Howard Stern Slams Johnny Depp as 'Narcissist' Trying to 'Charm the Pants Off of America' at Trial

Howard Stern thinks Johnny Depp was "overacting" while on the stand and questions why his trial, in which the actor is suing ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation, is being live-streamed for the public.

The radio personality said on Monday's installment of SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show that he thinks Depp, 58, is a "narcissist" who wanted the trial televised because narcissists "think they can talk their way out of everything." The Pirates of the Caribbean star is suing Heard, 36, for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post about surviving domestic violence, though she never mentioned Depp by name.

"On the narcissism scale, I think Johnny Depp is a huge narcissist — and what I mean by that is, he figured 'I'll put this on TV. And because I'm so persuasive and I'm so smart, and I'm such a wonderful guy,' " Stern said, according to The Wrap.

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Stern added that he felt Depp — who has fans in attendance inside and outside the courtroom — was "overacting" and "writing his own material as he goes along."

About the decision to have cameras in the courtroom backfiring, Stern said, "But that's what narcissists do: 'I will charm the pants off of America at the trial.' No you won't. This will not go well. It's not going well for you, it's not going well for her. It's not going well for anybody. You sound like two battling children. It's just coming off really badly."

While testifying last week and earlier this week, Depp spoke about growing up in an abusive household, aired out intimate details of his former relationship with Heard, and answered to troubling text messages and audio/video evidence showed to the jury.

RELATED: Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard: Biggest Bombshells and Revelations from the Defamation Trial (So Far)

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At one point, when Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn asked Depp to read an October 2016 text message he sent to longtime friend and neighbor Isaac Baruch during cross-examination, Depp prefaced it by saying, "I'll just say that I'm not proud of any of the language that I used in these anger—." He had texted about Heard's "rotting corpse" "decomposing in the f-----g trunk of a Honda Civic."

Under oath, Depp said, "Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life." He explained that his "goal" in suing Heard for defamation "is the truth," adding that he hopes to "clear the record" of the domestic violence allegations made against him by Heard.

One of Depp's witnesses, their former marriage counselor Dr. Laurel Anderson, previously testified that Depp and Heard engaged in "mutual abuse" with each other. Anderson said she also observed "multiple" small bruises on Heard's face at an in-person meeting.

Heard has not yet testified in the case.

JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/AFP via Getty; JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Johnny Depp; Amber Heard

During opening statements, Heard's attorney Rottenborn said evidence will show she suffered domestic abuse by Depp that "took many forms," including physical, emotional, verbal and psychological, as well as "sexual violence at the hands of Depp." A spokesperson for Depp denies the allegations, calling them "fictitious."

Heard and Depp wed in 2015. They broke up in May 2016, when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and the former couple settled their divorce out of court in August 2016.

Back in November 2020, Depp lost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled.