is it your testimony today that you never believed Ms. Heard when she would talk to you about Johnny's drugs and drinking?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I think you're taking it to an extreme.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Well, that's what I'm trying to get at. I'm sorry if I am. So just plain to me what -- that's not your testimony?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I think she - I think she exaggerated things quite a bit.
MR. ROTTENBORN: But you tried to help Amber deal with Mr. Depp's drugs and drinking, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I tried - I tried to make sure that I was helpful to Amber as best I could, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: If you can, look at the document in front of you, Exhibit 163, please.
MR. ROTTENBORN: This is a text exchange between you and Ms. Heard on March 22nd, 2013, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And do you remember earlier you testified about being present during the filming of a documentary about Keith Richards?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: This was -- this was right around that time frame, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I - I don't know.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you recall when that was?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't recall the dates.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And actually one thing I wanted to ask you about that while we're at it is you testified earlier about not seeing cuts or -- or bruises on her face; do you remember that?
MR. ROTTENBORN: You don't -- you have no knowledge whether she was wearing makeup or not that night, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't - I don't recall if she was wearing makeup or not She typically did not.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And you weren't specifically looking for cuts or bruises because you suspected that Mr. Depp had abused her, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I would - I would have to reason to look for cuts or bruises, but I would think if they were there, I would see them
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. So if you look at page 1 -- Exhibit 163 --
MR. ROTTENBORN: And, your Honor, I move for permission to publish.
THE COURT: I'm going to sustain that objection.
MR. ROTTENBORN: I figured you would, but can I do the same thing and ask her about her IO words to Ms. Heard? And then we can -- reserving the right to publish it to the jury depending on Your Honor's ruling?
THE COURT: If it refreshes her memory about the conversations you're trying to discuss, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Ms. Dembrowski, do you recall having a conversation with Ms. Heard on or about March 22nd, 2013, in which Ms. Heard was expressing concerns to you about Mr. Depp's behavior?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. I -- I don't recall dates, so, no.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. Why don't you go ahead and take a look at this document, please. And let's just -- let's start with -- just tell me when you're done with page 1, please.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Oh. Ms. Dembrowski, I think -- I think that's you on the screen, which is okay if you want to mark it up.
THE COURT: We can clear that. We've got it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Doing their own redactions.
THE COURT: Okay.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Okay. I've read it.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. So when -- when you texted Ms. Heard -- first of all, does this refresh your recollection about a conversation that you and Ms. Heard had on March 22nd, 2013 relating to Ms. Heard's concerns about Mr. Depp's behavior?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: It really doesn't, but I - I see it here.
MR. ROTTENBORN: But you don't dispute that it is a conversation that the two of you had?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: This is a text exchange between the two of us, yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. When you wrote, "Don't be sorry! I'm not completely sure if what is going on or why, but I don't love what it is," what did you mean by that?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm - I'm riot a hundred percent sure. I believe I probably meant, once again, you know, how life was.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Right. Life, including Mr. Depp's conduct toward my client, Amber Heard, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. And when you wrote, "It is sad, and I'm sorry, you guys are going through this. I'm here if there's anything I can do," you were talking about the -- you were sad that they were going through the challenges of drugs and alcohol on behalf of Mr. Depp were posing to their relationship, correct?
THE COURT: I'll allow it if she can answer it.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't think that I'm saying that I'm sad about that. I'm - I'm saying that I'm sad, you know, about whatever it is that, you know, that they're going through. But I don't know exactly what it is that they're going through.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And right two texts underneath that, Ms. Heard tells you what they're gog through, right?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She does go into about - yeah, what they have going on.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And then below that you say, "I think with anyone in that place; confrontation unfortunately doesn't help, and sometimes conversations can seem like confrontations."
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you see that?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Were you suggesting to Ms. Heard that she student have a conversation with Mr. Depp about what drugs and alcohol did to him because it could seem like a confrontation?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. No, I was not suggesting that at
MR. ROTTENBORN: What did you mean by it?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Honestly, what I was trying to do is trying to - Amber, Ms. Heard, she - she could be very, very vocal. And so what I was trying to do was if they were having a conversation, if it wasn't going well, I was trying to tell her that, you know, maybe, you know, sometimes conversations, if you're vocal, really loud, they're more confrontational, like, just to.:_ whatever it is, just have a nice, easy conversation.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay. Well, let's just go to -- I want to look at one more text at the top of the next page.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Heather, please.
