Amber’s face had ‘not a single mark’, says friend

Court: Witness supports Depp’ s denial of throwing mobile phone at Heard

Amber Heard made “fraudulent” allegations of domestic violence against Johnny Depp to “extort and blackmail him”, a longstanding friend of the actor has told the High Court.

Isaac Baruch, an artist who has known the Hollywood star for 40 years, said Mr Depp told him that Ms Heard “likes to argue and likes to hit” and said: “I’m not gonna hit her, I love her.”

Giving evidence by video-link from the US, Mr Baruch said he saw Ms Heard’s face and did not see “a single mark” on May 22

“Completely misquoted and misused by The Sun”

2016, the day after Mr Depp, 57, allegedly threw his exwife’s mobile phone at her and hit her in the face.

Mr Baruch described the Hollywood star as an “ubermensch” and “an ultimate good guy”.

Mr Depp’s libel action against The Sun’s publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) continued yesterday over an April 2018 article by the tabloid’s executive editor Dan Wootton which labelled him a “wife beater”.

In his evidence, Travis McGivern – a member of Mr Depp’s security team – said the actress spat at, punched and threw a can of Red Bull at the actor during a row in March 2015.

The court heard from actress and #MeToo activist Katherine Kendall, who claims she was “completely misquoted and misused by The Sun”.

Ms Heard’s ex-interior designer Laura Divenere also gave evidence and said she felt “pressured” to sign a declaration in separate libel proceedings in the US – brought by Mr Depp against Ms Heard – to “say things that were unfavourable” about the actress.

Ms Divenere was played a recording of a conversation between her and Ms Heard, recorded without the designer’s knowledge, after she was allegedly “forced” into signing a declaration by Mr Depp’s American lawyer Adam Waldman.

In the conversation she was disparaging about Mr Waldman and asked Ms Heard to get her lawyers to “get me to do a declaration, too, and question me, so then I can say something in your favour”.

The last witness of the day, Katherine Kendall, said in her witness statement, she was contacted by an “extremely persistent” journalist from The Sun called Zoe – who she claimed “stalked” her – and only spoke to her “out of politeness”.

Ms Kendall said that, after reading the April 2018 article, “I immediately understood that The Sun’s purpose was to present the appearance of a #MeToo backlash.”

Ms Heard, 34, is to be called as the first defence witness on Monday at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Mr Justice Nicol is also due to hear an application by NGN’s lawyers to call expert evidence on whether images apparently showing injuries to Ms Heard were “manipulated or edited”.

Mr Depp is suing NGN and Mr Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 headlined: “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”

NGN is defending the article as true.

SUPERSTAR: Hollywood actor Johnny Depp is suing News Group Newspapers over an article that accused him of beating his former wife