Heard took the witness stand for the first time on Wednesday in the widely watched trial and said the couple had a “magical” relationship until it turned violent.
Depp’s first physical outburst, Heard said, came after she asked what was written on one of his faded tattoos. She says he replied “Wino”, and she laughed, thinking it was a joke.
“He slapped me,” Heard said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I just stared at him.”
Heard said he slapped her twice more and said “you think that’s funny, bitch?”
Depp, 58, testified earlier in the trial that the tattoo fight “didn’t happen” and that he never hit Heard. He maintained that she was the aggressor.
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and more star is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million, claiming she defamed him when she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. Heard sued for $100 million, claiming Depp defamed her by calling her a liar.
When questioned by his lawyers, Heard said Depp had assaulted her “several times”, usually when he was drinking or taking drugs. During a weekend with friends in May 2013, Heard said Depp accused her of inviting what he perceived to be suggestive advances from a woman.
That night, Heard said Depp ripped off her underwear and put his fingers “inside” her in a “cavity search” for drugs.
Earlier, psychologist Dawn Hughes testified that Heard told her that Depp had put his fingers in her vagina in a cocane hunt.
The case revolves around an opinion piece written by Heard in the Washington Post in December 2018. The article never mentions Depp’s name, but his attorney told jurors it was clear that Heard was referring to him. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2017 after less than two years of marriage.
Depp, once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, said Heard’s allegations cost him “everything”. A new “Pirates” movie has been put on hold, and Depp has been replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise, a “Harry Potter” spin-off.
Heard’s lawyers argued that she was telling the truth and that her opinion was protected by freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
A judge at Fairfax County State Court in Virginia, outside the nation’s capital, is overseeing the trial, which is expected to last until the end of May.
Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel suit against the Sun, a British tabloid which called him a “wife beater”. A High Court judge in London ruled that he assaulted Heard on several occasions.
Depp’s attorneys said they filed the US case in Fairfax County because the Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant.