Depp’s ex-wife has personality disorders, psychologist says
A psychologist hired by lawyers for Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp has testified at his defamation case against his former wife Amber Heard that she suffered from twin personality disorders.
Shannon Curry, a clinical and forensic psychologist, said she had examined Heard’s mental health records and personally evaluated her for 12 hours over two days in December 2021.
Curry said it was her opinion that the 36-year-old actress, who had a starring role in the movie Aquaman, has borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. “She obtained scores that were consistent with those diagnoses,” Curry said.
Lawyers for Heard sought to discredit Curry’s testimony during cross-examination, noting she had been hired by Depp’s lawyers to testify on his behalf.
“If you did not find something that would be in favour of Mr Depp and negative to Miss Heard then you wouldn’t be an expert in this case?” Elaine Bredehoft, a lawyer for Heard, asked Curry.
“I present science regardless of what that science may be,” Curry responded.
Curry said some of the primary characteristics of borderline personality disorder included a “lot of inner anger and hostility”, a tendency to be “self-righteous” and “fluctuating moods”.
“They can react violently, they can react physically,” the psychologist said. “Oftentimes they will be abusive to their partners.”
“It’s almost play-acting,” she said.
Curry, who has experience with US combat veterans, said it was her opinion that Heard did not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the result of alleged domestic abuse.
Heard had “grossly exaggerated” her symptoms of PTSD in a test she was given, she said.
The 58-year-old Depp has denied ever being physically abusive towards Heard and has claimed repeatedly at the trial that she was the one who was frequently violent.
Depp filed a defamation suit against Heard over a column she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”.
Heard never named Depp but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking US$50 million in damages.
The Texas-born Heard countersued, asking for US$100 million and claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse” at his hands.