Amber Heard begged Johnny Depp on Monday to “leave her alone”, denouncing the “torture” of having to relive the domestic violence she accuses him of having subjected to her, during the defamation lawsuit brought by her ex-husband in the States -United.
“I have to relive every day, over and over again, the most intimate, embarrassing, deeply humiliating and personal things that I have experienced,” the 36-year-old actress explained in court in Fairfax, Virginia near Washington.
“It’s torture, it’s enormous emotional pain,” she said.
“I want to move on with my life, but by doing this stuff he won’t let me,” she told the jurors before looking her ex-husband in the eye and begging him, “let- me alone”.
The star of the saga “Pirates of the Caribbean”, who has avoided the gaze of his ex-wife since the start of the trial, claims 50 million dollars in damages.
He accuses her of having ruined her reputation and her career by claiming in a column published in 2018 by the Washington Post that she had suffered domestic violence two years earlier, without however mentioning her name.
She counterattacked and asks for the double.
At the helm, the “Aquaman” actress explained that she decided to divorce in May 2016 because she feared for her life, after yet another argument, during which the actor allegedly threw a phone in her face.
– Pledge of donations soaring –
Their union was “falling apart,” she said, struggling to hold back tears. “I knew I had to leave. I knew I wouldn’t survive it if I didn’t.”
“The monster had been this thing that was now the norm and not the exception. Violence was now normal,” she explained, referring to her ex-husband, who she said regularly hit her under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Her lawyers showed photos where she appears with the right side of her face bruised.
The first four weeks of the trial have drawn a “toxic” relationship, with very raw details reported by the former couple who had started an affair in 2011 before marrying in February 2015. The divorce had been finalized in early 2017.
Their arguments, often accompanied by blows, reached their climax during a stay in Australia in March 2015, when Amber Heard claims to have been hit and then sexually assaulted by her husband.
The contradictory debate started at the end of the afternoon by Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, was tense.
Amber Heard notably had to admit that she had never donated to charities, as she had promised during the divorce settlement and repeated in the press, the 7 million dollars received in compensation at the end of 2018.
“I couldn’t fulfill my obligations because I was being sued” by her ex-husband, she said.
Ms Vasquez, however, noted that she had received the full sum well before the 2019 defamation suit filed by Johnny Depp.
– “Hit to defend myself” –
The 58-year-old actor, who testified in late April, admitted heavy use of drugs and alcohol but denied ever raising a hand on Amber Heard and insisted it was her who was violent.
Amber Heard highlighted the power disparity on Monday by admitting to punching Johnny Depp. “I talk about the difference between a punch and the fact that I have to hit it to defend myself,” she said.
This lawsuit between two celebrities is extraordinary. It is broadcast live on television and every day, fans of the two actors gather in court in this small town near the American capital.
“It’s like a soap opera,” Nancy Mowery, who came from Pennsylvania and spent the night in court to attend the hearing, told AFP.
Alethea Gnanakan, a student from Virginia, believes that “both (ex-spouses) suffered” in this “so sad story”.
The battle between the two camps is also taking place on social networks where hashtags for or against the two actors flourish.
Deliberations are due to continue until May 27, after which the seven jurors will retire to deliberate.
The actor is suing his ex-wife in the United States two years after losing a first defamation lawsuit in London. He had attacked the British tabloid The Sun, which called him an “abusive husband”.