Actress Amber Heard took the witness stand Wednesday to defend herself in the defamation suit filed by her former husband, actor Johnny Depp.
Depp has sued ex-wife Heard over allegations Heard made about domestic abuse when she penned a 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse. The trial, which is being held in Fairfax County, Virginia, is in its fourth week.
The actress took the stand saying she just celebrated her birthday. She began testifying about why she is at the trial. "I am here because my ex-husband is suing me for an op-ed I wrote. I struggle to have the words. I struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is for me. This is the most painful and difficult thing I have ever gone through."
Heard also testified that she had never experience a love like she had before with Depp.
She explained her alleged abuse she experienced from Depp before the court went into an afternoon break.
"The punching of the walls next to my head was a constant in 2012 when he was drinking," Heard stated. "Eventually, he accused me of cheating and I defended myself and it would escalate to the point where he would push me."
A psychologist, Dawn Hughes, testified Wednesday that Heard suffered post-traumatic stress disorder at the hands of Depp, including multiple acts of sexual assault.
Hughes was cross-examined Wednesday as her testimony contradicts that of a psychologist hired by Depp's lawyers, who said Heard was faking her symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and that Heard suffered from borderline and histrionic personality disorders.
Heard fought back tears in court on Wednesday as she recounted how the two fell in love.
“We fell in love. We went on this press tour and it was a beautiful strange time. We were flying from one city to the next. We were traveling around talking about this movie we did together. We were falling in love.”
Hughes was the first witness to take the stand on Heard's behalf after Depp's lawyers rested their case Tuesday.
During cross-examination Wednesday, Hughes acknowledged that she wasn't making factual determinations that Depp assaulted Heard on specific occasions. But she testified that Heard's account of her experiences are consistent with accounts of those experiencing domestic violence.
Hughes testified that sexual assaults included being forced by Depp to perform oral sex. On cross-examination, though, Depp's lawyers noted that Heard denied being forced to perform oral sex during psychological testing performed as part of Hughes' evaluation.
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