Amber Heard has taken the stand in the libel trial between her and ex-husband Johnny Depp.
The trial between Depp and Heard began on April 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, following Depp’s lawsuit against his ex-wife in March 2019. Depp argues that she defamed him in a December 2018 op-ed published on washington post titled “I spoke out against sexual violence — and faced the wrath of our culture. That has to change.”
Heard said it was “horrible” having to sit in the courtroom “for weeks” listening to people talk about her life with Depp, adding that it was “the hardest thing” she had ever had to do.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that Ms. Heard would be taking the stand in her own case, and when Wednesday came, a reporter’s detail confirmed those reports.
“We have just been informed that we will no longer be allowed to bring bottled beverages into court. The last time we received this instruction was when Johnny Depp first took the stand. Is this an indication that Amber Heard will testify this morning? Law and Crime host Jesse Weber tweeted Wednesday morning.
The bottles are believed to have been banned because they could be used as projectiles while Heard is on the stand. His appearance comes just days after he fired his public relations firm, apparently frustrated with the negative headlines surrounding the trial.
Amber Heard took the stand on May 4
(Court video)
Depp’s legal team questioned Dr. Dawn Hughes on Wednesday morning.
Dr. Hughes was shown a picture of a knife with the words “until death” in Spanish. The image has previously appeared in the trial.
Depp’s attorney, Wayne Dennison, asked Hughes if it was his testimony that someone who feared for his life would gift this to his partner.
There is a “context,” said Dr. Hughes.
I heard that the lawyer Elaine Bredehoft then asked Dr. Hughes about that context, to which the psychologist said: “I think this is the knife that has a turquoise end and this was when Mr. Depp was filming. The Lone Ranger and I was in a turquoise phase.”
“She bought him that because she thought it would be a nice gift. The wording is that Mr. Depp told him ‘the only way out of this relationship is death,’” said Dr. Hughes.
The psychologist said that Ms Heard was in “denial” regarding the “violence in the relationship” at the time.
It added that Mr. Depp’s comment came in connection with a discussion about a prenuptial agreement during which he said: “I don’t want one because the only way out of this relationship is death.”
Dr. Hughes said this was a “clinical cause for concern at the time.”
Ms. Heard appeared to smile in the courtroom when Mr. Dennison asked Dr. Hughes if he spoke Spanish before showing the image of the knife, to which Dr. Hughes said “a little bit.”
Dr Hughes said Ms Heard’s reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were in line “with what we know and the literature” on IPV.
“You have no independent knowledge of the facts underlying the alleged abuse, correct?” Mr. Dennison asked.
“I am aware of the plethora of documents I have reviewed,” replied Dr. Hughes.
Mr. Dennison went on to point out that Ms. Heard’s reports of abuse to Dr. Hughes came after Mr. Depp’s lawsuit against Ms. Heard, which Dr. Hughes said was accurate.
Depp’s lawyer asked if a relationship could be assessed without speaking to both parties.
“You can certainly get a lot of information from one part, absolutely,” said Dr. Hughes.
On Tuesday, Dr. Hughes, a psychologist who testified for the defense, objected to the testimony of the psychologist summoned by Depp’s team, Dr. Shannon Curry, who took the stand earlier in the trial.
Dr. Curry said that Ms. Heard suffered from a borderline, histrionic personality and was faking PTSD symptoms, while Dr. Hughes rejected those claims, saying that Ms. Heard suffered from PTSD as a result of domestic violence and sexual assault, and also disagreed with Dr. Curry’s Diagnoses on personality disorders.
“Ms. Heard’s report on intimate partner violence and the records I reviewed are consistent with what we know in the field about intimate partner violence characterized by physical violence, psychological assault, sexual violence, coercive control, and surveillance behaviors. ”, said Dr. Hughes.
The psychologist added that there were “many, many instances” where Depp “tried to control how Ms. Heard was going with her career.”
She said that he “didn’t want me to show nudity” or “boob”.
“He didn’t want her to act with certain actors because of this obsessive jealousy. He criticized her ambition. He would prefer that she not work,” said Dr. Hughes.
She added that this led to Ms Heard being “very afraid that she would have to look at scripts or talk about scripts or talk about movie roles, because he would persistently leave them and tell her that she didn’t need to work and she didn’t need to do that, and she didn’t need to show her t**sya**.”
Dr. Hughes said that Mr. Depp “called almost all the actors who [Ms Heard] with whom to work, men and women”.
“He told you: ‘I have eyes down there. I have my eyes on the set. So she never felt safe being herself and being an actress in these movies or productions because she would have to come home and then put up with her anger at her for doing something or not doing something,” Dr. Hughes testified.
In her 2018 opinion piece, Ms. Heard wrote that “like many women, she had been sexually harassed and assaulted when she was college age. But I kept quiet, I did not expect to file complaints to do justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim.”
“Then two years ago I became a public figure representing domestic abuse and felt the full force of our culture’s anger at women speaking out,” she added at the time.
While Mr. Depp is not mentioned in the article, his legal team argues that it contains a “clear implication that Mr. Depp is a domestic abuser”, which they say is “categorically and demonstrably false”. Mr. Depp is seeking compensation of “not less than $50 million”.
Ms. Heard has filed a $100 million counterclaim against Mr. Depp for nuisance and immunity from his accusations.