Amber Heard attempted to fight back tears during her first day of testimony against Johnny Depp.
More than three weeks after the trial kicked off, Heard took the witness stand Wednesday to detail the alleged abuse she endured while married to the Fantastic Beasts star. Heard, who was married to Depp between 2015-2017, became visibly emotional as she recalled the first time her ex-husband allegedly hit her. Heard told the Virginia courtroom she and Depp were sitting on a couch when she asked him to explain one of his tattoos. She said Depp told her the ink read “Wino,” which prompted her to laugh. Seconds later, Depp allegedly slapped Heard across the face, telling her, “You think it’s funny, bitch?”
“I will never forget it, it changed my life,” Heard told a Virginia courtroom, per Deadline. “I laughed, I thought he was joking and he slapped me across the face. I laughed, because I didn’t know what else to do … He slapped me again, it was clear it wasn’t a joke. I didn’t move or freak out. I just stared at him. And he slaps me one more time, hard. I’m all of a sudden realizing that the worst thing that could happen to me happened.”
Heard claimed Depp eventually broke down and apologized, saying he thought he had “put the fucker away”—an apparent reference to his “monster” side that was fueled by alcohol and drugs.
“I wanted to believe him, so I stayed,” Heard told the court, “I believed there was a line and he wouldn’t cross it again.”
Elsewhere in her testimony, Heard recalled a 2013 incident in which Depp allegedly sexually assaulted her. According to TMZ, the Aquaman star claimed her ex-husband had accused her of stealing cocaine during a desert trip and performed a “cavity” search on her without consent. She told the court Depp had ripped her dress and began penetrating her vagina in an effort to find the drugs. Heard testified she wasn’t hiding any cocaine at the time.
Heard said she believed Depp was under the influence of drugs during his alleged abusive episodes. In 2013, he allegedly became paranoid Heard was having an affair with her ex-partner; so decided to punish her by burning a painting Heard had received from her former lover. However, his efforts to destroy the artwork were unsuccessful.
“He decided that the painting was an offense he could not forgive me for,” she said. “It meant I was having an affair with my ex-partner who I already split from.”
A day after the incident, Depp and Heard began driving to a photoshoot with members of Depp’s team. At one point during the trip, Depp allegedly began howling, grabbed a teacup Yorkie and held it out the window.
“I didn’t want to react to cause him to drop the dog,” Heard said. “It was just this eerie moment where he’s howling and holding this animal outside the car window. I have a memory of everyone just not really reacting to him. No one really did anything.”
Heard said the dog, named Boo, initially belonged to Depp, but she gained custody of the pet after their split.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million, alleging she damaged his reputation and career with false claims of domestic abuse.
