In the War of the Roses between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the actress now has the floor. In court, she painted the picture of a once-charming husband-turned-violent thug. But there are also doubts about their statements.
Fighting back tears several times: After Johnny Depp, it’s now Amber Heard’s turn.
Is Hollywood star Johnny Depp a brutal woman beater? If you believe the descriptions of his ex-wife Amber Heard, there is little room for interpretation. Emotionally and in tears, the 36-year-old actress described in detail in front of the court in Fairfax, Virginia, how Depp is said to have hit her for the first time. Your accusations are stirring.
The incident is said to have happened in 2012, at the beginning of the relationship between the two. Depp consumed alcohol and drugs. The two sat on the sofa and talked about a tattoo on the actor’s upper arm. “Wino Forever” is written there – translated: “Alki forever”. The tattoo was originally dedicated to Depp’s ex-girlfriend Winona Ryder, with whom the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star dated from 1989 to 1993. “Winona Forever” was therefore once written on his skin. After the breakup, Depp had the tattoo changed.
Heard is said to have laughed when Depp suddenly physically attacked her, as she said in a halting voice. “He punched me across the face. And I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought it must be a joke.” But it was bitter seriousness. The 58-year-old is said to have hit her in the face three times in a row. “You think that’s weird, bitch?” Depp is said to have said to her. “It changed my life,” Heard said, visibly resolved. After that, Depp apologized to her in tears on his knees and promised he would never do it again.
But according to Heard, this is by far not the only such incident in the relationship between the two.
Did he force a bottle in her?
For about four weeks, the actress and her ex-husband Depp have been fighting a real mud fight in court in a sensational process – and in public. Court cameras broadcast the entire trial live on TV and the Internet. Millions of viewers around the world can enjoy the dismantling of this once-marriage.
In his civil lawsuit, Depp accuses his ex-wife of making false statements in a 2018 commentary on domestic violence published by the Washington Post. This damaged his reputation. Depp is suing for around $50 million for defamation. Heard has also filed a counterclaim for defamation and is demanding double the amount.
The actress testified on the witness stand for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday. “I’m here because my ex-husband sued me,” Heard said at the start of the questioning by her attorney. “Experiencing everything here again for weeks” and talking to Depp about her past chapter was “terrible” for her. It’s the “most painful and difficult thing” she’s ever had to go through.
For several hours she answered questions from her lawyer. When did Depp become violent? “Especially when you’re drunk,” Heard replied.
Under the influence of drugs, Depp once attacked her on the plane when she wanted to change seats during an argument, Heard said, while fighting back tears. “I felt that boot on my back. He just kicked me and I fell to the ground.”
Sexual violence is also said to have occurred – around 2015, around a month after the couple’s lavish wedding. At the time, Depp was in Australia to film Pirates of the Caribbean 5. Heard visited him there. Already on the first evening there was a dispute over dinner in a house rented by Depp. The actor drank and was on drugs. During the argument he suddenly pushed her against the fridge and choked her.
She then went upstairs to the bedroom. When she later came down, Depp threw bottles at her, grabbed her and finally inserted one of the glass bottles into her vagina. “He kept shoving her inside me,” Heard said in court, sobbing, looking down and shaking his head. She also received death threats from Depp. During the alleged abuse he is said to have repeatedly threatened to kill her. “I was scared,” Heard said.
In several other verbal attacks, Depp is also said to have threatened to kill her. He called her a “whore”, accused her of cheating on him for no reason, and told her not to accept nude scenes in films. He said he hated her and that she ruined his life. According to Heard, Depp completely lost control of himself when he was on drugs. “But when he was sober, he told me again that I was his salvation.”
Strongly contradicting statements
What the actress described, her lawyers tried to prove with photos. In court, they showed footage of Heard showing a bruise on her upper arm, allegedly caused by Depp. Other images showed the 58-year-old lying on the floor of an airplane and in a chair, apparently unconscious and intoxicated with drugs. For Heard’s team it is clear: the actress is the innocent victim, Depp is the brutal perpetrator who abused his ex-wife mentally and physically.
But the question of who is the perpetrator and who is the victim in this story can now hardly be answered conclusively. If anything can be said after a good four weeks of trial, it is that the two court parties paint a picture of a dysfunctional, narcissistic and self-destructive relationship. A marriage that failed in a dramatic way, in which probably neither Depp nor Heard came out with a clean slate.
Heard’s and Depp’s statements contradict each other on several points. Depp, whose legal team concluded the evidence after around a dozen days of trial on Tuesday, repeatedly denied in his four-day testimony that he had ever hit his ex-wife. He admitted that there had been arguments and that he sometimes lost control of himself and rioted when he was on drugs and alcohol. But he never attacked his ex-wife.
On the other hand, he accused Heard of multiple violence against him. For example, Heard described the alleged rape with a bottle in Australia in a fundamentally different way. It was Heard who threw bottles at him during an argument. A fingertip is said to have been severed by the glass splinters, which was later sewn back on in the hospital.
Both Heard’s and Depp’s legal team had psychological reports prepared to support their clients’ statements. The psychiatrist Dawn Hughes, hired by Heard’s team, attested to the actress’ post-traumatic stress disorder caused by Depp’s assaults. This contrasts with the statement by psychologist Shannon Curry, who accused Heard of faking the symptoms of an alleged post-traumatic stress disorder. Rather, Heard suffers from a borderline personality disorder and a histrionic personality disorder that is associated with “theatricality and superficiality”.
At the same time, tapes and excerpts from messages were shown by both parties in court, which are said to show violent behavior on the part of both Depp and Heard.
Can Heard turn the tide?
Despite the hefty allegations against him: Depp still seems to have a majority of public opinion on his side if you follow the discussions in online forums and on social networks. Over 3,000 fans have signed an online petition demanding actress Heard be kicked out of the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel. Now that Heard has taken the stand, the coming days will show whether this will remain the case. According to media reports, the actress changed her PR consultants a week ago.
In any case, the process – the continuation of which was postponed to May 16 on Thursday – is expected to last for weeks. Observers assume that Heard will be questioned for several more days, including cross-examination with Depp’s lawyers.
So the tide can still turn. Because in the end, the only thing that counts is who the court and ultimately the public will believe more.