Yorkshire Post

‘I was never violent to Johnny Depp’, says his ex-wife

But Amber Heard says she ‘tried to defend herself’

- GRACE HAMMOND NEWS CORRESPOND­ENT ■ Email: yp.newsdesk@ypn.co.uk ■ Twitter: @yorkshirep­ost

AMBER HEARD has insisted she was “never violent” towards Johnny Depp and does not have a problem with her temper.

The Aquaman actress claimed that her ex-husband often put her in situations where she was “confronted with unimaginab­le frustratio­ns and difficulti­es”, adding she would “try to defend” herself when he “got serious”.

Ms Heard has also denied allegation­s that she was often the one to start arguments with the Hollywood star.

And she has alleged that she was afraid Mr Depp was going to kill her at points in their relationsh­ip.

Ms Heard, 34, was yesterday giving her first of three days of evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of Mr Depp’s libel case against The Sun newspaper over a 2018 article that labelled him a “wife beater”.

Eleanor Laws QC, representi­ng Mr Depp, asked Ms Heard if she ever “got violent” with Mr Depp, to which the actress said: “No, Johnny often put me in a situation where I was confronted with unimaginab­le frustratio­ns and difficulti­es, often that were life-threatenin­g to me.”

She added that she would “try to defend myself when he got serious and when I thought that my life was threatened, but I was never violent towards him.

“When I felt my life was threatened, I tried to defend myself and that started to happen years into the relationsh­ip, years into the violence.

“Before that, I didn’t even try to defend myself, I just checked out.”

The court heard a recording of a conversati­on between Ms Heard and Mr Depp, in which Mr Depp can be heard to say: “I’m not the one who throws pots... at me.”

Heard told the court: “That’s different.

That’s different... that’s irrelevant, that’s a complete non sequitur.” Ms Laws went on to say: “You were admitting throwing things at him but not in the context of self-defence. It sounds as if you are admitting throwing pots and pans.”

Ms Heard replied: “It might sound like that to you, but because I lived it I can explain to you... (it is) not what it sounds like.”

She also said that he threw things “only to escape him”, adding: “I’m not admitting throwing pots and pans, I’m trying to keep Johnny on track in this argument or in this conversati­on.”

Ms Laws also asked Ms Heard if she has “a problem with controllin­g your temper”, to which the actress said she did not.

The barrister then suggested: “You would have outbursts of rage and anger.”

Ms Heard replied: “I did have outbursts of anger at times and there were times when, yes, I lost my cool with Johnny in our fights, in our arguments.”

Ms Laws referred to “a number of witnesses” who had described Ms Heard as “being the person who would start an argument with Mr Depp... you would be the one to start the argument, do you agree with that?”

The hearing continues.

Before that, I didn’t even try to defend myself, I just checked out.

Amber Heard on her relationsh­ip with Johnny Depp.

 ?? PICTURE: PETER SUMMERS/GETTY IMAGES ?? EVIDENCE: Amber Heard said she would try to defend herself when she thought her ‘life was threatened’.
PICTURE: PETER SUMMERS/GETTY IMAGES EVIDENCE: Amber Heard said she would try to defend herself when she thought her ‘life was threatened’.
 ?? PICTURE: KIRSTY O’CONNOR/PA ?? ACCUSATION­S: Amber Heard alleged that she was afraid Mr Depp was going to kill her at points in their relationsh­ip.
PICTURE: KIRSTY O’CONNOR/PA ACCUSATION­S: Amber Heard alleged that she was afraid Mr Depp was going to kill her at points in their relationsh­ip.

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