Aquaman's Amber Heard has accused ex-husband Johnny Depp of trying to kill her.
The information came forward while Heard was under cross-examination by Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez during her fourth day on the stand at their ongoing defamation trial. According to Variety, after Vasquez played audio recordings of arguments between the couple and read-aloud love notes that Heard had written to Depp after the Pirates of the Caribbean star had allegedly abused her, the attorney asked Heard, "You weren't scared of him at all, were you?" The actor responded, "This is a man who tried to kill me. Of course it's scary. He's also my husband."
Later in the cross-examination, Vasquez had a bailiff show jurors a knife that Heard had gifted Depp early in their relationship. She then asked Heard why she would give her ex-husband a present when she claims he would get drunk and violent towards her. "I wasn't worried he was going to stab me with it," the actor explained, seemingly contradicting her earlier claim that Depp had tried to kill her.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in defamation for a 2018 Washington Post op-ed detailing her alleged experience with domestic abuse. Depp claims this did unspeakable damage to his career, including costing him a $22.5 million payday for a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film. He also claims that Heard was the actual abuser in their relationship. Heard has denied the accusations and counter-sued Depp for $100 million in defamation.
Heard testified earlier in the trial that Depp allegedly physically abused her on multiple occasions. "I will never forget it," she said, recounting the first time she alleges Depp hit her. "It changed my life." Heard recalled the two were talking about Depp's "Wino" tattoo -- a modified version of a tattoo Depp originally got while dating ex-girlfriend Winona Ryder. Heard said she initially couldn't read what it said and laughed when he told her. "I just laughed, because I thought he was joking. And he slapped me across the face," Heard said. "And I laughed. I laughed because I didn't know what else to do. I thought, 'This must be a joke.'"
The actor also claimed that Depp accused her of having several affairs during their relationship, including one with his future Fantastic Beasts co-star Eddie Redmayne. She furthermore recounted an alleged instance of sexual assault that took place in 2015. Depp's reps have stated Heard's claims are fictitious and "only advantageously surfaced years later once she was sued for defamation after noting in her op-ed that she was a victim of 'sexual violence.'"
The trial began in April and is scheduled to conclude on May 27 where it will then go to the jury for deliberation.
Source: Variety