Amber Heard takes to the stand to give second day of evidence in libel trial
21 July 2020, 07:57
Amber Heard is due to take the stand for the second day after she told the High Court yesterday that she "was scared Johnny would kill her" during the course of their relationship.
The 34-year-old film star will continue her evidence in ex-husband Johnny Depp's libel trial against the Sun publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) and editor Dan Wootton.
The cases comes after an April 2018 article published in the Sun which branded 57-year-old Mr Depp "a wife beater".
In the 11th day of the trail, Ms Heard will continue to be questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence against Mr Depp.
Ms Heard has accused the Pirates of the Caribbean star of "controlling behaviour" and physical and mental abuse throughout their relationship.
He denies all the claims and has accused his ex-wife of "building a dossier against him" and alleges that she was in fact violent towards him.
Yesterday, the Aquaman actress claimed her ex-husband often put her in situations where she was "confronted with unimaginable frustrations and difficulties", adding she would "try to defend" herself when he "got serious".
Ms Heard has also denied allegations that she was often the one to start arguments with the Hollywood star.
Ms Heard, 34, is giving her first of three days of evidence in London's High Court as part of Mr Depp's libel case against The Sun newspaper over a 2018 article that labelled him a "wife beater".
Eleanor Laws QC, representing Mr Depp, asked Ms Heard if she ever "got violent" with Mr Depp, to which the actress said: "No, Johnny often put me in a situation where I was confronted with unimaginable frustrations and difficulties, often that were life-threatening to me."
She added that she would "try to defend myself when he got serious and when I thought my life was threatened, but I was never violent towards him.
She also said Depp threatened to kill her "many times", especially later in their relationship.
She also alleged the Pirates Of The Caribbean star was "very good at manipulating people" and would blame his actions on a "self-created third party" he called the "monster".
In a written witness statement submitted to the court, Ms Heard, 34, accused Mr Depp of subjecting her to verbal and physical abuse - including screaming, swearing, issuing threats, punching, slapping, kicking, head-butting and choking her, as well as "extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour".
She alleged: "Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far.
Ms Heard also claimed Mr Depp "lives in a state of weaponised victimhood".
The statement says: "To hear him talk about his childhood or past relationships, he is always the victim. He functions off zero accountability to anyone and thrives off others who provide him with that.
"No-one really gives him direct or honest feedback.
"It is very rare to see anyone - professionals, doctors, lawyers, film executives - say no to him. I tried to, but it didn't go down well."
Ms Heard also said she thought she could "fix Johnny", saying: "I thought he could get better and that he would, and I wanted that so badly right to the end.
"After violent episodes, his team would try to convince me to stay with him or to come back, often telling me he was sorry and would get clean for me.
"I think I stayed not only because I had hope of him getting clean and things changing, but also because of the responsibility I felt, being told I was the one to motivate him and help him to get clean."
