The trial for defamation that confronts the actors Johnny Depp y Amber Heard He had on his third day of oral arguments the testimony of the ex-partner’s therapist, Laurel Anderson, who stated that there was “mutual abuse” in the relationship.
The court in Fairfaix (Virginia, USA), where the litigation is taking place, screened this Thursday a recorded statement from the therapist who worked for the marriage during 2015 and 2016, both in individual and joint sessions.
“Both of them They were victims of abuse in their homes. I think he was kept in check for decades until he and Heard got out of control and they got into what I saw as mutual abuse,” Anderson said.
When asked if Depp was violent with Heard, the therapist said “yes” and that she saw “multiple” bruises on her face.
Later, Anderson pointed out that, in her therapy sessions, the actress came to recognize that he also hit Depp during their fights.
“If Depp was going to leave to lower the intensity of the fight, she would hit him to keep him there because she would rather be in a fight than for him to leave,” said the therapist, following assuring that Heard, known for her role in “Aquaman” I was terrified of abandonment.
The process
The protagonist of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the actress were present this Thursday at a new session of the trial in which Depp accuses his ex-wife of defamation for an article he published in The Washington Post in 2018 following their divorce, and in the one who referred to herself as a person who had experience in what “domestic abuse represents”.
The process, which comes following a media trial in London for another similar article, is broadcasting live on the internet and will feature witnesses as famous as the actor James Franco or the billionaire Elon Musk.
In fact, the first day of the process was marked by the difficulty in forming a popular jury, since most of the candidates knew regarding the case and had preconceived opinions.
Among the witnesses who have already intervened is a woman, Kate James, who worked as Heard’s personal assistant and who portrayed the actress as an “unstable” personwho even spit in his face following an argument, and behaved in a “verbally abusive” way with his team.
A day earlier, a close friend of the actor, Isaac Baruch, said he was aware of the couple’s arguments, but he doesn’t remember seeing any signs of violence.
Baruch said he met Heard the day following an alleged fight on May 21, 2016, and didn’t see any marks on her face.
However, several Los Angeles Police (LAPD) officers appeared that same night at the building in the center of that city where the couple lived, according to the recordings taken by the security cameras of the skyscraper, where Depp owned. of five apartments.
The actor asks his ex-partner 50 million dollars for damages. For his part, Heard responded with a counterclaim in which he alleges that the actor has launched a smear campaign once morest him and claims $100 million.
It will be the first time that the two celebrities face each other in court: In the trial held in Londonand that Depp lostthe actress came as a witness, since the accusation was once morest the British newspaper The Sun for an article that described the actor as an “aggressor of women”.
