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Actor Johnny Depp returns to Fairfax County Courthouse after a break during his defamation trial against actor Amber Heard in Fairfax, Va., on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
April 13 (UPI) — A friend of Johnny Depp’s who lived in the same apartment building as the actor when he was married to Amber Heard testified in a Virginia court Wednesday that though the actress told him Depp struck her, he never saw any evidence of abuse.
Isaac Baruch told the court that Heard told him Depp threw a phone at her face and hit her in 2016.
“And I’m looking because I had just seen her 2 feet away, and I’m going, ‘Where?’ and she puts her head out. She puts her face out like that for me to look at the right side of her face,” Baruch testified.
“I’m looking at a cheek, I’m looking at her chin, I’m looking at the other side of the face. I’m looking at the whole thing. And I don’t see anything. … I don’t see a cut or bruise, swelling, redness. It’s just Amber’s face.”
Baruch said he didn’t notice any makeup on Heard’s face at the time.
The testimony came on Day 3 of Depp’s $50 million defamation trial against Heard in response to her 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she said she was a victim of domestic violence. She didn’t explicitly name her The Rum Diary co-star in the article, but Depp said it’s clear she was referring to him after obtaining a temporary restraining order against him during their 2016 divorce proceedings.
Heard is countersuing Depp for $100 million.
In 2020, Depp lost a libel lawsuit against the parent company of The Sun newspaper after the tabloid called him a “wife-beater” in the headline.
Baruch, an artist, said Depp let him stay at one of the apartments he owned at the building where he and Heard also lived, along with the Aquaman actor’s sister Whitney Heard. The two men were childhood friends and Baruch testified that over the years the actor has given him about $100,000 — in part as a patron of his art.
Baruch said the allegations against Depp are a “malicious lie” by Heard.
Depp’s “family has been completely wrecked by all of this stuff,” he said. “It’s not fair. … It’s insane how this happened.”
On Tuesday, Depp’s sister, Christi Dembrowski, testified that their mother was abuse toward them.
“None of what was happening in our home felt good,” she said. “And so, as I got older, both Johnny and I actually, we decided that once we left, once we had our own home, we were never going to repeat, ever, anything similar in any way to our childhood. We were gonna do it different.”
Depp filed the defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2019 but the trial has been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The judge expects the trial to last six weeks.
1/6 Actor Johnny Depp returns to Fairfax County Courthouse after a break during his defamation trial against actor Amber Heard in Fairfax, Va., on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo April 13 (UPI) — A friend of Johnny Depp’s who lived in the same apartment building as the actor when he was married to Amber Heard testified in a Virginia court Wednesday that though the actress told him Depp struck her, he never saw any evidence of abuse. Isaac Baruch told the court that Heard told him Depp threw a phone at her face and hit her in 2016. “And I’m looking because I had just seen her 2 feet away, and I’m going, ‘Where?’ and she puts her head out. She puts her face out like that for me to look at the right side of her face,” Baruch testified. “I’m looking at a cheek, I’m looking at her chin, I’m looking at the other side of the face. I’m looking at the whole thing. And I don’t see anything. … I don’t see a cut or bruise, swelling, redness. It’s just Amber’s face.” Baruch said he didn’t notice any makeup on Heard’s face at the time. The testimony came on Day 3 of Depp’s $50 million defamation trial against Heard in response to her 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she said she was a victim of domestic violence. She didn’t explicitly name her The Rum Diary co-star in the article, but Depp said it’s clear she was referring to him after obtaining a temporary restraining order against him during their 2016 divorce proceedings. Heard is countersuing Depp for $100 million. In 2020, Depp lost a libel lawsuit against the parent company of The Sun newspaper after the tabloid called him a “wife-beater” in the headline. Baruch, an artist, said Depp let him stay at one of the apartments he owned at the building where he and Heard also lived, along with the Aquaman actor’s sister Whitney Heard. The two men were childhood friends and Baruch testified that over the years the actor has given him about $100,000 — in part as a patron of his art. Baruch said the allegations against Depp are a “malicious lie” by Heard. Depp’s “family has been completely wrecked by all of this stuff,” he said. “It’s not fair. … It’s insane how this happened.” On Tuesday, Depp’s sister, Christi Dembrowski, testified that their mother was abuse toward them. “None of what was happening in our home felt good,” she said. “And so, as I got older, both Johnny and I actually, we decided that once we left, once we had our own home, we were never going to repeat, ever, anything similar in any way to our childhood. We were gonna do it different.” Depp filed the defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2019 but the trial has been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The judge expects the trial to last six weeks.