I’ll never forget first time Johnny hit me ...it changed my life
Amber tells trial of ‘how domestic abuse started’
AMBER Heard yesterday recounted what she claims was the first time Johnny Depp hit her, telling a court: “It changed my life.”
The actress, 36, told how the alleged abuse began as she took the stand in the couple’s explosive defamation case.
Detailing the slap, Heard said: “I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought this must be a joke.”
She claimed Depp said: “You think it’s so funny? You think it’s funny, b **** ?”
Heard added: “He slapped me for no reason. Then he slapped me again. I didn’t move, freak out, because I didn’t know what else to do. Then he slapped me again. Hard.
“I lose my balance on the edge of the couch.”
She told how the couple had been chatting and there was a “jar of cocaine”.
The court in Virginia was told
Depp was drinking when Heard asked him about his “Wino Forever” tattoo before the assault. The actress said the Pirates of the Caribbean star, 58, later got down on his knees and cried uncontrollably.
She said he told her: “I will never do that again. I’m so sorry, baby. I thought I put the monster away,”
Depp is suing the actress for more than €45million over a Washington Post article she wrote about domestic violence, although she didn’t name him.
He says her claims have all but ended his career and ruined his reputation.
Heard has filed a countersuit against
Depp for €92million in damages, saying his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating claims against the actor.
Asked how she felt about the case, Heard said: “This is the most painful and difficult thing I’ve ever gone through.”
The actress, 36, said she was not a party in Depp’s UK trial against the Sun in 2020, which he lost, but was the key witness.
She added: “I sat on the stand, for four days, under mostly cross-examination. Up until this point, it was the hardest thing I had to do.”
Heard fought back tears as she told about falling in love with Depp on the press tour for The Rum Diaries in 2011. The two were “secretly dating” as it had not yet been revealed Depp had split from his former partner Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children.
The court was also told Heard gave Depp a large silver knife inscribed with the Spanish phrase “hasta la muerte” or “until death”.
Forensic psychologist Dr Dawn
Hughes said the gift needed to be viewed “in context”. She acknowledged Heard had carried out acts of violence against Depp but said it was in reaction to his abuse.
Depp’s lawyer Wayne Dennison asked the doctor about the numerous incidents between the couple.
The court was shown an image of an injury to Depp’s finger in Australia and a picture of him in hospital on a trolley.
The lawyer asked: “What about if you throw a bottle of vodka because your husband fell off the wagon, is that reactive violence?” Dr Hughes replied: “If it’s in the middle of an assault, perhaps. If it’s independent of that, no.”
She was asked about notes while assessing Heard, referencing tycoon Elon Musk and actor James Franco.
She testified Depp accused the actress of having affairs with all her co-stars, including Franco. Heard and Musk have denied their relationship began before the end of her marriage.