Elon Musk gifted Amber Heard a Tesla fitted with a bugging device and the actress’ mother preferred Johnny Depp over the ‘controlling’ billionaire, a family friend has claimed in a new legal declaration seen by DailyMail.com.
The claims are made by non-profit founder Jennifer Howell, who says she became close friends with Heard’s younger sister Whitney Henriquez while she was her boss from 2014 to 2016.
She also got to know the sisters’ late mother Paige, whom Howell says spilled extraordinary secrets about Heard’s relationship with the SpaceX mogul after her split from Johnny Depp.
In a sworn July 26 statement provided to Depp’s lawyers, Howell states: ‘Paige shared with me while I was visiting Whitney that Elon Musk had gifted a Tesla or multiple Teslas (not sure if it was one or more), but Amber found out that they were ”bugged”.’
She claimed Paige described Musk as ‘controlling’ and that compared to the tech CEO, Depp was either an ‘angel’ or a ‘saint’, as she wished Heard would reunite with the Pirates of the Caribbean star.
Henriquez, 31, said today that Howell’s recollections are ‘bizarre’ and a ‘complete fiction’.
Elon Musk gifted Amber Heard a Tesla fitted with a bugging device and the actress’ family preferred Johnny Depp over the ‘controlling’ billionaire, a family friend has claimed in a new legal declaration seen by DailyMail.com
The claims are made by non-profit founder Jennifer Howell, who says she became close friends with Heard’s younger sister Whitney Henriquez while she was her boss from 2014 to 2016. Pictured: Heard receiving ‘THE SPIRIT OF ELYSIUM Award’ from Howell in January 2015
Paige allegedly dished to Howell on Heard’s turbulent love-life. ‘Paige told me that Johnny was either an ‘angel’ or a ‘saint’ compared to Elon, and she wished that Amber and Johnny would reconcile,’ Howell writes in her declaration. Pictured: Heard and her mother in 2009
DailyMail.com understands that Heard and her sister are particularly upset the claims are being attributed to their mother Paige Heard, who died in May, aged 63.
Musk’s reps declined to comment but sources close to the Tesla inventor described Howell’s declaration as ‘pure fantasy land’ and pointed out that Heard had ‘only ever said glowing things’ about him.
In an interview over the weekend Musk once more denied sleeping with Heard behind Depp’s back, telling the New York Times that cheating claims made during the actor’s ongoing UK libel case against The Sun newspaper were ‘totally false.’
He also taunted Depp over a text message read out during the London proceedings in which the actor joked to a friend that he wanted to ‘slice off’ Musk’s penis.
‘If Johnny wants a cage fight, just let me know,’ Musk laughed.
The 49-year-old has always insisted he only became romantic with Heard after the couple’s May 2016 breakup, despite concierge staff at Depp’s former apartment building claiming to have seen Musk coming and going before the marriage ended.
Howell says she employed Heard’s sister from 2014 to 2016, first as a volunteer, then as a manager at her LA-based community arts non-profit, The Art of Elysium.
She claims she was visiting Henriquez in early 2019, several months after the birth of Henriquez’s son Hunter, when Paige dished on her famed older daughter’s turbulent love life.
In a sworn July 26 statement provided to Depp’s lawyers, Howell states: ‘Paige shared with me while I was visiting Whitney that Elon Musk had gifted a Tesla or multiple Teslas (not sure if it was one or more), but Amber found out that they were ‘bugged”
She claims she was visiting Henriquez in early 2019, several months after the birth of Henriquez’s son Hunter, when Paige dished on her famed older daughter’s turbulent love life. Pictured: Heard (left) with her sister Whitney and mother Paige (right)
Howell wrote: ‘Paige also told me the reason Johnny and Amber broke up was because Amber was violent and emotional and loved Johnny so much that she could not control it.
‘I was indeed taken aback because this conversation occurred after the divorce and when Hunter was only a few months old, and I was at Whitney’s house.
‘Whitney told me that Amber and Johnny were still in touch and that they were each other’s true loves or something to that exact sentiment.
‘Whitney was still going through the emotions of having had a baby and all of those ups and downs, and I could not believe that Amber and Johnny’s relationship was being discussed while Whitney was the one who needed to be the focal point and needed our support.’
