On Wednesday, the actress' attorney Elaine Bredehoft asked Heard to recall the first time Depp “physically hit” her. Heard — who had alreadytestified about their relationshipbeing “always intense” from the start — said she will “never forget” the moment because “it changed my life.”
Heard, 36, said she and Depp were having a “normal conversation” on the couch early in their relationship when she asked him about the tattoo on his arm that was “hard to read.” When he explained it, she laughed, which set Depp off, said Heard.
“It was that simple. I just laughed because I thought he was joking. And he slapped me across the face,” said Heard. “I laughed, because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought, ‘This must be a joke.’ … I didn’t know what was going on. I just stared at him, kind of laughing still, thinking he was gonna start laughing too to tell me it was a joke. But he didn’t.”
For more on the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
She said he slapped her again after calling her a “funny bitch.”
“It was clear it wasn’t a joke anymore,” Heard added, who said she didn’t know how to react next. “You would think you’d have a response, but I, as a woman, had never been hit like that. I’m an adult and I’m sitting next to the man I love and he slapped me for no reason it seemed like. I missed the point. It was that stupid.”
When she didn’t react or respond other than to continue staring at him, Heard said that Depp slapped her “one more time, hard.” Getting visibly emotional, Heard said she lost her balance and fell to the carpet.
“I wish so much he had said he was joking. ‘Cause it didn’t hurt; it didn’t physically hurt me. … I didn’t want to leave him. I didn’t want this to be the reality. I didn’t want to have the man I was in love with— I know you don’t come back from that. I’m not dumb. You can’t hit a woman, you can’t hit a man. You can’t hit anyone.”
Crying, Heard said on the stand while looking at the jury, “I knew it was wrong. And I knew that I had to leave him. And that’s what broke my heart. … I wish I could sit here and say I stood up and I walked out of that house and I drew a line and I stood up for myself.”
ELIZABETH FRANTZ/POOL/AFP via Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Depp, 58, was previously asked about the alleged tattoo incident while he was on the stand, saying that the moment as Heard explains it “didn’t happen” and added in his testimony: “I’ve never struck Ms. Heard. I have never struck a woman in my life. I’m certainly not going to strike a woman if she decides to make fun of a tattoo that I have on my body. … That allegation never made any sense to me whatsoever.”
ThePirates of the Caribbeanactor is suing Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote forThe Washington Postin December 2018 about surviving domestic violence, though she didn’t mention his name in the article. His $50 million lawsuit was originally filed in 2019.
Heard and Depp met while making the 2011 movieThe Rum Diaryand later wed in 2015. They broke up in May 2016 when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and they settled theirdivorceout of court in August 2016.
Depp has testified that his “goal is the truth” as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets.
Heard’sallegations of sexual violencehave also been brought up in this trial. A spokesperson for Deppdenied the accusations, calling them “fictitious” and “for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement.”
Johnny Depp; Amber Heard.JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty (2)
Back in November 2020, Depplost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit caseagainst British tabloidThe Sunfor calling him a “wife-beater.” The court upheld the outlet’s claims as being “substantially true” and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt tooverturn the decision was overruled.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
