Amber Heard claimed Johnny Depp hit her three times in testimony today.
The actress was speaking and had taken the stand for the first time today in the defamation trial her ex-husband Depp brought against her. She had called it the 'most painful thing' she had ever gone through.
The actress said that in 2013 the actor had slapped her three times after she had laughed about one of his tattoos. She became visibly emotional as she described the first incident in which Johnny Depp had allegedly hit her.
“(It was) seemingly so stupid and insignificant, I will never forget it, it changed my life,” she said.
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“He slapped me across the face, and I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought this must be a joke… I didn’t know what was going on.”
The Mirror reports Heard began her defence in her bitter defamation case today, telling the court: “This is horrible for me.” Asked how she felt about the case, Heard said: “I am here because my ex-husband is suing me for an op-ed that I wrote."
Her attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, asked what she felt about this. "I erm, I struggle to have the words," she said. "I struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is. This is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything."
She continued: "This is the most painful and difficult thing I’ve ever gone through for sure."
The actress said he was not a party in the UK trial for the case Depp filed against The Sun but was the key witness, as the trial was focused on her marriage.
“I sat on the stand, for four days, under mostly cross-examination. And, up until this point, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
Heard went on to describe her childhood, saying she grew up in the small town of Manor, Texas, where she helped her dad break horses.
"I was the son he never had," she said.
She said she lived with her mum and her sister, Whitney, who is 16 months younger. She said of breaking horses that, "The key thing is to not to show fear, to not be intimidated, to be tough, to stay calm.”
Heard’s lawyer asked how she broke into acting. She explained she did a small job in Texas before being introduced to an agent.
She said she arrived in Los Angeles with £145 to her name and started getting bit parts in movies, or larger roles in movies that no one saw. She said she would often change outfits on the way to auditions in the back of a bus as she had no car. Eventually, she said she got two callbacks for The Rum Diary, which was starring and being produced by Depp.
The actor was given her number and he personally called to say she had got the part she had auditioned for.
“You’re it kid. You’re what Hunter (writer Hunter Thompson) would want,” she said he told her. Heard went on to describe filming with Depp and a particular kissing scene.
She said: "There are certain things you do in the job to be professional, when you have to do that sort of scene. You don't use tongue if you can avoid it."
She added: “It felt like those lines were blurred. He grabbed my face, pulled me in, and kissed me.” She confirmed that he used his tongue.
Johnny is suing Amber for defamation over a 2018 article she wrote in The Washington Post, which his lawyers say falsely implies he physically and sexually abused her. He is suing her for more than £38 million, saying her domestic abuse claims have harmed his career and reputation.
Amber has filed a countersuit against Johnny, seeking almost £78 million in damages and saying his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating claims against the actor.
