Amber Heard struggled to hold back tears as she spoke to the press outside the courthouse before the final day of ex-husband Johnny Depp‘s libel trial, July 28. After three weeks of testimony, including from Amber, the court is to decide if The Sun is at fault for labeling the actor a “wife beater” in a 2018 article. “I traveled here to the UK to testify as a witness to assist the court,” Amber said. “After obtaining a restraining order in 2016 and finalizing my divorce, I just wanted to move on with my life.”
“It has been incredibly painful to relive the break-up of my relationship”
Johnny Depp’s former wife Amber Heard makes statement outside High Court in London on final day of libel casehttps://t.co/aKapGFgiyi pic.twitter.com/5C6CvowMFA
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 28, 2020
“I did not file this lawsuit. And despite its significance, I would have preferred not to be here in court,” Amber told reporters. “It has been incredibly painful to relive the break-up of my relationship, to have my motives and my truth questioned. And the most traumatic and intimate details of my life with Johnny shared in court and broadcast to the entire world. I stand by my testimony, and I now place my faith in British justice.”
Since the trial began on July 7, the court has heard some wild accusations from both sides about what happened during Johnny and Amber’s two-year marriage. The Pirates of the Caribbean star, 57, sued The Sun‘s parent company News Group Newspapers (NGN) and the paper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an April 2018 article, in which Wootton wrote that there was “overwhelming evidence” that “wife beater” Johnny abused Amber.
Among the allegations to come out of the trial, was Johnny saying that he decided he wanted to divorce Amber when she “or one of her friends” allegedly defecated in their bed. The Sun‘s lawyer claimed that when Amber once made fun of Johnny’s “Wino Forever” tattoo, he slapped her. Johnny denied this. Amber said in a testimony that Johnny also allegedly accused her of having affairs with her co-stars.
The court also heard testimony from Johnny’s ex-fiancée, Winona Ryder. The Stranger Things star, 48, said in a July 16 statement that Johnny was never abusive during their four-year relationship, which ended in 1993. “The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny I knew and loved,” Winona’s statement said. “I do not want to call anyone a liar but from my experience of Johnny, it is impossible to believe that such horrific allegations are true.”