Johnny Depp jokes that his severed finger gushed like ‘Vesuvius’ after it was sliced off during a blood-curdling fight with ex-wife Amber Heard in exclusive video footage obtained by DailyMail.com.

The Captain Jack Sparrow actor, 56, chuckles on camera as he reveals how he nicknamed the permanently-damaged digit ‘Little Richard.’

He also claims during a series of clips that he ‘protected’ Heard in the aftermath of the March 2015 dust-up, pretending he trapped it in a door when the gruesome injury allegedly happened when she hurled a vodka bottle at him.

‘I was trying to get the finger back, you know,’ he says, with a wry smile. ‘And then deal with the insanity of having had my finger chopped off by this woman that I was married to.’

The violent incident took place a month after the pair were married and while Depp was filming the fifth installment of the Pirates of Caribbean movie franchise in Australia.

It has become the couple’s most memorable - and hotly contested - clash, with both sides offering radically different accounts in a string of legal cases that followed their bitter May 2016 split.

Johnny Depp jokes that his severed finger gushed like 'Vesuvius' after it was sliced off during a blood-curdling fight with ex-wife Amber Heard in exclusive video footage obtained by DailyMail.com

DailyMail.com's exclusive video is the first time the Oscar nominee has been seen on camera recalling the violent March 2015 night in his own words. Pictured: Depp's finger after the gruesome injury

Heard, 33, maintains in court filings that Depp severed the tip of his right middle finger while smashing a phone against a wall during a three-day booze and ecstasy bender. She also accuses her ex-lover of ripping off her nightgown, grabbing her breasts and strangling her during the ‘horrific’ ordeal, producing texts from Depp to suggest the injury was self-inflicted.

‘I cut the top of my middle finger off… What should I do!?? Except, of course, go to a hospital…. I’m so embarrassed for jumping into anything with her… F**K THE WORLD!!! JD,’ he wrote in one message.

The father-of-two also wrote to his personal doctor, David Kipper. ‘Thank you for everything. I have chopped off my left middle finger as a reminder that I should never cut my finger off again!! I love you, brother. Johnny.’

Depp has addressed the bloody altercation in court documents but DailyMail.com’s exclusive video is the first time the Oscar nominee has been seen on camera recalling it in his own words.

The clip was part of a videotaped deposition for an entirely separate legal case settled last year in which Depp accused a former lawyer, Jake Bloom, of wrongly collecting millions of dollars in fees. ‘Basically I had a pretty nasty injury that I actually had to protect her at the time,’ he says.

‘And so I said that it was caught in the door in these huge accordion doors at this house, that wasn't the case at all.

‘She smashed, she threw a vodka bottle at me and my, my hand was resting on the marble of the bar like that.

‘The first bottle went whoosh just past my ear. And the second one was a larger bottle and she threw it from about this distance and it smashed into the bar, which, this finger who I now call little Richard, was, the tip of the finger was severed and all the bone in here was completely shattered.’

Pointing to the visible scar on his finger, Depp, looking uncharacteristically clean-cut in a navy Tom Ford suit and tie, goes on: ‘I mean, it looked like Vesuvius and then I got infections. ‘I ended up with MRSA twice, so it was very complicated. I was trying to just get the finger back, you know. And then deal with the insanity of having had my finger chopped off by this woman that I was married to.’

DailyMail.com understands that Bloom’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, brought the injury up because Bloom’s law firm had prepared the post-nup agreement that Heard was asked to sign the night before the fight.

The violent incident took place a month after the pair were married and while Depp was filming the fifth installment of the Pirates of Caribbean movie franchise in Australia. The Captain Jack Sparrow actor, 56, chuckles on camera as he reveals how he nicknamed the permanently-damaged digit 'Little Richard.' Pictured: Depp's finger after surgery

Heard, 33, maintains in court filings that Depp severed his middle finger while smashing a phone against a wall during a three-day booze and ecstasy bender It has become the couple's most memorable clash, with both offering different accounts in a string of legal cases that followed their bitter May 2016 split

The clip was part of a videotaped deposition for an entirely separate legal case settled last year in which Depp accused a former lawyer of wrongly collecting millions of dollars in fees

Pointing to the visible scar on his finger, Depp, looking uncharacteristically clean-cut in a navy Tom Ford suit and tie, goes on: 'I mean, it looked like Vesuvius and then I got infections'

Depp has claimed in court filings that the Aquaman actress flew into a rage and attacked him after being asked to sign.

