A clinical psychologist testified thatJohnny Depp"kicked"Amber Heard"in the back" during a fight over James Franco.
Hughes looked at Heard’s medical records, past depositions and met with the actress four times in person and twice via Zoom, totaling about 29 hours. She also interviewed some of Heard’s treating physicians and the star’s latemom Paige.
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During her testimony, Hughes detailed Depp’s alleged outburst on a May 2014 flight from Boston to Los Angeles over Heard’s relationship with Franco.
Heard, 36, and Franco, 44, became acquainted while shooting the filmThe Adderall Diariesin New York City over 2014.
Amber Heard, James Franco, Johnny Depp.Phillip Faraone/Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/BAFTA LA/Getty; Daniele Venturelli/WireImage
“Ms. Heard and Mr. Depp were going to fly back to L.A. and spend the weekend together. They were shooting at different sites,” Hughes said on the stand. “Ms. Heard is on the plane, waiting for Mr. Depp to come on. He’s reportedly sitting in the SUV smoking weed and drinking. She is filming with James Franco at this point.”
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“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.”
Heard’s therapists were concerned for her safety, said Hughes, and the actress sometimes “fought back.” She also testified that Heard engaged in psychological aggression and that “she was very ashamed and remorseful about that,” as well as some reactive violence.
Hughes said, based on Heard’s therapists' notes, “There were times when [Depp] forced her to give him oral sex when he was angry. These weren’t in loving moments; they were angry moments, moments of dominance, moments of him trying to get control over her.”
One time, after Depp, 58, accused Heard of flirting with someone while on an outing in Hicksville, California, “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,” said Hughes.
“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,” she continued, adding, “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.”
Hughes said, “Ms. Heard reported to me of dissociating and going outside of her body. The only thing she was thinking is, ‘Oh God, I hope it’s not the broken one.”
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Depp, who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any woman, has testified that his “goal is the truth” as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets. Ahead of the trial, Heard said in a statement that “hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”
Back in November 2020, Depplost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit caseagainst British tabloid The Sun for calling him a “wife-beater.” The court upheld the outlet’s claims as being “substantially true” and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt tooverturn the decision was overruled.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