MR. ROTTENBORN: When you write Ms. Heard on March 22nd, 2013, you said, "Disagreeing, reasoning, nudging, all can seem like confrontations. I'm not sure of the volume or when some is likely to wear off?"
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Uh-huh.
MR. ROTTENBORN: First of all, when you were talking j about volume or when some is likely to wear off, you're talking about drugs or alcohol, correct?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: She said in a text prior, right?
MR. CHEW: Your Honor, objection, hearsay. That's the problem with this. That is completely hearsay.
THE COURT: I understand. I'll sustain the objection.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And I'm asking what you're -- you're referring to. Without referring to Ms. Heard's text prior, when you say, "I'm not sure of the volume or when some is likely to wear off," what are you referring to?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I don't know. I mean, that's what I'm trying too say is, you know, she had all kinds of things that she said in the text prior. I'm referring to, like, volume of, you know, even just voices. You know, that - even you can see where I say like the nudging and all of that. You know, there was a certain way that you learn to try to talk with Amber to keep things calm.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And when you said --
MR. ROTTENBORN: I thought she was.
THE COURT: Mr. --
THE COURT: Thank you. I understand. I appreciate it. I'll let her finish her answer.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Thank you.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: There was a certain way that, you know, ultimately you had to talk to Amber to sort of keep things calm. So you would pacify her. You would sort of, you know, just go along with all of her conversations, whatever, so that you could - we would placate her all the time to keep things calm. That's what we did.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And -- and -- and so when you said "disagreeing, reasoning, nudging, all can seem like confrontations," were you telling Ms. Heard that she shouldn't voice any concerns about her significant other's drug or alcohol abuse?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Voice her-- voice any concerns to who?
MR. ROTTENBORN: To him. That she shouldn't nudge him about it or try to reason with him about drug and alcohol abuse or his behavior? Is that what you were saying? That she shouldn't do that because it might seem like a confrontation?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. She was more confrontational. She was much more confrontational, always confrontational, and I was trying to say that all these things can be confrontational and maybe - maybe take it down a notch.
MR. ROTTENBORN: And so you shouldn't disagree or reason or nudge, is that what you were saying?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: No. In the way that I know that it would be done, she was much more - she wasn't a - you know, there wasn't a comforting conversation.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you -- I'm sorry. Sorry for interruption. Were you done with your answer?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I think so.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you believe that disagreeing with someone or trying to reason with them or nudging them justifies them getting abused?
THE COURT: As to foundation, I'll sustain as to foundation.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Okay.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you have any -- have you ever disagreed with other reasoned with or nudged anyone in anything in your -- in your life?
THE COURT: All right.
MR. ROTTENBORN: These are the words that she wrote.
MR. ROTTENBORN: These are the words that she wrote to my client, "disagreeing, reasoning, nudging, all seem like confrontation."
THE COURT: I'll allow the question. You can answer.
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: I'm sorry.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Have you ever disagreed or reasoned or nudged with someone in your life?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Yes.
MR. ROTTENBORN: Do you believe that doing any of these three things would justify your being abused?
THE COURT: I'll sustain the --
MR. ROTTENBORN: Withdraw, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. All right. How much more do you have probably?
MR. ROTTENBORN: A little bit.
THE COURT: Since it's about 5:00.
MR. ROTTENBORN: About an hour.
THE COURT: All right. About an hour. Okay. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, since it's 5:00, we're going to go ahead and release you for the day, okay? Just a reminder, as always don't do any outside research, don't talk.to anybody about this case, don't look at the news, Thank you.
THE COURT: All right. Ms. Dembrowski, just a reminder that you are still under oath and you're still testifying, so since you're still testifying, you can't have any discussions with anybody to include Mr. Depp's attorneys or his legal team, okay?
CHRISTI DEMBROWSKI: Okay.