Heard took to the stand on Wednesday.
Amber Heard has told the court that Johnny Depp repeatedly struck her in drug and drink-fuelled rages and once threatened to “f***ing kill” her.
On Wednesday (4 May), Heard testified to the court in the multi-million dollar defamation trial between her and her ex-husband Depp.
In an emotional testimony, the 36-year-old claimed the first time Depp hit her was in 2012 when she laughed at a tattoo he had.
Heard said she found him “charismatic” in her first interactions with him in 2011 for the film The Rum Diary.
When they later reconnected on a press tour, she said they “fell in love”.
#AmberHeard discussed meeting #JohnnyDepp while auditioning for "The Rum Diary." @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/gB40ZbaPzI
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) May 4, 2022
But Heard claims that Depp struck her for the first time in the early stages of their relationship.
She told the court that it happened when she laughed at a tattoo on his arm which read “Wino”.
This was an alteration Depp had made to a tattoo he got during a previous relationship with Winona Ryder.
She said that Depp then “slapped” her across the face and that she “laughed” because she thought he was “joking.”
“I’ll never forget it,” she added.
. #AmberHeard: first time #JohnnyDepp hit her – she asked him what his tattoo said on his arm (used to say Winona that he turned into Wino). He told her it said "Wino". She laughed. She says Depp slapped her across the face. Her reaction was to laugh thinking it must be a joke pic.twitter.com/6I64HiaquN
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) May 4, 2022
Throughout her testimony, Heard portrayed Depp as a kind person who could burst into violent rages when drunk or on drugs.
Heard said that Depp drank spirits and would take “a lot” of cocaine.
She told the court that Depp would “explode” after accusing her of cheating and that he would slap and “backhand” her.
“He’d come back clean and sober and he’d be extra nice and extra apologetic and we’d be good again,” she added.
She also alleged that on one visit to Johnny Depp’s private island for a trip on his yacht, the Pirates of the Caribbean star threatened to “f***ing kill” her, causing her to flee the island with his daughter Lily-Rose.
Heard said that Depp was drinking on the trip and that he got angry on the yacht when his daughter asked about the drinking.
The actress said: “Lily-Rose was crying, it became like a panic attack with rapid breathing, crying and lots of questions.
“I was holding her and comforting her and within a few seconds, I realised that he had shifted his attention on me and seemed very angry.
“He asked Lily-Rose to leave, she left crying and Johnny starts accusing me of, like, telling on him and calling him a drunk in front of his kids.
“I hadn’t done that and had actually tried to protect Johnny, it was not my place to share that with anyone, especially his daughter.”
She claimed Depp then slammed her up against the wall of a bedroom cabin by her neck and told her that he “could f***ing kill me” and that she was an “embarrassment”.
"It hurt my feelings": #AmberHeard said that #JohnnyDepp calling her an embarrassment stuck with her more than him saying "I could f**king kill you." @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/VXTKwSEdRv
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) May 4, 2022
After this, Heard said this made her “feel sick,” and that she then returned to the island before fleeing on a helicopter with Lily-Rose, who she was “literally holding under my arm.”
Heard claimed on another occasion Depp performed a cavity search on her to find cocaine.
WATCH: #AmberHeard got emotional while talking about #JohnnyDepp allegedly cavity searching her for his cocaine. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/gwgzpRHWzD
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) May 4, 2022
She will continue her testimony on Thursday.
The trial had previously heard claims that Depp would force Heard to give him “oral sex when he was angry”.
Depp is currently suing his former wife Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote in 2018 in which she discussed the subject of domestic abuse.
Depp and his lawyers argue that the Washington Post piece falsely implies that Heard was physically and sexually abused by Depp while they were married from 2015 to 2017. He is seeking $50m in damages.
Heard is in turn suing her former husband, accusing him of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and labelling his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”
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