Amber Heardsays she was forced to defend herself againstJohnny Deppin physical fights during their relationship.
Under oath on Thursday, theAquamanactress, 36, explained why she opted to start responding physically to then-fiancé Depp when he was allegedly abusive toward her. Heard said she tried other ways to diffuse the arguments, but the cycle of outbursts then apologies then more outbursts continued no matter what she did.
“In these fights, I would try to stand up for myself. By December 2014, I was pushing back, I’d push him off me, I tried to hit his hands away. I tried to always get back up, which would sometimes— not sometimes, almost always made it worse, always seemed to provoke him. But I tried,” said Heard. “I would yell at him, scream at him. I’d call him ugly names. So ashamed of the names we’d call each other. It was awful. And we both got into that pattern. I felt so angry that this was happening to me, and it just felt so unfair.”
She added, “Nothing I did made him stop hitting me. Nothing.”
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Heard said she “tried for over a year, maybe two, of just not responding physically, not responding verbally, just staring at him.”
Earlier in the trial, Depp said under oath, “I’ve never struck Ms. Heard. I have never struck a woman in my life,” contradicting Heard’s testimony, which also included timeswhen he allegedly slapped her,kicked herandsexually assaulted her.
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ThePirates of the Caribbeanactor is suing Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote forThe Washington Postin December 2018 about surviving domestic violence, though she didn’t mention his name in the article. His $50 million lawsuit was originally filed in 2019.
Heard and Depp met while making the 2011 movieThe Rum Diaryand later wed in 2015. They broke up in May 2016 when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and they settled theirdivorceout of court in August 2016.
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Depp has testified that his “goal is the truth” as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets.
Back in November 2020, Depplost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit caseagainst British tabloidThe Sunfor calling him a “wife-beater.” The court upheld the outlet’s claims as being “substantially true” and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt tooverturn the decision was overruled.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
