‘Depp isn’t the only partner you assaulted’
Lawyer’s jibe at Heard as court hears she hit another ex – and her former best friend in row over kitchenware
AMBER Heard has been interrogated in court over allegations that she hit her former girlfriend.
The actress was asked during her defamation battle with Johnny Depp about an incident in 2009 when she allegedly hit Tasya van Ree, whom she dated for five years.
Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez told Ms Heard the actor ‘isn’t the only partner of yours you’ve assaulted’ – a claim she denied. The court also heard from Ms Heard’s former best friend Raquel ‘Rocky’ Pennington, who said the actress hit her on the cheek once during an argument.
The testimony came as Ms Heard ended her cross-examination with Depp’s lawyers seeking to portray her as the violent one in the relationship.
Now in its fifth week, the trial is over Depp’s $50million (€47million) lawsuit claiming Ms Heard defamed him with an article in The Washington Post in 2018. Ms
Heard, 36, alleges Depp, 58, star of the Pirates Of The Caribbean films, smeared her by calling her a liar and countersued for $100million (€95 million).
Ms Vasquez brought up the incident involving Ms van Ree, 46, in which Ms Heard was arrested for domestic violence at Seattle airport in 2009. Ms Heard allegedly grabbed the painter and photographer and struck her arm before police intervened. Prosecutors declined to press charges and Ms van Ree later said the incident was ‘misinterpreted and oversensationalised’, calling Ms Heard a ‘brilliant, honest woman’.
In court, Ms Heard insisted: ‘I’ve never assaulted any partner. I’ve never assaulted Mr Depp or any other person I was romantically linked to, ever.’ However, Ms Pennington told the jury that one Thanksgiving she got into a fight with Ms Heard that turned physical.
She said: ‘We were looking for maybe some glasses or dishware and we couldn’t find them anywhere. Heard finally found them in a place I thought I looked and we started arguing about that. She thought I wasn’t looking hard enough. I believe I pushed her. She either pushed or hit me back.’
Ms Pennington said the blow from Ms Heard ‘was on my cheek’. It was the only time the actress became physical towards her, she added. In her testimony, Ms Pennington said Ms Heard was left with a ‘bloody patch’ on her head after Depp tore out her hair during a violent row in 2015.
The actress’s scalp was ‘red and raw’ from where Depp yanked her around their penthouse in Los Angeles by her head, she added.
Ms Pennington wept while describing in video evidence how Ms Heard had bruises all over her face after Depp headbutted her.
During another fight, Ms Pennington said she used her body to shield Ms Heard from Depp while he screamed for her to ‘get the f*** up!’
Ms Heard also cried during the testimony when the jury was shown dozens of photos of injuries to her face.
Ms Pennington claimed Depp’s moods changed like a ‘switch flipped’ and he would become ‘something darker’. He even used to call himself ‘The Monster’ to refer to his demons coming out.
Ms Pennington said: ‘I was worried that when he turned he might accidentally do something that was worse than he ever intended.’
She denied Ms Heard ever spoke about financial gain from going public with her claims against Depp and denied staging evidence of his abusive behaviour.
Ms Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn said: ‘Is there any truth to the allegation that Amber did this because she’s a “gold digger”?’ Ms Pennington replied: ‘No’. The trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia, is due to conclude at the end of this month.
‘A brilliant, honest woman’ ‘She either pushed or hit me back’