Amber Heard fights back tears as she accuses Johnny Depp of assault in 'three day hostage situation'

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arriving at the High Court on Tuesday
Getty Images / Reuters
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Hollywood star Amber Heard fought back tears as she described a brutal assault by Johnny Depp.

The 34-year-old alleges Depp stripped her naked and subjected her to verbal and physical abuse during a "three day hostage situation", claiming she was pinned down and choked by the star in a kitchen strewn with broken glass.

Heard says Depp had been on a drugs and drink binge as they stayed in an isolated house in Australia when he was filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5 in March 2015.

Describing an alleged incident on the second day, Heard said she was trying to cook a meal when Depp – who had “black eyes” – started throwing bottles at her and screaming abuse.

Ms Heard fought back tears (Elizabeth Cook/PA )
Elizabeth Cook/PA

She says she was pinned to the fridge, thrown to the ground, and then Depp tore off her nightgown while brandishing a broken bottle.

“He was putting so much pressure on my neck, I couldn’t get any words out”, she said.

“I couldn’t reason with him. He was pushing so hard I couldn’t get purchase on the countertop.”

Heard said she feared Depp had “lost control” after taking drugs and drinking heavily, and she was struggling to breathe, she claimed.

She described trying desperately to use her bare feet and arms to break free, but was hampered by broken glass and spilled liquid on the floor and countertop.

Ms Heard said 'Johnny the monster nearly killed me but I loved him'
Getty Images

“I kept feeling my feet pushing against something, I couldn’t get them to get purchase on anything”, she said, fighting back tears.

“I was trying to get one of my hands out to push him off of me.

“I remember trying to get free, saying ‘Johnny, Johnny, it’s me, it’s me, you are really hurting me, please stop’. It’s like he couldn’t hear me.”

Eleanor Laws QC, for Depp, asked Heard about scars on her arm which she says came from this incident.

“I suggest these are scars far more akin to self-harm scars, inflicted by you and certainly not by a struggle with Mr Depp”, said Ms Laws.

Heard replied: “I’ve had these scars on my arms since that evening, and I’ve never self-harmed. Johnny is a self-harmer, I’m not a self-harmer.”

In her statement, Heard says that Depp grabbed her during the incident, and as she was being questioned about a recording made on her phone later, she told the court: “I had been strangled, assaulted, punched, strangled, among other things…the last thing I was doing was being concerned about where my cell phone was.”

Ms Heard denied having an affair with Elon Musk
Getty Images

Ms Laws pointed out that Heard had returned to the same property in Australia after the March 2015 incident, challenging her claim to have felt isolated and scared there.

But Heard replied: “Johnny the monster nearly killed me but I loved him.

“I loved the Johnny that was clean and sober. He made a promise to get clean and sober for good, because he needed to for his surgery.”

She continued: “I really believed it was bad enough, he would actually get clean and sober for once.

“This was the last time I hoped he would get better. I had so much hope this this time it was gone for good – the monster, as he would put it, that it had been put away forever, and our lives would be better for it.”

Heard, who insists the abuse was real, has been called on repeatedly today to insist she has not made up the claims. She denied "shifting" her evidence when changing the date of one alleged assault, and also denied having an affair with businessman Elon Musk during her marriage.

She is due to continue her evidence tomorrow.

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