Amber Heard has returned to the stand as part of her legal team’s rebuttal in the multi-million dollar lawsuit brought against the actor by ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Asked how she’s been affected by the Depp-Waldman statements at the centre of her counterclaim, Ms Heard on Thursday (26 May) said: “I am harassed, humiliated, threatened, every single day. Even just walking into this court room, sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of my life, things that I’ve lived through, used to humiliate me.
“People want to kill me, and they tell me so everyday. People want to put my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that,” she continued, adding, “Johnny threatened, promised, promised me, that if I ever left him, he’d make me think of him every single day,” she added before being interrupted by a “non-responsive” objection from Depp’s team.
When Ms Heard’s lawyer asked her how Mr Depp’s alleged threats “continue to manifest themselves today”, she responded: In the harassment, in the humiliation, in the campaign against me that’s echoed every single day on social media, and now, in front of cameras in this room. Every single day I have to relive the trauma. My hands shake, I wake up screaming. I have to live with the trauma and damage done to me.”
“My friends have to live with a set of unspoken rules about how to not scare me... how to not touch me, not to surprise me. My intimate partners have rules about how they can deal with me, how they can touch me. I have rules for doctors and medical professionals I see, gynaecologists I see.
“I live my life with these sets of rules that I have to follow, my friends have to follow, for me not to have a panic attack or triggering event,” the Aquaman actor told the jury.
She testified that “the damage that I have to live with every single day” impacted her ability to train for combat scenes in the DC movie, also starring Jason Momoa.
“If a combat scene, and a trigger happens, I have a meltdown and I have to deal with that, the crew would have to deal with that because of the damage I walk around with, every day,” she continued.
“I’m not sitting in this courtroom, laughing, making snide jokes. This is horrible, this is painful, and this is humiliating for any human being to go through,” Ms Heard said, adding that she “doesn’t deserve this”.
The psychologist hired by Johnny Depp’s legal team, Dr Shannon Curry, on Wednesday (25 May) refuted Amber Heard’s diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Testifying for Amber Heard’s defence on 3 May, clinical psychologist Dr Dawn Hughes said that the actress does suffer from PTSD stemming from domestic violence.
“I diagnosed Ms Heard with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder… and the cause was the intimate partner violence by Mr Depp,” Dr Hughes said at the time.
“The only reason someone like Dr Curry can sit up here and say that I’m high-functioning, I do things like have hobbies, and have interests... Is because I found a solution to that pain. I woke up every morning with panic attacks and trauma, until I realised I could do something with it. I was able to turn the things that I’ve lived through, my life experiences into action, into work, into providing a voice for other people.”
“I’m not trying to present myself as a saint, as you all know,” she continued, adding, “But I selfishly found relief in being able to use what I’ve lived through to advocate for others,” she added, saying she would not wish this situation on her “worst enemy”.
“I just want Johnny to leave me alone,” Ms Heard said on the stand.
After her direct testimony was concluded, Mr Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez began Ms Depp’s cross-examination on Thursday.
“Your lies have been exposed to the world multiple times, right?” Ms Vasquez alleged.
Heard responded that she has always told the truth.
Ms Vasquez went on to point out testimony from various witnesses, such as former employee of the Hicksville trailer park Morgan Knight, who did not corroborate Heard’s version of different events.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say a lot of things to be involved in the Johnny Depp show,” Heard replied.
She denied Ms Vasquez’s assertion that she was calling witnesses liars, saying they just didn’t see what she saw.
Ms Vasquez cited testimony from former TMZ employee Morgan Tremaine, who said the outlet was tipped off before Heard went to court to seek a temporary restraining order against Depp.
Heard insisted that she did not tip off the outlet and did not know papparazzi would be at the court.
She also denied having given TMZ a video of Depp smashing cabinets, which she filmed.
She brought up a photo of spilled wine purportedly taken after an incident at Heard and Depp’s penthouse in 2016. Ms Vasquex suggested that Heard’s testimony about the photo and the incident is inconsistent.
Heard said that she does not recall if that photo was specifically from the 2016 incident, prompting Ms Vasquez to note that she had previously testified it was on two different dates.
Heard said to look at the metadata to see the date. Ms Vasquez replied: “If you were telling the truth, you’d know.”
Ms Heard and Ms Vasquez have repeatedly spoken over each other during the ongoing contentious cross.
Mr Depp is suing Ms Heard, who filed for divorce from him in 2016, for allegedly implying he abused her in a 2018 op-ed. He is seeking $50m in damages, claiming Ms Heard’s allegations have impacted his ability to land the roles he once used to.
Ms Heard is counter-suing Mr Heard for $100m for orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her, describing his lawsuit as a “continuation of abuse and harrassment.”
Follow live updates of the trial here.
