Johnny Depp's lawyer questions Amber Heard's abuse claims as cross-examination in libel trial continues
CBC
WARNING: This story contains details of intimate partner violence.
Lawyers for Johnny Depp questioned the truthfulness of his ex-wife Amber Heard's claim that Depp sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle as Heard was cross-examined Tuesday after her testimony in Depp's libel suit against her.
Depp is suing Heard in Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."
His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. The trial is now in its fifth week.
Depp's lawyer, Camille Vasquez, questioned Heard about a variety of incidents in which she says she was assaulted by Depp.
Questioning was particularly intense over a March 2015 fight the couple had in Australia, shortly after they were married, while Depp was shooting a fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
It was during that fight that Heard says she was sexually assaulted. Depp, on the other hand, says he was the victim, and that he lost the tip of his middle finger when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.
Vasquez questioned why Heard never sought medical attention, even though she said her feet were cut by broken glass and she was bleeding after the attack.
"You're the one who assaulted someone with a bottle in Australia, isn't that right, Ms. Heard?" Vasquez asked.
"I didn't assault Johnny in Australia. I didn't assault Johnny ever," Heard responded.
Vasquez then questioned why Heard wrote a series of love notes to Depp in the months after she was assaulted.
Heard has said she believed Depp had hit rock bottom after the Australia fight and was committed to sobriety. She has said most of the assaults occurred while Depp was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
"When things were good, they were really good," she said.
The jury also saw a recording of a deposition Heard gave in 2016 in connection with her divorce in which she appeared to inadvertently admit that she had tipped off the celebrity news outlet TMZ about aspects of her initial divorce proceedings.
