In the mud fight in front of a US court between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the actress currently has the floor. Heard is taking the stand for the third time in her ex-husband’s defamation trial.
After a week’s break, ex-couple Amber Heard (36) and Johnny Depp (58) are now meeting again in the courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia (USA). After the actor testified as a witness, it is now her third day on the witness stand. On Monday (May 16) the day of the trial started around 9 a.m. local time (3 p.m. local time). What happened until now:
Heard spent her first minutes on the witness stand Monday adjusting her testimony and telling the court that Depp’s alleged abuse began earlier than she previously remembered. “I’m ashamed to say I would have liked to think that the time that I fell in love with Johnny, we fell in love and he was sober and he wasn’t violent towards me lasted longer than it did it did,” Heard said.
She said after reviewing her therapy notes, she recalled earlier moments of the alleged abuse dating back as early as 2012 and not 2013. When asked by her attorney why she hadn’t recalled those moments earlier, she said Heard: “That’s not how my memory works.”
Heard told the court that Depp attacked her in the sleeper of a train in Southeast Asia while they were on their honeymoon. Depp and Heard argued last night because Depp wanted her “permission” to break his sobriety. She testified that he had already drunk “brown liquor” that night.
She claimed he slapped her in her compartment and then held her by the neck. She said she was afraid Depp would accidentally kill her.
Photos of Heard at film premieres seven years ago were also shown in court. Scars can be seen on her left forearm. They should prove that Depp injured them a few months earlier. Heard on her scars: “Johnny held me down on the counter and my arms were cut open on the glass.” He would have “choked” her.
Heard further said her ex-husband had problems with her sex and nude scenes. He would also have liked to see their films in advance, according to Heard. He was also against a joint film with actor James Franco.
In addition, sound recordings were played again – tears flowed at Heard. “Nothing I did brought him down. I never knew what version of Johnny I was dealing with.” His alcohol and drug use determined his behavior.
A second audio recording from 2015 appears to be about whether they should ask each other’s permission before recording themselves. Depp is said to yell at Heard: “Shut up. You are not my school teacher, you are not my mother”. Heard jumped on the witness stand when she heard him scream.
Because of escalating disputes, the couple also introduced a code word: “Couch,” according to Heard. As soon as one of the two said the code word, the argument should have ended immediately.
According to Heard, the actor is said to have injured himself in the argument. This included burning himself with cigarettes, Heard said, contradicting Depp’s earlier statement that Heard stubbed out a cigarette in his face. Heard told the court that he stood in front of her and yelled in her face as he stubbed out a cigarette on his own cheek. Heard literally: “I almost called 911 in New York in August 2014. He often cut his arms during arguments or held a knife to his chest.”
Heard testified that the trigger for seeking a restraining order against Depp was his allegations that she and her friends left feces on his bed. Heard said the feces belonged to one of her dogs. According to Heard, Depp’s dog ate his marijuana stash and suffered from digestive problems as a result.
When the couple met after the death of Depp’s mother, Depp reportedly yelled at Heard and grabbed her phone while she was on the phone with a friend. Then he is said to have thrown the phone in her face and grabbed her head.
Heard’s relationship with Elon Musk will also be addressed in court. Heard is said to have met the very wealthy Tesla co-founder Elon Musk (50) at the 2016 Met Gala after Depp stood her up.
“We were dressed by Ralph Lauren. Johnny missed the fitting. We planned to go together as Ralph Lauren’s guests,” the actress is quoted as saying by “Bild”. But Johnny couldn’t be reached. “And I didn’t have a phone after Johnny threw it out the window. In the end I went alone.”
According to “Bild”, Depp’s lawyer calls out “Objection!” after almost every question. Depp also criticized Heard’s statements during the break in the process as an “acting achievement of her life”.
On the witness stand, he had already declared under oath that Heard had never been hit. In his civil lawsuit, he alleges that his ex-wife made false statements in a 2018 op-ed about domestic violence published by the Washington Post. This damaged his reputation. Depp is not mentioned by name in the article.
He is suing for around 50 million dollars (a good 45 million euros) in damages for defamation. The process, which began on April 12, is expected to last several weeks. Closing arguments are expected on May 27, according to Judge Penney Azcarate.
The original of this post “When recording Depp, Heard flinches: “You’re not my mother”” comes from Bunte.de.
