Amber Heard describes death threats from Johnny Depp fans
Amber Heard sobbed in court as she recounted the daily threats she says she receives after Johnny Depp accused her of fabricating allegations of abuse.
Amber Heard sobbed in court as she recounted the daily death threats she says she receives after Johnny Depp accused her of fabricating allegations of abuse.
As the former couple’s libel trial draws to a close, Heard returned to the witness box and said that she had struggled to cope with online attacks from fans of her ex-husband.
The Aquaman actress said the threats extended to her one-year-old daughter and that trolls had told her they wanted to put the child in a microwave.
Depp, 58, sued Heard, 36, for dollars 50 million over an article in TheWashington Post in 2018 in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse. The Pirates of the Caribbean star was not mentioned by name but his lawyers say he was clearly the target. Heard countersued for dollars 100 million after accusing Depp and Adam Waldman, his lawyer, of trying to ruin her career by calling the allegations a “hoax”.
Heard said:"I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day. Even just walking into this courtroom, sitting here in front of the world having the worst parts of my life, things that I have lived through, used to humiliate me. People want to kill me and they tell me so every day.
“People want to put my baby in the microwave and they tell me that. Johnny threatened, promised me that if I ever left him he’d make me think of him every single day that I lived.”
Heard said the “harassment and humiliation” that she had allegedly endured in court and online meant that “every single day I have to relive the trauma”.
She said she wakes up screaming, and her friends and intimate partners have to follow “unspoken rules” to avoid triggering a panic attack. Those close to Heard know not to touch or surprise her, she said.
Heard, apparently referencing Depp’s at times aloof demeanour in the courtroom, said: “I am not sitting in this courtroom snickering. I’m not sitting in this courtroom laughing, smiling, making snide jokes. I’m not.
“This is horrible. This is painful. And this is humiliating for any human being to go through. Perhaps it’s easy to forget that - I am a human being. And even though Johnny promised that I deserve this and promised he’d do this, I don’t deserve this. I want to move on.”
Asked by Benjamin Rottenborn, her lawyer, what she hoped to do after the trial, Heard said she had found comfort in charity work. “I’m not a saint,” she said, adding that she hopes to “get my voice back”.
Camille Vasquez, a lawyer for Depp whose aggressive cross-examination of Heard became one of the highlights of the trial, returned to question the actress on her testimony.
“Your lies have been exposed to the world multiple times,” Vasquez said. The lawyer suggested that Heard had not expected so many witnesses to come forward to support Depp’s version of events.
Vasquez said there were inconsistencies throughout Heard’s testimony and claimed the actress had alerted the media when she obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp in May 2016.
Heard’s testimony brought the evidence in the trial to an end after six weeks of graphic allegations of abuse from both sides. The jury will hear closing arguments today (Friday) before retiring to consider its verdict.
Depp and Heard met while filming the 2011 drama The Rum Diary. The court has been told that they enjoyed a whirlwind romance before the relationship descended into violence.
They married in 2015 but Heard filed for divorce the following year.
The Times
More Coverage
Liam Payne toxicology report reveals presence of ‘pink cocaine’
Post-mortem tests ‘show the singer had consumed multiple drugs’ before his death as music industry insiders call for safeguards for teen stars.
The good hip guide – how to protect yours
Hip fractures are increasing, yet there are things we can do to try to prevent them. Peta Bee looks at the diet and exercise tweaks to help your joints.