On Wednesday, Amber Heard, an actress defending herself against a defamation case filed by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, testified, detailing how a passionate relationship that began on a movie set devolved into a “pattern” of violence perpetrated against her by the actor.

Ms. Heard testified that the couple met during the production of “The Rum Diary,” a film that Mr. Depp produced and starred in, in 2009, and that they fell in love during the film’s publicity tour. Despite her protestations, she said that by 2012, Mr. Depp was accusing her of adultery on a regular basis, and his rage would often develop into violent attacks.

“He’d erupt,” Ms. Heard claimed, recalling how Mr. Depp would repeatedly slap her, pound walls near her head, and force her to the ground.

Ms. Heard became tearful many times throughout her testimony as she described the physical confrontations in vivid detail, and she appeared chagrined at times as she explained why she stayed in the relationship despite her reservations.

Ms. Heard stated, “He was the love of my life.” “But he was also something else. And then there was that other thing.”

Mr. Depp denied ever beating Ms. Heard or any other woman in four days of evidence in Fairfax County Circuit Court earlier in the trial. He accused her of being the aggressor in the relationship, claiming she struck him and hurled things at him on several occasions.

Ms. Heard, on the other hand, has denied ever assaulting Mr. Depp except in self-defense or to defend her sister, and she has given a completely different narrative of their relationship, which ended in divorce in 2017. Mr. Depp, according to her, was prone to jealous anger, especially when he was under the influence of narcotics or alcohol.

Mr. Depp once accused Ms. Heard of having an affair and then smacked her with the back of his hand, which he had rings on, according to Ms. Heard.

Ms. Heard said it was tough to sit in the courtroom as Mr. Depp presented his case, listening to her ex-husband and others testify about their stormy relationship, at the start of her testimony.

Source: ny times