We caution our audience that portions of the testimony reproduced below contain graphic descriptions of violence that may be disturbing.
US actress Amber Heard tearfully told a jury Thursday that her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp, sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle in a fit of alcohol-fueled rage.
The alleged March 2015 incident in Australia, where Depp was filming the fifth installment of
Pirates of the Caribbean
, is hotly disputed and has been a focal point in the civil trial that began four weeks ago in Fairfax, Virginia.
That night ended with the tip of Depp's middle finger being severed and him writing vulgarities in blood on the walls of the house.
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Depp denies assaulting her and says he cut his finger when Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him;
The actress stated that she had taken sleeping pills after the attack and that she was not awake when he cut her finger.
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The graphic description of the sexual assault had Heard struggling to maintain her composure as she spoke to the jury.
The actress said Depp had become angry as soon as she arrived in Australia, about a month after the couple married in February 2015.
He accused her of sleeping with her film co-stars, including Billy Bob Thornton and Eddie Redmayne, with whom she had just filmed
The Danish Girl
, allegations she denied.
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The fight escalated to the point that Depp threw her into a ping-pong table and it broke, Heard testified.
She tore off her nightgown and Heard said that she was naked and exposed when she assaulted her.
"I couldn't get up. I thought he was hitting me," she said.
"I could feel pressure on my pubic bone."
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She thought that he was attacking her with his fist, but then she discovered that he was attacking her with a bottle and realized that numerous bottles had been broken in the fight.
"I looked around and saw so much broken glass. I just remember thinking, 'Please, God, please don't let it break,'" he said.
Heard described strange details after the attack, including seeing her torn burgundy nightgown used to wrap a raw steak that had been left outside.
He said that when Depp's security team finally arrived to tend to his amputated finger, the actor was still trying to leave him vulgar messages, but he was trying to write them by urinating on the wall.
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Much of the trial testimony has been a repeat of a civil suit Depp brought against a British newspaper.
A judge there ruled against Depp in 2020 and found that Heard had, in fact, been assaulted multiple times by the actor.
But the sexual assault allegations outlined by Heard on Thursday were not aired publicly at the UK trial.
Depp sued Heard over a 2018 op-ed in
The Washington Post
in which the actress described herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."
Depp's lawyers argue the article defamed him even though it doesn't mention her name.
Heard previously stated that Depp surrounded himself with people who protected him from the consequences of his drug and alcohol use.
the actress described an incident that had already been mentioned in court: a May 14, 2014 flight from Boston to Los Angeles.
According to Heard, Depp was jealous and furious that she was filming a movie with James Franco in which there was a kissing scene.
"He hated, he hated James Franco," Heard said.
As soon as Depp got on the private plane, he started arguing with her about Franco, she said.
She got up and walked away from her, but Depp followed her.
At some point Depp slapped him, Heard testified.
He later said that he kicked her and none of the people on board intervened to defend her.
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"I felt his boot on my back," he said.
"I fell to the ground and no one said anything, no one did anything. You could hear a pin drop. I just remember feeling so embarrassed."
Depp, who previously testified at the trial, described the incident differently.
He denied drinking heavily before boarding the plane and said Heard got into an argument and searched for him until he felt he needed to hide in a bathroom.
But the jury heard a recording Heard made towards the end of the incident in which Depp can be heard howling and babbling incoherently.
The jury also saw a text message Depp sent to his friend Paul Bettany shortly after the flight, in which he said he was going to "really stop drinking" because the flight got "ugly."
He also wrote to Bettany: "It is true that I am too (expletive) in the head to spray my anger against the person I love for very little reason."
Heard has testified that she was physically and sexually abused on multiple occasions by Depp, usually when he was drunk or high.
Depp has denied hitting her, but her lawyers say her denial lacks credibility, in part because he can't remember what he went through because of drugs and alcohol.
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Depp has said that Heard exaggerates a lot when talking about his drinking, and that he tolerates alcohol very well.
Friends, family and employees of Depp have declared and supported his claims.
But Heard said that's part of the problem.
He said that Depp is surrounded by an entourage that cleanses him and allows him to continue doing his activities without recognizing the consequences of his drinking.
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The actor asks his ex-partner for 50 million dollars in damages.
For his part, Heard has responded with a counterclaim in which he alleges that Depp has launched a smear campaign against him and claims 100 million.
It is the first time that the two celebrities face each other in court: in the trial held in 2020 in London, and which Depp lost, the actress attended as a witness, since the accusation was against the British newspaper The Sun for an article that described the actor as "aggressor of women".
With information from EFE and AP
