Amber Heard is reaffirming her position that her domestic abuse allegations against ex Johnny Depp are all genuine amid a trial of dueling defamation lawsuits that resumed Monday after a week-long break.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation for allegedly false domestic abuse accusations she made against him that he said hurt his career. Heard is counter-suing Depp, also for defamation, for $100 million.
The highly-publicized trial has been live-streamed on the Law & Crime Network YouTube channel and other outlets from a courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia, since mid-April.
Heard said far from her being the one making false allegations, it was Depp who allegedly became delusional by leveling unfounded accusations at her in the final months of their marriage, which sometimes occurred during and after alleged drug binges. She said Depp allegedly believed she would sometimes hide people from him.
Heard described one audiotape argument the couple was having as her “begging Johnny to not make me prove what I’ve had to sit on this stand in front of all of you and prove and talk about.”
She added she believed Depp did not have a “firm grasp on reality” at the time.
Heard expressed to Depp how “absurd” it would be for Depp to make her prove she wasn’t a liar.
“I was trying to get him to not call me a liar. Because everything I had said to date. And everything that I’ve said to date now is the truth. And I was begging him not to make me prove it — that there were photos, that there were witnesses, that there was my testimony. There were years of me with injuries on the dates where we were fighting. And they were documented, I mean, pictures from 2012.”
Heard added she believed Depp was surrounded by “yes men” who were not giving him good advice, which contributed to the court battles between the two dragging out even more.
In an audio recording between Depp and Heard, she said she believed Depp is an abuser and proceeded to list times she alleged Depp beat her up.
Heard could also be heard trying to stop Depp from proceeding with an alleged smear campaign.
Previous testimony by Heard indicated Depp had allegedly slapped and punched her on multiple occasions and twice sexually assaulted her.
While Heard maintains she was abused by Depp, Depp claims just the opposite: he was abused by her and not the other way around.
Depp’s lawsuit against Heard centers around an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018, in which she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Though Depp isn’t named in the article, Heard made prior allegations of abuse against Depp in 2016, which he claims is referenced in the piece.
In addition to Heard wrapping up her direct testimony on the stand this week, she is expected to undergo cross-examination by Depp’s team soon thereafter. Heard also has several other witnesses lined up, including her sister Whitney Henriquez, actor Ellen Barkin, and Depp himself. This will be the second time Depp has taken the stand after he previously testified on behalf of himself and was cross-examined by Heard’s team.
Published: May 16, 2022 02:08 pm