A court-submitted declaration from a woman describing herself as the friend of Amber Heard’s sister, Whitney Henriquez, claims Henriquez said, “She has cut off his f–king finger” while Heard and then-husband, Johnny Depp, were in Australia.
This has all come to light amid a trial of dueling defamation lawsuits between the Aquaman star and the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, who are now divorced.
A statement submitted to the court by Jennifer Howell, who described herself as Henriquez’s “chosen sister,” contained the revelation about something reportedly uttered by Henriquez. Howell was Henriquez’s boss, and the two lived together for a period of time.
Henriquez’s friendship with Howell was brought up during cross examination of Henriquez’s testimony Wednesday by Depp’s team.
Howell’s written declaration included that Henriquez told her, once she got back to the office following a trip to New York, that Heard “freaked out, attacked Whitney and threw a wine glass full of red wine at her in the elevator.” Howell’s statement continued,
“While Amber and Johnny were in Australia, Whitney was in the office sitting in the black and white chairs near the kitchen and loudly proclaimed, ‘oh my God, she has done it now. She has cut off his f–king finger.’”
Heard previously testified she believed Depp allegedly cut off his own finger, though she admitted she did not personally witness the act. Depp claimed during his testimony that Heard is the one who allegedly caused the injury by throwing a vodka bottle at his hand, which shattered.
The declaration also stated Henriquez allegedly told her Heard hit Depp on another occasion, which contradicted Henriquez’s previous testimony. The statement also alleged that Heard’s mother, Paige Heard, told Howell that tech mogul Elon Musk reportedly was in a court battle over embryos he created with Heard and that he gifted Heard a bugged Tesla.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for defamation for allegedly false domestic abuse accusations she made against him that he said hurt his career. Heard is counter-suing Depp, also for defamation, for $100 million.
While Heard maintains she was abused by Depp, Depp claims just the opposite: he was abused by her and not the other way around.
Depp’s lawsuit against Heard centers around an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018, in which she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Though Depp isn’t named in the article, Heard made prior allegations of abuse against Depp in 2016, which he claims is referenced in the piece.
Heard also has other witnesses lined up to testify, including actor Ellen Barkin and Depp himself. This will be the second time Depp has taken the stand after he previously testified on behalf of himself and was cross-examined by Heard’s team last month.