Howell says she also got to know Heard well when she became her organization’s star volunteer and fundraiser, helping to stage art exhibitions in children’s hospitals, hospices, special needs schools and elder care facilities.
The charity gave Heard an award for her efforts and Howell even wrote her a character reference when the actress got in hot water with Australian authorities for failing to declare her two Yorkshire Terriers when she and Depp flew Down Under in 2015.
‘In 2015, Amber received the highest honor the charity has to give, THE SPIRIT OF ELYSIUM Award,’ Howell wrote in February 2016.
This is bestowed on an individual who has embodied the ideals of the charity and has given through volunteering, supporting our programs, fundraising and truly living the mission of giving, according to Howell.
DailyMail.com understands that Heard and her sister are particularly upset that the claims are being attributed to their mother Paige Heard, who died in May, aged 63. Pictured: Heard and her sister leaving London High Court on Tuesday
‘Amber is a walking example of selflessness and giving. Not only has she volunteered for over a decade with patients in various medical facilities but she has been there for me any time day or night to give support or just listen and give advice about whatever challenges I am facing at that moment.’
Heard upset Howell, however, when she vowed to give her $7 million divorce settlement to charity but snubbed The Art of Elysium and divided the money instead between the American Civil Liberties Union and the LA Children’s Hospital.
‘I asked Amber’s publicist why, when she and Amber had been so eager to use our name in the press during the divorce, and when the funds would mean so much to a small organization like ours, would Amber direct all the money to these other two huge charities that she had not been associated with?’ Howell says in her sworn testimony.
‘Amber’s publicist told me that they were more prominent charities with a more significant press reach and got international press.
‘Then, months later, a $250,000 donation came into our organization from an anonymous donor ‘on behalf of Amber Heard.’ The funds did not come from Amber. I believed this donation came from Elon.’
Howell’s statement is one of dozens of depositions and declarations made in Depp’s ongoing defamation action against Heard in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Howell’s statement is one of dozens of depositions and declarations made in Depp’s ongoing defamation action against Heard in Fairfax County, Virginia. Pictured: Depp raises a clenched fist above his head as he departs the High Court in London for the final time on Tuesday
The Pirates of the Caribbean star launched the $50 million suit last year after she penned an op-ed for the Washington Post describing herself as a survivor of domestic violence. His attorneys subpoenaed Musk for any texts, emails, letters or communications he exchanged with Heard during their marriage or anything mentioning alleged incidents of domestic violence. Pictured: Heard and Musk in Depp’s elevator
Specifically, Heard asked staff at the Eastern Columbia Building to give her ‘friend Elon’ access to the building’s parking garage and the penthouse elevator ‘late at night,’ and they testified that they did so
The Pirates of the Caribbean star launched the $50 million suit last year after she penned an op-ed for the Washington Post describing herself as a survivor of domestic violence.
His attorneys subpoenaed Musk for any texts, emails, letters or communications he exchanged with Heard during her marriage to Depp or anything mentioning alleged incidents of domestic violence.
‘Only one calendar month after Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard were married – while Mr. Depp was out of the country, filming in March 2015 – Eastern Columbia Building personnel testified that Ms. Heard received Musk ‘late at night’ at Mr. Depp’s penthouse,’ the suit alleges.
Specifically, Heard asked staff at the Eastern Columbia Building to give her ‘friend Elon’ access to the building’s parking garage and the penthouse elevator ‘late at night,’ and they testified that they did so, according to legal papers.
‘Building staff would then see Ms. Heard’s ”friend Elon” leaving the building the next morning,’ the suit claims.
Depp specifically wants to know what Heard told the tech tycoon about their May 21, 2016 blowout fight that resulted in Heard seeking a restraining order, accusing Depp of hurling a phone at her and beating her.
The Oscar nominee has always argued he was the victim of an ‘elaborate hoax’ instigated by his ex-wife, who ‘faked’ her injuries with makeup.
Around three months after the split Heard and Musk were romantically linked for the first time after spending a weekend together in Miami, according to reports.
They dated on and off until finally calling it quits in 2018 and the entrepreneur has just had a baby with his current partner singer Grimes.
Heard’s reps did not deny that Henriquez and Howell were close friends but they issued a statement from the younger sibling stating: ‘This is complete fiction.
‘Jennifer Howell’s statements do not bear any relationship to the truth and I have no idea why she is saying this.’