Amber Heard claims Johnny Depp assaulted her out of jealousy of James Franco

AFP

Actress Amber Heard, 36, said her ex-husband Johnny Depp, 58, assaulted her on a plane after accusing her of having an affair with actor James Franco, 44. ) in a court in Virginia, in the United States, during the trial of the defamation case brought against her by her ex-husband.

“I felt ashamed,” Heard told the jury following the multimillion-dollar lawsuit. “It was the first time I had gone through something like this,” she added, on the verge of tears.

The actress reported several cases of alleged physical abuse by the protagonist of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, in her second day on the witness stand in the ongoing trial.

Depp is suing Heard over an opinion piece published in the Washington Post in December 2018, in which the actress described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”. She didn’t mention Depp in the article, but the actor sued her for insinuating she was an abuser and asking for $50 million (about £251 million) in damages.

The actress counter-sued, asking for US$ 100 million (about R$ 502 thousand) alleging that she suffered “unrestrained physical violence and abuse”. “He was mad at me for taking the job with James Franco,” Heard said, recounting the incident on the plane, which took place in May 2014.

“I hated, hated James Franco and accused me of having a secret affair with him in the past, ever since we did Pineapple Express together,” he added, referring to the 2008 film he worked on with Franco. “He called me a whore,” said the actress.

Heard said that Depp, who had been drinking, slapped her in the face and kicked her in the back as she switched seats. Members of Depp’s security team and his assistants were on the plane at the time of this interaction, the actress said.

“I fell to the ground. Nobody said anything, nobody did anything. It was like you could hear a pin drop on that plane,” he recalled. “And I remember feeling very embarrassed,” she added.

Three-time Oscar nominee Depp and Heard met in 2009 on the set of The Rum Diary and were married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized two years later.

During the four days he spent giving testimony, Depp denied physical aggression and assured that his ex-wife was the violent part of the relationship. Heard also testified about other occasions when Depp allegedly assaulted her, including one where he “suspected” that she had broken his nose.

The actress gave details about the actor’s ongoing drug and alcohol use and his recurring efforts to stay sober during their relationship. She said a security guard once had to carry an unconscious Depp in his arms “like a baby” to her rented home in London.

“I remember thinking this had to be it. I was excited to feel that we were in a new chapter, that Johnny had finally hit rock bottom,” she said.

But despite “a million promises to get clean and sober,” couples therapy and rehab efforts, she said Depp kept returning to drinking and using marijuana and cocaine.