“When he (Johnny Depp) drank, there was almost always an argument,” Amber Heard’s sister said.
Washington:
Johnny Depp grabbed his then-wife Amber Heard by the hair and repeatedly punched her in the face during a heated argument about a month after their wedding, her sister said Wednesday.
Heard also punched Depp during the fight in March 2015 at their Los Angeles penthouse, Whitney Henriquez testified in the high-profile defamation lawsuit between the famous couple.
Henriquez, Heard’s 34-year-old younger sister, said the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star wanted her to sign a nondisclosure agreement after the incident, but she declined.
Depp, 58, filed a lawsuit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018, in which she described herself as a “public figure who represents domestic violence.”
Heard, who starred in “Aquaman,” didn’t mention Depp in the op-ed, but he sued her for suggesting he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.
Texas-born Heard contradicted herself, asking for $100 million, claiming she had endured “rampant physical violence and abuse” because of him.
During his four days on the witness stand, Depp denied ever hitting Heard, claiming she was the one who was often violent.
Henriquez testified on behalf of her sister on Wednesday – Day 18 of the trial which was heard by a seven-member jury in Virginia.
Henriquez, who for a time lived in the same penthouse complex as Depp and Heard, said the couple had a volatile relationship.
“When he was sober, things were great,” she said. “When he wasn’t sober, they were terrible.”
“When he used or drank, there was almost always an argument,” she said.
– ‘Say really bad things’ –
Henriquez detailed the March 2015 incident at the Los Angeles penthouse complex owned by Depp.
She said Heard woke her up in the middle of the night to tell her that Depp had cheated on her and that the newly married couple then got into an argument.
“They said really bad things to each other,” Henriquez said.
“Johnny runs up the stairs,” she said. “He comes up behind me, punches me in the back a little bit.”
“I can hear Amber yelling ‘Don’t hit my damn sister,'” she said. “She punches him, lands one.”
Henriquez said Depp’s bodyguard moved to intervene, “but by then Johnny had already grabbed Amber by the hair with one hand and repeatedly punched her in the face with the other.”
The bodyguard tore them apart, she said, and Depp then proceeded to vandalize the penthouse, smashing numerous items in the kitchen and emptying racks of Heard’s clothes on the floor.
Depp’s attorneys have taken to court experts who testified that he lost millions over the abuse allegations, including a $22.5 million payday for a sixth episode of “Pirates.”
Depp filed the defamation complaint in the United States after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against The Sun for calling him a “wife beater.”
Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard met on the set of “The Rum Diary” in 2009 and married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized two years later.
Judge Penney Azcarate has scheduled closing arguments in the case for May 27, after which it will go to the jury.
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