She claims, however, that Depp’s temper flared as he accused her of having had an affair with her former co-star, Billy Bob Thornton. Depp does not dispute one of the more macabre elements of Heard’s horrifying account - that he dipped the gnarled digit in blue paint afterwards and wrote ‘Billy Bob’ and ‘Easy Amber’ on a mirror.

Sources close to the star say he puts it down to being in an extreme state of shock.

Freedman doesn’t bring that up, but he does ask Depp about ‘the story about a bottle and then Amber apparently created some story you punching a wall or something like that?’

‘She says that I did it myself, yeah, By punching a wall,’ Depp scoffs.

‘I tell you, I’d like to see the reactions from scientists, I mean, physicians, who are familiar with this sort of trauma, this sort of thing, because I’d love to see her explain how someone hits a wall and if they put their fist through it, its dry wall or something.’

Depp and Bloom fell out after he accused his longtime lawyer Jake Bloom of improperly collecting more than $30m during their 18-year working relationship. An eight-figure settlement was reached last October, though Bloom’s camp said they paid out only ‘fraction’ of the original demand.

For Depp, the legal battles are far from over, however, as he prepares to square up to his ex-wife to in two separate defamation lawsuits either side of the Atlantic.

The Charlie and Chocolate Factory star has taken on News Group Newspapers in London over a 2018 article in The Sun newspaper that described him as 'wife beater', with Heard scheduled to give testimony. Later this year hostilities will switch to Virginia where Depp has filed a $50m suit over a Washington Post op-ed in which Heard lamented her experiences as a domestic violence victim.

Depp does not dispute one of the more macabre elements of Heard's horrifying account - that he dipped the gnarled digit in blue paint afterwards and wrote 'Billy Bob' and 'Easy Amber' on a mirror (pictured)

Heard claims, however, that Depp's temper flared as he accused her of having had an affair with her former co-star, Billy Bob Thornton (pictured together on the set of London Fields)

Depp also claims during a series of clips that he 'protected' Heard in the aftermath of the March 2015 dust-up, pretending he trapped it in a door when the gruesome injury allegedly happened when she hurled a vodka bottle at him'. Pictured: Depp waving with his other hand wrapped up as he headed back to the US for surgery after the fight

As part of Depp's $50m defamation case against Heard, he included images of his own bruised and battered face (pictured ) following Heard's alleged attacks

WHAT JOHNNY DEPP HAS SAID ABOUT THE INFAMOUS FIGHT: IN HIS 2019 DEFAMATION SUIT ‘While I was in Australia filming a movie approximately one month after I married Ms. Heard, on a day where my then-lawyer tried to discuss with Ms. Heard the need that she sign a post-nuptial agreement with me, she went berserk and began throwing bottles at me. The first bottle sailed past my head and missed, but then she threw a large glass vodka bottle. The bottle struck the marble countertop where my hand was resting and exploded. The projectile’s impact shattered the bone in my finger and entirely severed the tip of my finger ... I had to have 3 surgeries to reconstruct my finger and contracted MRSA three times. I feared that I would lose my finger, my arm, and my life.' 'To conceal the fact that her domestic violence against me caused me grievous bodily injury, Ms. Heard has concocted various, shifting, false stories claiming that I cut off my own finger. First, in the midst of our divorce case, Ms. Heard caused to be leaked to the media a fake story that I cut off my finger by punching a hole in a wall. Now, Ms. Heard has crafted a new, but equally fake, story that I cut off my finger by smashing a plastic phone to smithereens while violently beating her in a ‘three-day ordeal’. Advertisement

The former lovebirds met on the set of The Rum Diary back in 2011, married four years later - but split in May 2016 amid a slew of shuddering domestic violence allegations and tabloid headlines.

They looked to have put their feud behind them after agreeing to a $7m divorce settlement until Heard wrote in December 2018 that she was a domestic violence ‘survivor’.

Her essay did not mention Depp by name but he filed for defamation in March 2019, saying it led to speculation that he was the abuser and caused him to lose the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Heard’s team failed to have the case thrown out after a judge in Fairfax County, Virginia agreed last week that it could indeed be interpreted as a reference to her ex-husband. Depp has always argued that he was the victim of an 'elaborate hoax' instigated by his ex-wife, who ‘faked’ her injuries with makeup after a blowout May 2016 fight that finally ended their toxic marriage.

'Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse; she is the perpetrator,' his defamation suit alleges. 'She hit, punched and kicked me. She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me.'

Heard responded with a 300-page filing of her own, cataloguing the years of alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of ‘the monster’ and recalling many of the allegations she made during their divorce The case is due to be heard in August.

‘Amber Heard and her media co-conspirators continue to peddle the unsustainable hoax that Johnny Depp cut his own finger off in a series of ever-evolving and more ridiculous scenarios,’ Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman told DailyMail.com

‘The evidence unambiguously shows, however, that the morning after Ms Heard was asked to sign a post-nuptial agreement, she severed Mr Depp’s finger with a thrown bottle.’

A lawyer for Heard countered: ‘Just last month it was revealed in a UK court that Mr Depp admitted to cutting off his own finger and sent multiple text message to his doctor about it.

‘Once again, the evidence is inconsistent with Mr Depp’s self-serving account.’

IN HIS DECEMBER 12, 2018 DEPOSITION IN THE BLOOM SUIT: ‘Basically I had a pretty nasty injury that err, err, that I actually I, I, I had to protect her at the time. And so I said that it was caught in the door in these, these huge accordion doors at this house, that wasn't the case at all. Um, she, she smashed, uh, she threw a vodka bottle at me and my, my hand was resting on the marble of the bar like that. And the first bottle went whoosh just past my ear. And the second one was a larger bottle and she threw it from about this distance and it smashed into the bar, which, um, this, this finger who I now call little Richard, uh, um, was, was, uh, the, the tip of the finger was severed and the, the, all the, all the bone in here was, uh, completely shattered. I mean, it looked like Vesuvius and then I got infections. I ended up with MRSA twice, so it was very complicated. I was trying to just get the finger back, you know. Mmm. And, and then deal with the insanity of having had my finger chopped off by this woman that I was married to.’

‘I personally don’t recall any of that stuff. When I was down, when I was off, not being able to work, because of the severity of the injury I had to go back to Los Angeles and have surgery. Erm, so most of the time what I was dealing with was just, erm recuperating, or just, you know, I didn’t want to lose the finger because MRSA, the MRSA infection, is really quite evil and I ended up with it twice. I was really just worried about losing a finger or an arm or…’

‘She says that I did it myself by punching a wall … I tell you, ahh, I’d like to see the reactions from scientists, I mean, physicians, who, you know, are familiar, you know, with this sort of trauma, this sort of thing, because I’d love to see her explain how someone hits a wall and if they put their fist through it that means that its dry wall or something, It’s not… ‘

WHAT AMBER HEARD HAS SAID: IN HER 300-PAGE REPLY TO HIS DEFAMATION CASE ‘In one of the most horrific and scariest moments of this three-day ordeal, Johnny grabbed me by the neck and collarbone and slammed me against the countertop. I struggled to stand up as he strangled me, but my arms and feet kept slipping and sliding on to the spilled alcohol and were dragged against the broken glass on the countertop and floor, which repeatedly slashed my feet and arms. Scared for my life, I told Johnny, ‘You are hurting me and cutting me.’ Johnny ignored me, continuing to hit me with the back of one closed hand, and slamming a hard plastic phone against a wall with his other until it was smashed into smithereens. While he was smashing the phone, Johnny severely injured his finger, cutting off the tip of it … Once I was able to get away, I barricaded myself in an upstairs bedroom. On the third day of Johnny staying awake without sleeping, I came downstairs to find numerous messages Johnny had written to me around the house, on the walls and on my clothes, written in a combination of oil paint and the blood from his broken and severed finger. Johnny also urinated all over the house.’ Advertisement

The former lovebirds met on the set of The Rum Diary back in 2011, married four years later - but split in May 2016 amid a slew of shuddering domestic violence allegations and tabloid headlines. Pictured: Heard during her 2016 deposition where she described punching Depp in the face in attempt to stop him from hurting her sister, she said

Heard cataloged the 'horrific' abuse she claims to have suffered at Depp's hands, describing him as 'the monster' and recalling many of the allegations she made during their divorce. The filing included photos of bruises and scars (left and right)