First modification:
Last week, the actor’s lawyers were in charge of portraying Heard as the person who maintained an abusive position in the relationship, in a defamation case in which Depp demands 50 million dollars from his ex-wife. In the fourth week of the trial, the actress tried to counteract this image with her version.
Amber Heard testified for the first time on Wednesday, May 4, in the defamation case brought by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
“I find it hard to find the words to describe how painful this is,” the “Aquaman” actress said through tears at the beginning of her testimony, before the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia, United States.
“It’s horrible” to have to be on this stage, Heard said as it makes her “relive” her troubled marriage to the protagonist of Pirates of the Caribbean, although she acknowledged that at some point it was “magical.”
The women’s and children’s rights advocate said Depp’s first physical outburst came after she asked him what was written on one of his faded tattoos. “Wino,” Depp replied, something that caused him to laugh, thinking it was a joke.
Then, “he slapped me in the face” and said “do you think it’s funny, bitch?”, revealed Heard, who assured that “she did not know what was happening” so she was puzzled “looking at him”.
During cross-examination Wednesday, forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes, first called by Heard’s attorneys in her defense phase, said her client’s account of her experiences is consistent with the accounts of those who experience domestic violence. On Tuesday, she had already targeted Depp.
Dawn Hughes lashes out at the famous Hollywood actor
Last Tuesday, the psychologist, who accumulates 29 hours of therapy with the actress, assured that her client “suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to multiple acts of abuse, including sexual violence”, caused by Depp.
The specialist explained that “there are several indications of cases of violence and sexual abuse found in this relationship”, especially when Depp was “drunk or drugged”.
She mentioned that at some point, the actor “pushed” her on the bed and “ripped off her nightgown to try to have sex with her.”
The psychologist attributed the actor’s violence to his “obsessive jealousy.” However, she identified that marital problems were “aggravated” when the actor was “more enraged than usual”, for example, when he left a shoot unsatisfied.
In contrast, Depp, who spent four days on the stand at the beginning of the trial, had the opportunity to prove that he never hit Heard and that he was the victim of the abuse.
The Hollywood actor insisted that his ex-wife has a “need for conflict”, which is why the actress gave him “punches”, hits, and threw things at him on many occasions.
His statements regained the trust of his fans. More than 100 people, most of them Depp supporters, lined up outside the courthouse on Wednesday to fill the 100 seats in the courtroom.
The defamation trial
Johnny Depp’s libel suit against Amber Heard began on April 11 in Fairfax County Circuit Court. In this case, Depp demands compensation of 50 million dollars.
This, due to the accusations of “domestic abuse” that Heard made in an opinion article in the newspaper “The Washington Post”, published in December 2018.
Although the article never mentions the actor by name, Depp’s lawyers insist their client was defamed as the activist was clearly referring to allegations she made in 2016 during their divorce proceedings.
After this publication, Depp lost contracts, fans and earned the rejection of millions of people.
With EFE, AP and Reuters
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