Content warning: the article contains descriptions of alleged sexual violence and domestic abuse some readers may find disturbing.
Actor Amber Heard is detailing alleged sexual abuse by Johnny Depp, in what she described as a “cavity search” for drugs, amid her testimony at a trial of dueling defmation lawsuits between the celebrities.
Depp is suing Heard for defamation for $50 million for alleged false domestic abuse claims she made against him that he says hurt his career. Heard is counter-suing Depp, also for defamation, for $100 million.
The trial, unfolding in a courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia, is being live-streamed on the Law & Crime Network YouTube channel.
Heard appeared emotional while talking about Depp allegedly doing a “cavity search” of her body for his cocaine during one argument.
“I was wondering how I, somebody who didn’t do cocaine and was against it … that was, in and of itself, causing problems in our relationship … how could I hide? Why would I hide his drugs?” she said.
“He was telling me, ‘we’re going to conduct a cavity search, shall we?’ Just shoved his fingers inside me,” Heard said.
In another instance, Heard alleged Depp was howling and held his dog outside the window of a moving car.
Heard alleged that on another occasion, she did MDMA with Depp on a plane ride.
But Heard said things got nasty on this flight when Depp allegedly attacked a stewardess for believing she was hitting on Heard. Heard alleged Depp grabbed the person’s wrist and threatened to break it.
The flight attendant had allegedly also taken the drug with the couple, Heard said.
Heard also alleged a time when Depp knocked her in the face, and testified to wanting Depp to recognize what he’d done.
Heard said she believed Depp was the love of her life at one point, but that he had another side to him that was “awful.”
Following the alleged abuse, Heard said what she wanted most was for Depp to apologize.
Earlier in her testimony, Heard testified that the trial thus far has been the most painful experience of her life. She alleged the first time Depp struck her was by slapping her after she laughed at the name of his tattoo, which she thought was a joke.
At the center of Depp’s current lawsuit is a Washington Post op-ed that Heard penned in 2018, in which she describes herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard doesn’t name Depp in the article, but Depp claims the piece nevertheless implied him as the abuser. Heard made previous domestic abuse allegations against Depp in 2016, something he says is referenced in the article.
A major focus of the trial has been the topic of domestic violence, with Heard maintaining she was abused by Depp, but Depp claiming just the opposite: he was abused by her, and not the other way around.
Last week, Depp wrapped up his four-day-long testimony, with Tuesday representing Depp’s team resting its case.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788.