Amber Heard’s sister testifies Johnny Depp repeatedly hit ‘Aquaman’ actor’s face

In this AFP file photo taken on September 04, 2015 US actor Johnny Depp and his former wife US actress Amber HeardFile Photo

Hollywood actor Amber Heard’s sister, on Wednesday, told a jury that back in March 2015 Johnny Depp had repeatedly hit Amber Heard in the face during an argument at the couple’s penthouse.

According to Variety, Heard, who is the defendant in a defamation lawsuit brought by Depp, her sister, Whitney Henriquez, was called to the stand to corroborate the ‘Aquaman’ actor’s allegations that Depp repeatedly assaulted her over the course of their four-year relationship. She described a fight where obscenities were being screamed at each other Depp and Heard. She said that he ran upstairs toward a mezzanine and hit Henriquez in the back and then Heard smacked him, saying “Don’t hit my f** sister,” the outlet reported. His security guard then ran up the stairs.

Henriquez said, “Johnny had already grabbed Amber by the hair with one hand and was whacking her repeatedly in the face with the other, as I was standing there.”

They had to be separated by the security guard and Henriquez took Heard to her apartment and locked the door. Outside, she said she could hear Depp screaming “I f-----g hate you! I f-----g hate you both! You f-----g cu—s! You f-----g wh---s!”

As per Variety, Henriquez previously testified about this fight, known in the Depp-Heard litigation as ‘the staircase incident’, during the 2020 defamation trial in the UK involving the couple. In that case, the judge found that Depp did assault Heard on that occasion, as well as on numerous others.

The outlet reports that Depp also testified about the incident in the Virginia trial on 20 April. In his account, he recalled taking a “roundhouse punch” from Heard. Jurors were shown a picture of his bruised face.

Depp did not mention striking Heard or her sister. The security guard gave testimony that generally lined up with Depp’s version of events.

Heard is defending herself against Depp’s USD 50 million libel lawsuit. Depp’s team accused Heard of destroying his career with false accusations of physical and sexual assault. Depp gave his own account of their relationship over the course of four days in April, and the outcome of the trial will largely depend on which of the two the jury finds more trustworthy.