Depp’s ex-wife says libel trial is ‘painful and difficult’

AFP

American actress Amber Heard, 36, said, when testifying on Wednesday (4), in court in Virginia, in the United States, that the judgment of the defamation lawsuit brought against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, 58, is the fact “most painful and difficult” she has ever lived.

“It’s hard to find the words to express how painful this is,” he said as he took the floor. “This is the most painful and difficult thing I’ve ever been through,” added the actress, dressed in a dark suit and wearing little makeup.

She also spoke of the witnesses: “Some I know, others I don’t, my ex-husband, with whom I shared my life, talking about our life”.

His testimony was eagerly awaited at the Fairfax courthouse near Washington, which broadcasts the trial live on television and on social media.

Depp stated that Heard ruined his reputation and career with an opinion piece published in the Washington Post newspaper in December 2018, in which he claimed to have been a victim of domestic violence in 2016, without mentioning the actor’s name.

The actor asks for US$ 50 million (about R$ 251 million) in damages, which corresponds to the income he would have obtained from his work if he had not been released from film projects.

The actress, who starred in the films “Justice League” and “Aquaman”, counterattacked and asked her ex-husband for $100 million.

“PANIC ATTACKS”

Heard claims to have suffered “physical violence and assaults” since their first meeting, in 2009, and during their troubled marriage that lasted just two years, from 2015 to 2017.

Amber Heard suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of “intimate violence” caused by Johnny Depp, a psychologist said Wednesday morning.

Those symptoms, seen when she filmed “Aquaman 2” in 2021, “interfered with her ability” to act in the feature, explained Dawn Hughes, a clinical and forensic psychologist convened by the actress’ legal team.

“She has to keep working despite having panic attacks, difficult memories of the trauma, palpitations and sweaty palms when she thinks about it,” he said.

The actor, who testified for four days at the end of April, denies the aggression and guarantees that his ex-wife was the violent part of the relationship. He did, however, admit to using drugs and alcohol to excess, which he – he claimed – was able to control most of the time.

The level of toxicity of the marriage was such that, according to Depp, they got used, each for themselves, to record the fights, which explains the diverse records shown since the beginning of the trial.

In 2016, the actress sued her husband for spousal violence, but dropped the charges during the divorce proceedings.

In April 2018, The Sun tabloid accused Depp of being “a violent husband”. The actor sued the newspaper, but lost the trial.