Advertisement

‘I’m a human being’: Heard describes Depp ‘humiliation’

Amber Heard has told a court she just wants Johnny Depp to "leave me alone".

Amber Heard has told a court she just wants Johnny Depp to "leave me alone". Photo: Getty

Amber Heard has told jurors that a harassment campaign waged against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp has left her humiliated and scared for her life from multiple death threats, and said she just wants “Johnny to leave me alone”.

Heard was expected to be the final witness in the six-week libel trial Depp brought against his ex-wife.

With cameras in the courtroom, millions of people have followed the trial, and interest seemed to gain momentum as the weeks went on and both Depp and Heard testified about the ugly details of their relationship.

Online and at the courthouse, Depp’s fans have overwhelmingly dominated the narrative, with groupies lining up overnight to get one of the few spots in the courtroom and wave at Depp as he walks in and out.

Heard has been booed by spectators on the street as she enters and leaves the courthouse.

“The harassment and the humiliation, the campaign against me that’s echoed every single day on social media, and now in front of cameras in the showroom – every single day I have to relive the trauma,” Heard said as she fought back tears.

“Perhaps it’s easy to forget I’m a human being.”

Depp is suing Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.

His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name.

Heard said she hoped the lawsuit would allow her to regain her voice, and said she had the “right as an American” to publish an article that described her experiences and how they related to the national debate over domestic violence.

“Johnny has taken enough of my voice,” she said.

“I have the right to tell my story.”

Depp has denied ever striking Heard, and says she was the abuser in the relationship.

Heard has testified about more than a dozen separate instances of physical abuse she said she suffered at Depp’s hands.

The final witness on Thursday morning (US time) for Depp’s side was a hand surgeon, Richard Gilbert. He said he thought the injury that occurred to Depp’s middle finger could have occurred as the Pirates of the Caribbean actor described it.

The tip of the finger was severed during a fight the couple had in Australia.

Depp said it occurred when Heard threw a large vodka bottle at him.

Heard said Depp did it to himself in a drug-fuelled rage on a night when he also sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle.

-AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.