Johnny Depp's counsel questioned Amber Heard on an audiotape in which she is heard encouraging her ex-husband to "tell the world" that he was the victim of domestic violence.
On Monday, the multimillion-dollar defamation trial resumed in the courts in Fairfax, Virginia, with Ms. Heard taking the stand.
Under cross-examination, Mr. Depp's counsel aired an audio recording of Ms. Heard telling Mr. Depp, "Tell them I, Johnny Depp, am a victim of domestic abuse... and see how many people believe you or support you."
Mr. Depp's counsel interrogated Ms. Heard over her remarks, asking if she didn't feel her husband would claim victimhood to the world.
Ms. Heard concurred that she wouldn't believe he was a victim because he "beat me up."
"I was saying it to the man who had beaten me," Ms. Heard said.
Given the nature of our relationship, I found it difficult to imagine that he could or would do that.
I believed it was insane for him to do so, given everything we had been through.
Ms. Heard denied that she referred to Mr. Depp's failure to come forward as a male victim of abuse when urged to do so.
She stated, "I was saying this because he had beaten me for five years."
During aggressive cross-examination, Mr. Depp's attorney questioned why Ms. Heard lacked apparent injuries or indicators of abuse in photographs taken after alleged incidents of violence.
Ms. Heard explained that she covered the marks with makeup and used ice to decrease swelling.
The jurors were given photographs of Ms. Heard's mouth taken following her appearance on James Corden's The Late Late Show one day after claiming her husband abused her.
She suffered a split lip and facial bruises at the time due to Mr. Depp's assault. People magazine later released photographs of her injured face shot the day before.
She was also asked if any medical records existed for the claimed incident in which Mr. Depp sexually attacked her with a liquor bottle. Ms. Heard stated that she did not seek medical treatment because she did not want anyone to know what had occurred.
The court also heard recordings of Johnny Depp telling Amber Heard in 2016 that she would never again see his eyes.
Mr. Depp's attorney questioned Ms. Heard about her ex-lack spouse's eye contact during the trial.
When Ms. Heard agreed, the attorney stated, "But you've seen him numerous times."
The attorney stated, "You know exactly why he won't look back at you."
Ms. Heard stated to the judge, "He cannot."
Mr. Depp is suing his ex-wife for defamation over an opinion piece she published in The Washington Post in 2018. She referred to herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."
Pirates of the Caribbean are not mentioned in the article titled "I spoke out against sexual violence – and faced our culture's wrath." This must change."
However, Mr. Depp asserts that it wrongly indicates that he is a domestic abuser, which he vehemently rejects. It has made it difficult for him to secure employment in Hollywood, and he is seeking $50 million.
Ms. Heard is filing a $100 million countersuit against Mr. Depp, accusing him of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against her and labeling his case as a continuation of "abuse and harassment."
(Photo: AP)
[Video embedded from Independent.Co.UK]
