A former private assistant to Amber Heard mentioned she by no means noticed the actress endure any bodily abuse by the hands of then-husband Johnny Depp -- however she mentioned Heard as soon as spit in her face when she requested for a better wage.
Heard descended into screaming matches of blind rage, despatched incoherent textual content messages at 4 a.m. and was typically drunk and excessive on unlawful medication, Kate James testified in a video deposition that was performed in court docket Thursday through the trial for Depp's libel go well with in opposition to Heard.
Depp, however, was very calm, virtually shy, "like a complete Southern gentleman," James mentioned.
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor has accused Heard of not directly defaming him in a 2018 opinion piece that she wrote for The Washington Submit. Heard refers to herself within the article as a "public determine representing home abuse." The piece does not title Depp. However his attorneys argue that it clearly references a restraining order that Heard sought in Might 2016, proper after Depp informed her he wished a divorce.
Depp denies abusing Heard, however Heard's attorneys say proof will show that he did. The actor's denials, they argue, lack credibility as a result of he regularly drank and used medication to the purpose of blacking out and failing to recollect something he did.
The video testimony from James provided an inverse view: Depp was the peaceable one, she mentioned, whereas Heard was regularly intoxicated and verbally abusive, together with to her personal mom and sister.
"Her poor sister was handled like a canine that you simply kicked, mainly," James mentioned.
James, who labored for Heard from 2012 to 2015, mentioned she was paid "very poorly." She mentioned she was employed with an preliminary wage of $25 an hour and that her duties ranged from selecting up Heard's dry cleansing to speaking with the actress's Hollywood brokers.
James mentioned she additionally was tasked with selecting up two copies of any journal that featured Heard and storing them within the storage to forestall Depp from seeing them. Heard went right into a "blind rage" when James failed to position the magazines within the storage, James mentioned.
Relating to Heard and Depp's time collectively, James mentioned Heard was a "very dramatic particular person" who was deeply insecure within the relationship. Heard typically referred to as James to cry and complain about Depp, she mentioned.
"I keep in mind one time she referred to as me when she was alone in New York Metropolis, and he or she was crying and strolling across the streets," James mentioned. She mentioned she informed Heard to go inside: "I used to be fearful that the paparazzi may take a photograph of her."
A few of the deposition centered on a textual content message that Depp had despatched to James after he and Heard break up up. Depp's textual content learn: "Come over for a spot of purple and we'll repair her flabby ass good and good."
A lawyer requested if "spot of purple" meant wine and whether or not "her" meant Heard. James mentioned she did not need to speculate.
"That is the best way he writes," James mentioned of Depp. "It's extremely random and you do not kind of query it. ... He writes in a really summary method."
Attorneys additionally introduced a video deposition of Laurel Anderson, a pair's therapist who labored with Heard and Depp in 2015, after they have been ages 29 and 52, respectively.
Anderson mentioned each suffered childhood abuse. As a pair, they have been engaged in "mutual abuse," she testified.
Heard's father beat her, Anderson mentioned, including, "It was a degree of pleasure to her if she felt disrespected to provoke a battle."
Heard would additionally fairly be in a battle with Depp than see him go away, and "would strike him to maintain him there," Anderson mentioned.
The therapist recalled a time when Heard informed her that Depp "was `stepping up,' as she would say, on loads of medication."
"And he or she slapped him as a result of he was being incoherent and speaking about being with one other girl," Anderson mentioned. She famous that Depp's mom was within the hospital on the time.
Anderson mentioned Depp informed her that Heard "gave nearly as good as she received." She additionally mentioned that in not less than one session wherein she noticed Heard alone, the actress informed her that Depp hit her. She mentioned Heard confirmed her bruises, each in pictures and in particular person.
Anderson mentioned Heard additionally informed her that Depp at one level allegedly mentioned, "Nobody likes you. You are getting fame from me. I am falling out of affection with you. You are a whore."
Anderson additionally mentioned that Heard's "jackhammer fashion of speaking" and behavior of chopping off Depp overwhelmed him.
Heard "wished to need to divorce" but in addition did not, and was nonetheless determining what to do, Anderson mentioned. "She beloved him. He beloved her. She wasn't silly. She knew that what they have been doing wasn't wholesome."
Each Depp and Heard are anticipated to testify on the trial in Fairfax County Circuit Courtroom, scheduled for six weeks, together with actors Paul Bettany and James Franco and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Correction:
This story has been edited to right a phrase in Anderson's quote to "jackhammer," not "chat-hammer."
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