Amber Heard Tells The Court About The First Time Johnny Depp Allegedly Hit Her

Amber Heard has taken the stand for the first time in Johnny Depp's defamation trial against her.

The actor choked back tears as she recounted the first occasion that the Pirates of the Caribbean star allegedly hit her.

She told the court the first alleged assault happened after she asked Depp what a faded, 'muddled' tattoo on his arm said.

"To me, it just looked like black marks," the Aquaman star told the court. "I didn't know what it said, so I said 'what does it say' and he said it says 'wino'.

"I laughed because I thought he was joking and he slapped me across the face."

Her voice started breaking as she opened up about the moment. She continued: "He slapped me again. It was clear it wasn't a joke anymore.

"You would think you'd have a response, but I, as a woman, had never been hit like that. I'm an adult and I'm sitting next to the man I love and he slapped me for no reason it seemed like. I missed the point. It was that stupid."

She added: "I didn't want to leave him. 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 know you can't hit a woman."

According to People, Heard told the court that she will never forget that moment because it 'changed my life'.

She added: "I wish I could sit here and say I stood up and I walked out of that house and I drew a line and I stood up for myself... but I was just looking at the dirty carpet, trying to will myself to get up."

Heard added that Depp had been drinking, and told the court she thought he'd also been using cocaine, as there was a 'jar' of it on the table.

After their initial 'whirlwind romance', Heard said things began to 'blow up', with Depp regularly throwing and breaking objects.

"He loves to smash up a place," she said.

Depp has denied all accusations of abuse against Heard and is suing his former partner for $50 million (£38.2m) for defamation, with Heard having issued a counterclaim for $100 million (£76.4m).

When he took the stand, he testified that he never hit her over his tattoo.

"I've never struck Ms. Heard. I have never struck a woman in my life. I'm certainly not going to strike a woman if she decides to make fun of a tattoo that I have on my body," he said.

He added: "That allegation never made any sense to me whatsoever."

Depp launched the lawsuit after Heard claimed she was a survivor of domestic abuse in a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post. 

Depp's attorneys rested their case on Tuesday (May 3) after 13 days of testimony against Heard.

The two actors started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary and were married in 2015.

Things soon fell apart and Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp the following year and they finalised their divorce in 2017.

In 2020, Depp lost a libel case brought against The Sun over an article in which he was labelled a 'wife beater'.