Actor Amber Heard has described an incident from 2013 in which she claimed her ex-husband Johnny Depp allegedly physically abused her after he accused her of having an affair with a musician.
Ms Heard described Mr Depp’s alleged abusive behaviours during their relationship as she took the witness stand on Wednesday.
In a tearful testimony at the Fairfax County Circuit Court, Ms Heard, 36, said she knew she should have left Mr Depp the first time he hit her, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Mr Depp, 58, is suing Ms Heard for $50m (£38.2m) for implying he abused her, describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a December 2018Washington Post op-ed.
Although the op-ed doesn’t mention Mr Depp’s name, his lawyers argued he was defamed because it referred to accusations she made in 2016 during their divorce proceedings.
Ms Heard testified that in March 2013, Mr Depp held her by the arm and slapped her across the face during a fight after alleging she was having an affair with a musician.
“Johnny slapped me. I walked away from him and that made it worse,” she told the court. “I don’t know how many times he hit me in the face. He grabbed me by the arm and kind of just held me on the floor screaming,” she added.
The courtroom was shown an image taken by Ms Heard of a bruise on her arm, which Mr Depp had previously denied inflicting upon her.
Ms Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft showed the court a message exchange between the two in which Mr Depp referenced a book called Disco Bloodbath by James St James, when Ms Heard asked if is it “about last Friday night”.
“Just thought you should know that there exists a book titled, ‘Disco Bloodbath’. That’s all...” said the text message from Mr Depp shown to court by Ms Bredehoft.
“We need that book! Is it about last Friday night, by any chance?” Ms Heard replied.
“How can you make me smile about such a hideous moment??? Yes, it is... Funny b****. I f****** love you, you c***!!!” Mr Depp answered.
Ms Heard alleged that the first time Mr Depp struck her was in 2013 when she laughed at one of his tattoos, which she thought was a joke.
Ms Heard said she laughed again after he slapped her, but then he slapped her two more times, with the third slap knocking her off balance.
“You would think you would have a response but I, as a woman, had never been hit like that. I’m an adult, and I’m sitting next to the man I love and he slapped me for no reason,” she told the court.
Mr Depp, during his testimony, denied committing acts of physical violence against Ms Heard. He said the tattoo incident “didn’t happen”.
“Why would I take such great offence to someone making fun of a tattoo on my body? That allegation never made any sense to me,” he said.
Ms Heard also claimed Mr Depp’s alleged violent and erratic behaviour was fuelled by the consumption of drugs and alcohol.
She described a time at the Hicksville Trailer Palace in Joshua Tree, California in May 2013, when she claimed she was sexually assaulted by Mr Depp as he angrily performed a “cavity search”.
“He was telling me, ‘We’re going to do a cavity search,’” a teary-eyed Ms Heard said.
