On the third day of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial a couples therapist told the courtroom in Virginia that their sessions could be tempestuous and there was “mutual abuse” in the relationship.
Counsellor Laurel Avis Anderson revealed that over the course of a number of sessions in October and November 2015 – when the couple was still married – she was aware both actors had come from abusive childhoods.
“He had been well controlled for… almost 20, 30 years and both were victims of abuse in their homes,” Anderson said in a deposition recorded in February that was played to the court. “But I thought he had been well controlled for decades. And with Ms. Heard he was triggered and they engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse.”
The therapist added that Heard told her Depp was violent towards her and also admitted that she would strike Depp when he hit her. She described Heard’s style of talking as being like a “jackhammer”, while Depp would become overwhelmed and struggled to speak as quickly.
In a further deposition played back on Thursday (April 14) the court heard from David Kipper, a doctor whom Depp had hired to treat his opioid addiction. Kipper said he never witnessed violent behaviour between the couple although when he visited their rented Australian home in March 2015 it appeared to be a mess.
Earlier in the day Depp’s friend Georgina Deuters was sent home and had her testimony deleted after admitting she had watched excerpts of the trial online.
Depp is suing Heard for $50m following an article she wrote in The Washington Post in 2018 in which she spoke about domestic violence but did not refer to Depp by name. He alleges that her ongoing abuse allegations are false and were made to further her career, and that the article further damaged his reputation and career leading to the loss of roles in the Pirates Of The Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts franchises.
Heard is counter-suing Depp in a $100m filing and argues Depp has tried to smear her and additionally claims her article is fair and is protected under the First Amendment as it in the public interest and addresses legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act to help victims of abuse. Depp lost a defamation case against The Sun in the UK’s High Court in 2020 after the newspaper called him a “wife beater”. He has denied abusing Heard.
The trial is expected to last five to six weeks.
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