Psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes testified on Tuesday (May 3) that Johnny Depp “kicked” Amber Heard “in the back” in a fit of jealousy over James Franco.
Dr Hughes was the first witness to testify on behalf of Ms Heard after Mr Depp’s lawyers rested their case on Tuesday, following more than three weeks of evidence and testimony in the defamation lawsuit brought by the pirates of the Caribbean actor against his ex-wife.
While on the stand, Dr. Hughes claimed that Mr. Depp perpetrated multiple acts of sexual and physical violence against Ms. Heard over the course of their tumultuous marriage, which ended in divorce in 2016.
Dr. Hughes referred to the “Boston plane incident” that allegedly occurred on May 24, 2014 when “Ms. Heard and Mr. Depp were to fly back to Los Angeles and spend the weekend together.” because they had been filming in separate locations.
“Mrs. Heard is on the plane, waiting for Mr. Depp to get on. He is reportedly sitting in the truck smoking weed and drinking. She is filming with James Franco right now,” said Dr. Hughes.
“He gets on the plane and starts talking about James Franco, making a lot of disparaging comments about her. ‘I hope you had fun with your escapades’ and a little more inflammatory language,” she added.
“Then in an argument as she got up to leave, he kicked her in the back. She moved forward on the plane, to the front of the plane.”
Mrs. Heard and Mr. Franco were shooting their next movie in New York. The Adderall Diariesand were photographed on set by paparazzi on May 30, 2014.
During Depp’s defamation lawsuit against a UK-based company Sun newspaper for an article calling him a “wife beater,” the 58-year-old actor denied the allegations, telling the court that he slept in the bathroom for the rest of the flight.
Last week, it was reported that Mr. Franco, who was listed as a possible witness for Ms. Heard along with Elon Musk, would not testify during the trial.
The New York-based forensic and clinical psychologist also claimed in court that Mr Depp felt insecure around “almost every person” Ms Heard was in a movie with.
“There were these barrages of consistent accusations of infidelity,” Dr. Hughes told the jury, adding: “Billy Bob [Thornton] it was a person I kept scolding her for having an affair with.”
Forensic psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes testifies as the first witness for actress Amber Heard’s defense in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
(AP)
Dr. Hughes said that she had diagnosed Ms. Heard with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of alleged intimate partner violence perpetrated by Mr. Depp.
It claimed that Ms Heard reported that Mr Depp had “shoved”, “shoved”, “slapped” and “strangled” her. She also claimed that he “slammed her into a wall” and kicked her.
The psychologist said that Ms. Heard claimed to suffer bruises, cuts and “vaginal pain” stemming from sexual assaults.
The testimony runs counter to statements made by psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry, who was called in by Depp’s team and testified earlier in the trial, that Ms. Heard has “borderline and histrionic personality disorders” and “extremely aggressive symptoms.” exaggerated PTSD.
Dr. Hughes also dismissed the claim that the couple was responsible for “mutual abuse”, as their marriage counselor testified earlier in the trial.
In her 2018 opinion piece, Ms. Heard wrote: “Like many women, she had been sexually harassed and assaulted when she was of 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.
Follow the live updates of depp against ear trial here.