(Warning: This article depicts graphic moments of sexual assault which may be triggering to some.)
As Amber Heard began her week of testimony, the actress has made some pretty shocking claims about her time dating and married to actor Johnny Depp. As the libel hearing Depp brought on Heard continues, Heard has now taken the stand.
On Tuesday, one of the first witnesses to take the stand in Amber’s defense was the cynical and forensic psychologist she hired, Dr. Dawn Hughes. In her testimony, Dr. Hughes says she believes Heard does have post-traumatic stress disorder which was brought on by “intimate partner violence by Mr. Depp.”
This claim that Heard suffers from PTSD is the opposite of what the court heard last week. According to the clinical physiologist hired by Johnny Depp to evaluate Heard, Heard allegedly suffers from a borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder.
During her testimony, the psychologist, Shannon Curry, said the scores Heard received are compatible with someone who is “full of rage” and “socially sophisticated.” “These people might have that anger kind of explode out at times,” Curry said.
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“They tend to be very passive-aggressive. They may be self-indulgent, very self-centered. They could use manipulation tactics to try to get their needs met. They’re very needy of attention, acceptance, approval.”
While Curry is said to have evaluated Heard for 12 hours, Hughes reported evaluating Heard for a total of 29 hours, meeting with the actress four times and having Zoom conversations twice. Hughes says she also studied Heard’s medical records, past depositions, and interviewed some of Heard’s treating physicians, as well as Heard’s late mom, People reported.
Amber Heard Alleges She Was Subjected to Forced ‘Cavity Searches’ While With Johnny Depp and More Disturbing Details as Her Testimony Begins
During Hughes’s testimony, she shared several disturbing sexual assault allegations Heard made against Depp. According to Hughes, Heard claims that he digitally penetrated her more than once and once penetrated her with a liquor bottle.
Hughes claimed Depp was often in an alcohol-fueled “rage” when these alleged attacks took place.
“There are indications, as I’ve mentioned before, of the sexual assault and the sexual abuse, and how he would, when he was angry and when he was drunk — it was mostly drug- and alcohol-fueled rage when he would throw her on the bed and try to have sex with her,” said Hughes.
“Then, you know, if he was not able to perform, he would get more angry at her and blame her. We have this dynamic of blaming her for his inability to take responsibility for his behavior.”
Hughes described the notes written by Amber’s therapists saying the described moments when Depp allegedly forced Heard to perform oral sex on him, calling it “moments of dominance.” She also described the moment Depp allegedly performed a cavity search on Heard, while searching for cocaine.
“Mr. Depp performed a ‘cavity search’ and ostensibly was looking for drugs and felt it acceptable to rip off her nightgown and stick his fingers up her vagina to look for cocaine and thought maybe she was hiding it there,” Hughes told the court, according to People.
“There was another incident in the Bahamas where, when he got angry, he took his fingers and he put them in her vagina and moved her around violently in the closet. And, of course, the incident in Australia — one of the most severe instances of sexual violence that Ms. Heard had to endure — when he was beating her and choking her and telling her, ‘I’m going to f—–g kill you. I hate you.’ … He grabbed a bottle that was on the bar and penetrated her with that bottle.”
In her own testimony, Heard confirmed these alleged moments of sexual assault and got emotional when talking about the first time Depp allegedly hit her. According to BuzzFeed News, Heard allegedly that the first time Depp slapped her was in 2012.
Heard claims they were sitting on Depp’s couch, which allegedly had a “jar of cocaine” next to it. She asked about one of his tattoos.
After explaining that the tattoo said “wino,” Heard said she laughed and Depp slapped her. In her disbelief, Heard said she laughed more.
“I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought, ‘This must be a joke. This must be a joke,’ because I didn’t know what was going on. I just stared at him, kind of laughing at him still, thinking he was going to start laughing too to tell me it was a joke,” Heard to the court, adding that Depp responded to her continued laughter by saying, “You think you’re funny bitch,” and slapped her again.
After staring at him in disbelief following the second alleged slap, Depp reportedly slapped Heard a third time hard enough to cause her to lose her balance, BuzzFeed reported. “I’m all a sudden realizing that the worst thing has just happened to me that could possibly happen to you. I realize — I wish so much that he would have said he was joking,” Heard said.
She said it was as she lay on the floor that Depp began to show remorse. He reported started to cry before promising he would never hurt her again. However, as Heard continued, she claimed the physical abuse never stopped.
“I didn’t want to leave him,” Heard said in her testimony. “I didn’t want this to be the reality. I didn’t want to have the man I was in love with — I know you don’t come back from that, you know. I’m not dumb. I knew you can’t hit a woman. I knew you can’t hit a man.”
Heard discussed the alleged cavity search in detail, saying that it happened while they were on vacation with friends. The group had reportedly just finished doing drugs outside their trailer when one of the female friends put her head on Heard’s shoulder.
Heard claims that angered Depp and she took him to their trailer to calm him down. The actress said Depp began screaming at her and smashing things before asking her where something was.
She said it was then that he began searching her body for the cocaine. “I just stood there and stared at the stupid light,” Heard said. She continued saying no one they were with on that trip knew of the abuse and that she felt “lonely.”
In Depp’s earlier testimony, he remained adamant that he never physically abused Heard or any other woman. Depp says he had lost out on several jobs due to Heard’s accusations.
If you or someone you know is experiencing or has experienced sexual assault, please contact the national hotline for help at 1-800-656-4673.
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