Heard recalls his first meeting with Depp
On the stand, Heard recounted his first encounter with Depp.
She described an encounter she had with him for her movie “The Rum Diary” in the late 2000s. She said she thought it might be an audition, but turned out to be a reunion. Heard said they clicked in ways she hadn’t anticipated.
“We talked about books and music, poetry. We like a lot of the same things. Obscure writers and interesting books and pieces of poetry that I haven’t heard anyone else know or reference or like,” he said. she recalls.
She described Depp as “very well-read and charismatic”. Heard said she may have left her office with a few books he lent her.
“I knew who he was. I wasn’t a fan of his work. I didn’t know him, but I knew who he was. I knew he was one of the most famous people in the world.” she declared. “It was weird because he’s twice my age and this famous actor and we get along great on old books and the blues. I thought it was unusual and remarkable. I went from there in myself. feeling ‘wow’.”
Eventually, Heard said Depp called her and said, “You are. You are the dream, kid.”
In his testimony, Depp recalled that he and Heard were “perfect partners” when they first met. He also felt impressed by her knowledge of what he called dark blues music and called it “sweet” and “funny”.
Heard speaks: “It’s horrible for me”
Heard took the floor to begin his witness statement after the court returned from a lunch break on Wednesday afternoon.
In her opening statements, Heard said she struggled to find the words for the pain of sitting in the past three and a half weeks of the trial. She called it “the most painful and difficult thing I have ever been through”.
“It’s horrible for me to sit here for weeks and go through it all again,” Heard said. “Hearing people I knew – some good, some not – my ex-husband who I shared a life with, talk about our lives the way they did.”
Court set to hear testimony from Amber Heard
Amber Heard is expected to take the witness stand when jurors return from their lunch break at 2 p.m. ET.
The first defense witness, clinical psychologist Dawn Hughes, has completed her testimony, leading to Heard’s highly anticipated testimony.
Expert witness heard agrees Depp suffered physical and verbal trauma
Clinical psychologist Dawn Hughes admitted during her testimony that Johnny Depp suffered physical abuse and verbal trauma during his relationship with Amber Heard.
“I can testify that he suffered acts of physical abuse as well as acts of psychological assault,” Hughes said on the stand.
Some of that verbal trauma was on display Wednesday, when multiple audio recordings of Depp and Heard were released, showing even more evidence of volatility in the relationship.
“I need to know what we do differently if I have a problem. You need to tell me how to tell you differently if I hurt you…sometimes you’ll drive me crazy. I’m human,” Heard can be heard.
Depp then replies, “Well, it’s the same for me then. You’re going to have to allow me to get angry.”
“Yes, exactly,” Heard replies.
The pair then talk about how Heard starts screaming when they fight, which she can hear only happens when their argument hits “hour 11”.
In another audio, Depp can be heard saying he doesn’t want to leave Heard, but he doesn’t want the toxicity of their relationship to continue.
“I love you and I don’t want to leave you…I just want peace,” Depp said in a muffled sound.
Expert witness heard defends PTSD diagnosis
Clinical psychologist Dawn Hughes has defended her conclusion that Heard suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after Depp’s legal team tried to undermine his exams.
In her testimony, Hughes explained the two clinical tests she administered during Heard’s examination: the DSM-5 and CAPS-5 tests. The first, from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, examines patients’ self-reported responses to diagnose a variety of potential disorders.
The second, the clinician-administered PTSD scale, derives from the DSM-5 test for establishing an accurate diagnosis.
Hughes testified that she administered both tests over the years and tried to discern which symptoms Heard was expressing as a result of her relationship with Depp and which symptoms stemmed from her childhood experience with abuse.
“So there are multiple measures that are consistent over time for her to meet the criteria for PTSD,” Hughes said.
Hughes spent about 29 hours with Heard, not administering treatment but offering a forensic examination based on interviews, previous medical records and previous examinations by other psychologists.
She contradicted earlier testimony from Shannon Curry, an expert witness for Depp, who diagnosed Heard with borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Curry, who spent 12 hours with Heard, told the court she had “exaggerated” symptoms of PTSD.
Hughes testified Wednesday that his test results were “valid and reportable, there were no signs of exaggeration.”
Depp’s team cross-examines Heard’s first witness
Johnny Depp’s lawyers began their cross-examination of Amber Heard’s first witness, Dawn Hughes, a clinical psychologist, on Wednesday.
Hughes told the court on Tuesday that she diagnosed Heard with post-traumatic stress disorder following what she described as domestic abuse she experienced during her relationship with Depp.
Psychologist Shannon Curry, an expert witness presented by Depp’s legal team, previously dismissed the idea that Heard suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Curry diagnosed Heard with borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder, which Hughes disagreed with.
Depp’s team pushed Hughes over her descriptions of domestic abuse victims on Tuesday using mostly her and her pronouns and descriptions of the perpetrators as being mostly male. They also pushed Hughes to get paid to testify.
Hughes has dismissed characterizations that she derives her income primarily from testifying in court, saying many of her cases never go to trial. She also said that she actually works with many male victims of sexual abuse or domestic violence.
The Depp-Heard Libel Lawsuit: Summary and Timeline
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship began over a decade ago and eventually blossomed into what appears to have been a toxic marriage.
The couple separated in 2016, but continued to battle in court over an op-ed Heard wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she described surviving domestic violence — without mentioning Depp by name.
The trial, which is taking place in Fairfax County, Va., is expected to last for weeks. Here’s a timeline of Depp and Heard’s relationship leading up to the lawsuit.
Heard’s attorneys argued for a motion to dismiss on Tuesday
Heard’s attorneys argued in favor of a motion to dismiss on Tuesday on the grounds that Depp’s attorneys had failed to meet their burden of proof, saying it was undisputed that Heard had been physically and verbally abused. They also argued that Depp’s lawyers questioned the title of the online version of the essay. But the headline was written by The Washington Post, not Heard, according to one of Heard’s lawyers.
Depp’s attorneys argued that Heard co-signed the headline when she tweeted the article in December 2018, but his legal team did not submit the tweet in court as evidence.
Judge Penney Azcarate said Tuesday that it would be up to the jury to determine whether the weight of evidence presented by Depp’s team satisfied the charge, rejecting those arguments.
But on whether or not Heard’s tweet constituted an adoption of the Washington Post’s headline, Azcarate said she would continue to take it under advisement.
“There appears to be agreement that Ms. Heard’s tweet is part of the plaintiff’s evidence, which is not in evidence at this stage,” Azcarate said Tuesday. “So I can’t comment on that statement whether or not it’s a tweet or some kind of repost…I don’t know because I haven’t seen it yet.”
Amber Heard’s Witness WebMd Profile Flooded With Negative Reviews
A WebMD profile of a clinical psychologist was flooded with negative comments Tuesday after she testified as the first defense witness for Amber Heard.
Dr Dawn Hughes, who was called to the stand by Heard’s legal team, testified that she diagnosed Heard with post-traumatic stress disorder following what she described as abuse marital injury suffered during her relationship with Depp.
While Hughes was at the helm, a WebMD Physician Profile with his name and information about the practice was hit with a barrage of negative reviews.
WebMD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The reviews appeared to have been removed from the website after NBC News contacted WebMD.
It is unclear if Hughes created the profile herself. She did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment regarding the page and its criticism.
In numerous reviews, commentators accused Hughes of being biased against men in cases of domestic violence, calling her sexist and unprofessional.
“bad energy, vicious and hates men. …this journal was created by a woman,” one review read.
Read the full story here.