Johnny Depp is claiming his ex-wife, Amber Heard, pushed her sister around, literally and figuratively, amid a trial of dueling defamation lawsuits.
Depp characterized the relationship between Heard and her sister, Whitney Henriquez, in general, as Henriquez being Heard’s punching bag or dart board. Depp said Heard told him she once threw wine in Henriquez’s face at one point.
In terms of what Depp claimed he directly witnessed, he indicated he saw Heard allegedly grab Henriquez and push her around.
He said Henriquez moved out from Depp and Heard’s penthouse shortly before the pair tied the knot, due to an alleged argument between Heard and Henriquez about Henriquez working at a non-profit, The Art of Elysium, with her friend Jennifer Howell.
Howell has previously testified to a declaration she made maintaining Henriquez told her she saw Heard hitting Depp and tried to intervene, which contradicted Henriquez’s own testimony.
Depp is testifying as a rebuttal witness on his own behalf after previously testifying — under direct and cross-examination — which wrapped up in late April.
The court battle, unfolding in a courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia, centers on an op-ed Heard 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 are false and are referenced in the piece.
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.
While Heard maintains she was abused by Depp, Depp claims just the opposite: he was abused by her and not the other way around.
