In court, Amber Heard alleged that her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, struck her repeatedly during drug and alcohol-fueled rages, turning the actor into an ugly creature.
Ms Heard, who testified during the fourth week of the trial, indicated that an aggressive pattern started in 2012.
Mr Depp has filed a lawsuit against Ms Heard for a story she wrote in which she described herself as a domestic abuse victim. He denied any misconduct throughout his presentation.
Ms Heard, 36, testified for several hours on Wednesday in Virginia, detailing her first interactions with Mr Depp in Puerto Rico while filming The Rum Diary. They “fell in love,” she said on the promotional tour for the film’s release in 2011.
Ms Heard’s early delights in their relationship were soon broken by Mr Depp’s negative statements, which he began expressing in 2012, the same year she claims he struck her for the first time.
In emotional testimony, Ms Heard said she laughed when Mr Depp, 58, revealed that a tattoo on his arm spelt “Wino”—a correction to a tattoo he had produced during a previous relationship with actress Winona Ryder.
Mr Depp has denied the interaction occurred, arguing in his evidence that the claim “never made any sense” to him. He allegedly sought to conceal his substance abuse, which she described as ranging from drinking alcoholic beverages to taking “a lot” of cocaine, according to her. He said that he had never hit Ms Heard and that she had a “need” for conflict and violence.
The defamation suit stems from a December 2018 opinion piece Ms Heard published for the Washington Post. She didn’t mention her ex-husband or any of the other suspects.
Mr Depp’s lawyers, on the other hand, contend that the piece was clearly about him, that it destroyed his career and tarnished his reputation “incalculably.” The trial will almost certainly continue for another month.
