Amber Heard denies assaulting ex-girlfriend and accuses Johnny Depp of ‘smear campaign’
Amber Heard denies assaulting ex-girlfriend and accuses Johnny Depp of ‘smear campaign’ (Jim Lo Scalzo/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Amber Heard has denied allegations that she assaulted an ex-girlfriend in the final day of her cross-examination.
Heard is being sued by her ex-husband Johnny Depp in a $50m (£38m) defamation suit over her claims that he abused her. Heard has filed a $100m (£79m) countersuit seeking immunity from Depp’s allegations, and insisting that the legal action is a continuation of his “abuse and harassment” against her.
During Tuesday’s (17 May) cross-examination, Depp’s attorney Camille Vasquez questioned Heard on claims that she had hit her former partner Tasya van Ree in 2009.
It was alleged at the time that Heard hit van Ree’s arm and pulled her necklace off before being arrested, however the charges were dropped.
Heard denied the allegation of domestic assault, and claimed it was planted in the press by Depp’s team as part of a “smear campaign” against her.
“I’ve never assaulted any partner. I’ve never assaulted Mr Depp or any other person I was romantically linked to, ever,” she told the court.
According to the BBC, Heard acknowledged that she struck Depp on several occasions, which she said were “reactive” and occurred after “years of not defending myself”.
Johnny Depp appears at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse, Virginia for his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard (Jim Watson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Heard has previously alleged that Depp sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle during her testimony at the trial in Virginia, an accusation which Depp denies.
She told the court that the alleged assault occurred in 2015 after Depp accused her of cheating on him.
“At some point he’s on top of me, screaming I f**king hate you, you ruined my f**king life,” Heard testified
“My back was on the countertop. I thought he was punching me. I felt this pressure on my pubic bone and I could feel his arms moving. It looked like he was punching me. I could just feel this pressure.
“I remember looking around the room, looking at all the broken bottles, and broken glass and I remember not wanting to move because I didn’t know if it was broken, I didn’t know if the bottle that he had inside me was broken.”
The court has also seen Heard accuse Depp of striking her during alcohol and drug binges, an argument occur between the former couple that resulted in Depp’s finger being severed off, and the couple’s relationship counsellor accuse the two of being “mutually abusive” towards each other.
Depp has denied sexually assaulting and abusing Heard.
