Amber Heard Tells Court That She Punched Johnny Depp To Protect Her Younger Sister

The defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard continues this week in Fairfax County, Virginia, shedding light on their troubled relationship while igniting debate and conversation about domestic violence, mental health, substance misuse, and more.

The Aquaman actor testified in Fairfax County Court in Virginia about an alleged fight with her then-husband.

She said that she and Depp got into an argument in their Los Angeles penthouse after she accused him of cheating on her with a woman he dated years before.

Reuters

"I immediately, like, confronted him about it," the 36-year-old said. "I was...I didn't care in that moment if he did kill me."

Heard described how the accusation infuriated Depp.

During the argument, she shouted back at him and then left the property to see her sister sleeping in a neighboring penthouse owned by Depp.

Getty Images

Depp reportedly chased her, and Heard claimed Whitney joined in the argument.

She said she was scared her sister might fall down the stairs, but when he took a swing at her, she jumped into action.

"I just remember this brief struggle we had. Whitney, my sister, all of a sudden put herself in between," Heard told the court.

"And I swung at him.

pinterest

"In all my relationship to date with Johnny, I hadn't landed a blow...for the first time I hit him, like actually hit him square in the face.

"But he didn't push my sister down the stairs.

"Johnny kind of looked stunned, and then laughed at me. And then he hit me again."

Heard acknowledged fighting back at Depp in past fights, but she never 'landed anything,' according to NBC.

Heard confessed to punching Depp on camera, and the clip was aired previously in the defamation trial.

In the recording, she said: "I didn't punch you, by the way... I was hitting you, I wasn't punching you.

"You didn't get punched. You got hit... but I did not punch you. I did not f*****g deck you. I f**king was hitting you. I don't know what the actual motion of my hand was, but you're fine. I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you.

"I'm not sitting here bitching about it, am I? That's the difference between me and you, you're a f*****g baby. You are such a baby, grow the f**k up Johnny."

Heard then says she 'did start a physical fight', and Depp says he had to 'get the f**k out of there'.

Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

She continues: "You did the right thing, the big thing. You know what, you are admirable."

Commenting on the recording, Depp said it reflected Heard's 'need for a fight', and that it was 'the sound that I'd gotten very used to... the squabbling, the raising of the voice'.

Depp stated the audio reflected Heard's "need for a fight" and was "the sound that I'd gotten used to... the squabbling, the raising of the voice."

Depp filed the defamation suit after Heard claimed in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that she had become "a public figure representing domestic abuse."

According to Depp's legal team, the' clear implication' was that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was an abuser.

Former marriage counselor Dr. Laurel Anderson, one of Depp's witnesses, previously testified that Depp and Heard engaged in "mutual abuse" with one other. Anderson stated she noticed "multiple" minor bruises on Heard's face at an in-person meeting.

pinterest

Depp has denied ever striking Heard, 34, who has detailed 14 instances throughout their relationship in which she believes he abused her.

Referring to the March 2015 fight, Heard told the court: “I did strike Johnny that day, in defence of my sister.” She said Whitney was standing at the top of a staircase in their apartment. “I had heard that he had pushed a former girlfriend, I think it was Kate Moss, down the stairs. And I thought of that at the moment and I reacted in defence of her [Whitney].”

pinterest

She claimed the recollection came to her in a "flash," and she instantly defended her sister.

The hearing continues.