Amber Heard told jurors on Monday that she decided to divorce Johnny Depp because she was afraid she "wouldn't survive" if she stayed in the relationship.
Heard resumed her testimony after a 10-day break in the defamation trial in Fairfax, Virginia. Heard recounted the final months of her marriage to Depp, including a series of violent incidents in which she alleges that Depp would choke her, hit her and throw objects at her during drug-fueled rages. Depp has previously denied accusations of violence.
Heard filed for divorce in May 2016, after Depp allegedly threw a phone at her, hitting her in the face, during an argument at the couple's downtown Los Angeles apartment.
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"I knew I had to leave him. I knew I wouldn't survive it if I didn't," she testified. "I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me... The violence was now normal and not the exception... I believe he would have taken it too far and I wouldn't be here."
"Unfortunately, the violence became almost normal, especially towards the end," the 36-year-old Aquaman star said in court, with Depp looking on. She also told the jury that Depp allegedly punched her and put out cigarettes on her skin, and that she and Depp used the safeword "couch" to signal "truce" when they were fighting.
Heard began her testimony on May 4. She has previously told the jury that Depp repeatedly sexually assaulted her and that she feared for her life, which Depp has denied. Depp is suing Heard for US$50 million (approx. $71.65 million), claiming that she fabricated her allegations against him and destroyed his career in the process of advancing her own. His lawyers are expected to begin their cross-examination later today.
Heard testified Monday that Depp could not stay sober and that his mental health began to unravel by early 2016. She said that he would seem to have conversations with people who were not there, and accuse her of saying things she had not said.
The police were called to the couple's apartment on the night of the phone incident. The officers have previously testified that Heard declined to make a report, and they did not see evidence of a crime.
Heard explained that she did not name Depp or cooperate with the officers because she did not want him to be arrested.
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"I wanted to protect Johnny," she said. "I didn't want him to be in trouble. I didn't want this to come out."
A few days later, though, she filed for a domestic violence restraining order. She said that she did so because she wanted to change the locks in the apartment, and because security would always let him in without warning.
"I couldn't sleep. I would wake up in a panic. I was losing hair. I was losing weight," she said. "I was scared and very conflicted."
Jurors were shown a series of photos of Heard's face with a bruise on her right cheek. Depp's lawyers have already presented testimony from people who saw Heard around that time and did not recall seeing a bruise on her face. Heard testified in detail about how she would conceal the bruise with makeup before leaving the house, noting that paparazzi would typically photograph her the minute she stepped out the door.
"I always wear makeup," she said. "I'm not going to walk around L.A. with bruises on my face."
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Amber Heard says Johnny Depp assaulted her on her honeymoon
Heard told jurors that Depp slammed her against a wall and wrapped a shirt around her neck during their 2015 honeymoon on the Orient Express.
The pair married in February 2015 and took their honeymoon on the Orient Express train in July of that year after Depp finished filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Under questioning from her lawyers, Heard said the couple argued about whether Depp should drink during the trip. She said they had a loving relationship when Depp was sober but that he often turned violent when drinking or using drugs.
In a sleeping car on the train, Heard said, Depp slapped her across the face and repeatedly slammed her body against a wall. He then took his shirt off and wrapped it around her neck, she told the jury.
"That's how I woke up the next morning," Heard said. "I woke up with it still around my neck and a giant knot on the back of my head."
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp 'fell back in love' after fingertip fight
March 2015 was when the couple fought and Depp lost the tip of his finger, and it was after that fight that Heard said the former couple "fell back in love" again.
She said in the American spring of 2015, the couple returned to Australia after Depp quit drugs.
"We fell back in love," she said, testifying that they were speaking about having children and buying a farm together. "We were talking about the future."
"We were in a beautiful, peaceful period," Heard said.
Heard's attorney asked how she felt about returning to the house where she and Depp had the fight, and she said being there did not bother her.
"Johnny was my home … and that home was often really violent," Heard told the jury.
Amber Heard denies she defecated on Johnny Depp's bed
Heard denied Depp's allegation that she had left feces in a bed at one of his homes following a fight on her 30th birthday. A security guard had testified that Heard told him the feces were a "horrible practical joke."
Heard said she did not commit any kind of prank that day, adding that she was "not in a pranking mood."
"I had just been attacked on my 30th birthday by my husband, with whom I was desperately in love and knew I needed to leave," she said.
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Pirates of the Caribbean producer says Johnny Depp will not return to franchise 'at this point'
Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer reminded fans in a recent interview with The Sunday Times that the future of his Disney mega-franchise does not currently include Depp. The actor appeared as Jack Sparrow in all five Pirates of the Caribbean, earning an Oscar nomination for Curse of the Black Pearl. The most recent Pirates movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2017. Bruckheimer said two Pirates scripts are currently in development, but neither include Depp's former franchise mainstay.
"Yes. We're talking to Margot Robbie. We are developing two Pirates scripts – one with her, one without," Bruckheimer said when asked about the future of the Pirates franchise. "[Will Depp be back?] Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided."
On May 2, Depp's agent Jack Whigham testified in court that the actor was to receive a US$22.5 million (approx. $32.25 million) payday to star in the sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film. Whigham said Disney decided to go "in a different direction" after Heard published an op-ed reviving her domestic abuse allegations.
"After the op-ed it was impossible to get him a studio film," Whigham said while testifying.
During a cross-examination, Heard's attorney Elaine Bredehoft said that Depp never had a contract for US$22.5 million for a sixth Pirates movie and stressed the number was never committed to writing. Bredehoft also pointed to prior testimony suggesting that Disney was not likely to cast Depp in the film as early as the Northern Hemisphere's autumn of 2018, before Heard's op-ed was published. Whigham testified that while Disney might have been hesitant at that point, Bruckheimer was advocating on Depp's behalf at the time.
As for Robbie's Pirates movie, Variety reported in June 2020 that the I, Tonya Oscar nominee was partnering with her Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson on a new female-fronted Pirates movie. All five films in the franchise have grossed more than US$650 million (approx. $931.8 million) worldwide, with Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides both topping the US$1 billion mark (approx. $1.434 billion).
Closing arguments in Depp's defamation case against Heard are scheduled for May 27.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit their website. In an emergency, call 000.
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Title: Jury sees photo of Amber Heard's swollen face after fight with Johnny Depp as she testifies she feared she 'wouldn't survive' if she stayed with him
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial-feared-she-wouldnt-survive-if-she-stayed/c65aa710-fee3-46d7-a0f9-c42ff36fd94c
Published Date: Mon, 16 May 2022 20:05:00 GMT
