“Aquaman” actress Amber Heard is slated to enter the witness box sometime this week in Johnny Depp’s $50 million defamation trial that opened on 11 April at Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse, Virginia.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, 58, is suing ex-wife Heard, 36, for $50 million, claiming she defamed him in a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post, where she discussed being a victim of domestic violence, albeit never mentioning him by name.
Amber Heard has been accused of fabricating her injuries
© Photo : Amber Heard/High Court
Depp has insisted the abuse allegations were an elaborate "hoax". He also accused Heard of committing acts of domestic violence against him, in some instances even causing him bodily injury.
Amber Heard countersued the A-list star for $100 million, accusing him and his former lawyer of conspiring to shred her reputation in a series of targeted smear campaigns.
1 May marked the third day in a break in the trial, which resumes on Monday.
Until now, Depp and his witnesses have offered explosive testimony at Fairfax County Circuit Court, claiming he was the victim of domestic violence throughout his marriage to Heard. Thus, Depp described a fight with Heard during which he claims she lobbed a vodka bottle at him, severing the top digit of his middle right finger.
But at this point, Heard is slated to start offering her account from the stand.
Abusive 'Monster'
Opening statements made to jurors by Amber Heard’s legal team, represented by Elaine Bredehoft, offer a glimpse into how Johnny Depp will be painted as a "monster" who physically, emotionally, and sexually abused his former spouse.
Heard, who landed her first starring role in the 2006 horror film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, is expected to tell jurors she fell in love with Depp after their encounter on the set of "The Rum Diary".
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard kiss at the premiere of the film The Danish Girl during the 72nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015
© AP Photo / Andrew Medichini
The two started dating in 2011 and were married from 2015 until 2017. However, Depp’s use of drugs reportedly transformed him into a "monster".
Thus, Depp is expected to be described as spiralling out of control during a trip to Australia in March 2015 after taking several ecstasy tablets. In the ensuing fight over a postnuptial agreement, Depp ostensibly ripped off Heard’s nightgown and “hurled bottles and bottles at her", according to the woman’s lawyers.
In connection with this episode, Heard is anticipated to offer the jurors a graphic account of how her ex-husband raped her with a liquor bottle.
The woman, who played Atlantean Princess Mera in the superhero film "Justice League", and later reprised the role in "Aquaman" (2018) is expected to reiterate claims she made in 2020.
Back then, she appeared on the witness stand during Depp’s libel trial against The Sun newspaper in the UK for calling him a "wife-beater". According to Amber Heard’s lawyers, she has photos and other evidence that Depp beat her, gave her black eyes, and ripped out chunks of hair over a three-year period. At the time, a UK judge ruled that Depp had repeatedly assaulted Heard.
The actress has claimed that the final straw in their marriage was when they quarrelled on 21 May 2016, with Los Angeles police being called to their penthouse.
The blow-up was about a defecation incident, when a housekeeper discovered seemingly human faeces in the couple’s bed on 22 April. Depp blamed Heard for the incident – something the woman vehemently denied. Three days after the quarrel, Heard filed for divorce.
The split was finalised in 2017, with Heard getting a $7 million payout that she vowed to donate to two charities.
Heard is expected to tell the court that the sole reason she hasn’t donated the sum as promised is that Depp continues to drag her into expensive lawsuits, according to Bredehoft.
Amber Heard’s appearance on the stand will come days after she abruptly fired her PR team, Precision Strategies. The actress was reportedly upset over a slew of negative headlines and opted to switch to corporate communications group Shane Communications, which previously represented Depp’s former business managers during a 2017 lawsuit, according to the New York Post.