Actor Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard continue to make headlines as the trial continues.
The couple is facing each other at the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is suing his ex-wife for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post where she claims that she is a domestic violence survivor. Although she did not mention Depp by name, he claims that he has lost movie roles due to the “clear implication” that he was the “Aquaman” actress’ abuser. Heard is countersuing for $100 million dollars.
Heard began her testimony on Wednesday morning by describing how they met on the set of “The Rum Diary.” She then continued on to explain the first time that Depp allegedly struck her. On Thursday morning, she recalled further allegations of abuse, claiming that he kicked her in front of other people on a plane. On Thursday afternoon, she recalled graphic physical and sexual abuse.
The court went on break for a week and resumed the trial on Monday, May 16. In the morning, Heard recalled the violence she claims she experienced on the night of her 30th birthday and insists that she did not leave the fecal matter on the bed. After lunch, Heard testified that she had lost several scenes in “Aquaman 2” due to speaking out against Johnny Depp. Just after 3 PM local time, the court went on break as Heard prepared to face cross-examination.
Amber Heard Is Cross-Examined By Johnny Depp’s Legal Team
Heard’s cross-examination started out with Depp’s attorney, Camille Vasquez, asking if Heard noticed that Depp had not looked at her once throughout this entire trial.
In the first audio recording played, Depp says “I am nothing to you and I will always be nothing to you” after a tearful Heard tells him that she just wanted to give him a hug. In the audio clip, Depp says that Heard will never see him again, adding, “You will never see my eyes again.”
This was when they met in San Francisco in July 2016, after Heard had publicly accused him of domestic abuse and obtained her domestic violence temporary restraining order, known as a DV TRO.
In another audio clip, Heard can be heard saying, “Tell the world, Johnny, … Johnny Depp is a victim of domestic violence … and see how many people believe or side with you.”
“I was telling it to the man who beat me up,” Heard said.
“And the man that you beat up, numerous times,” Vasquez shot back.
Heard admitted that she “found it hard to believe” that Depp would say that he was a victim of domestic violence. “With all due respect, I wasn’t saying it because he was a man. I was saying it because he was a man that beat me up for five years,” she said.
Amber Heard Admits That Johnny Depp Always Wore ‘Big, Chunky Rings’
Heard said that Johnny Depp wore rings “almost all the time,” and admitted that he might have been wearing the rings when he allegedly abused her.
On day 15 of the trial, Amber Heard testified that Depp hit her several times in the face in March 2013. When asked if he wore rings, Heard said Depp “pretty much always” wore rings. Depp’s attorney pointed out that Heard did not seek medical treatment at the time.
“That is correct. I did not seek medical treatment other than my therapist,” Heard said. The photograph shows a bruise on her arm but it is cut off and her face can not be seen clearly.
Fast-forwarding to an incident in Russia, Heard alleged that Depp “whacked” her in the face. She said she went to the bathroom. When she left the bathroom, she said that the security guard gestured to her nose to show that it was bleeding. His attorney questioned how, if she was in the bathroom, she did not notice the bloody nose herself.
Vasquez showed several pictures from “The Lone Ranger” premiere, pointing out that Heard has no visible injuries in the photos. “None that you can see,” Heard said.
Heard also alleged that Depp hit her so hard that her nose was “swollen” and “red” after the Met Gala in 2014. Heard insisted that she did take a picture of her nose. When asked why she didn’t present that evidence during her testimony, Heard said that it “wasn’t up to me.”
Depp’s legal team then presented several photographs of Heard the night after Heard allegedly “whacked” her in the face. Heard insisted “I was wearing make-up.”
In January 2015, Heard alleges that Depp had kneeled on her back. She was concerned that there were “marks” on her back because she was wearing a backless dress. However, Vasquez pointed out that Heard’s legal team never showed any photo evidence of this incident. Vasquez showed the jury a photo of Heard in a backless dress from the “Mordecai” premiere, where there are no marks visible on her back.
Amber Heard Continues To Face Intense Scrutiny Under Cross-Examination
In another incident in March 2015, Heard testified that she had cuts on her forearms and the bottoms of her feet, as well as a bruise on her jaw. However, Vasquez noted that Heard did not take any photographs of her injuries, but did have her phone to take pictures of the mirror. Depp’s attorney prompted Heard to admit that she did not seek medical treatment for the alleged sexual assault that took place with a liquor bottle in Australia.
On December 15, 2015, Heard testified that she sustained a broken nose. “It certainly felt like it,” Heard said under cross-examination. She testified that she had two black eyes, a lip wound, and bruising on her temple and chin, among other injuries.
Depp’s attorney also questioned why Heard took so many videos and photographs of Johnny Depp when he was “passed out,” including one which she said to a friend. Vasquez questioned why Heard would take so many photos of Depp in this state when it might provoke “the monster” that she was allegedly afraid of.
Heard became angry when she was referred to as a “victim” of domestic violence. She said that she had never called herself a victim and insisted that she still planned to keep her pledge to the ACLU; however, she claimed that she was late on her payments due to the lawsuit.
