Johnny Depp and Amber Heard engaged in “mutual abuse” during their relationship, according to a therapist for the couple.
Clinical psychotherapist Laurel Anderson gave evidence during the third day of Johnny’s $50m libel trial against his ex-wife on Thursday.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star launched a defamation lawsuit against Amber in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018.
While the actor’s name was excluded from the piece, his legal team have argued that the op-ed implied that he “perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
The former couple are currently squaring off at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.
During her testimony, Ms Anderson said Johnny struggled to keep up with Amber’s “jackhammer style of talking” during their sessions.
“She was very amped up,” she told the court. “This is how (Mr Depp) didn’t have a voice, he couldn’t keep up with her rapid-fire style of conversation.”
“He had been well controlled for decades, with Ms Heard he was triggered and they engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse.”
She also told the jury that Amber admitted to being violent towards Johnny, saying it was a “point of pride” to initiate a fight if she felt “disrespected”.
“She felt she had to hit him back if he hit her, so she always did,” she explained. “She loved him, he loved her… she wasn’t stupid, she knew what they were doing wasn’t healthy.”
Laurel Anderson’s testimony followed that of Amber’s former personal assistant Kate James, who claimed the actress was verbally abusive towards her.
James, who worked for the actress from 2012 to 2015, said the verbal attacks often made “no sense” and that Amber needed someone to “lash out at”.
Amber’s former PA described Johnny as a “gentleman”, and said she never saw the actress with any bruising, cuts or marks during the three years she worked for her.
The former couple started dating after meeting on the set of The Rum Diary in 2011, and tied the knot in February 2015.
In May 2016, the actress obtained a restraining order against Johnny and accused him of abuse, which he vehemently denied. The pair settled their divorce out of court in 2017.
Johnny’s libel trial against Amber is scheduled to take place over six weeks, and both stars are expected to testify in court.
