Amber Heard’s sister testifies she saw Johnny Depp abuse her sister

By Sonia Moghe, CNN

Amber Heard’s sister testified on Wednesday that she witnessed actor Johnny Depp grab Heard by the hair and hit her in the face repeatedly when they were married.

Whitney Heard Henriquez, Heard’s younger sister, testified in court Wednesday as part the ongoing defamation case between Heard and ex-husband Depp.

Henriquez said that she lived with Heard and Depp off and on during the course of their relationship and that she thought of Depp as a brother.

Henriquez testified about an altercation in which she saw Depp throw a Red Bull can at his nurse, Debbie Lloyd, which Lloyd denied in her testimony. Henriquez said during the incident, Depp ran up a set of stairs toward her.

“He comes up behind me, strikes me in the back. I hear Amber shout don’t hit my f****** sister. She smacks him, lands one,” Henriquez said. “By that time Johnny had already grabbed Amber by the hair with one hand and was whacking her repeatedly in the face with the other.”

Depp has accused Heard of defaming him in a 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post. In the piece, which published roughly two years after they divorced, Heard described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Though Depp was not named in the article, he claims it cost him lucrative acting roles.

Heard has filed a counterclaim for $100 million.

Heard has accused Depp of physically and sexually abusing her throughout their relationship. Depp denied ever striking Heard during his testimony.

Depp’s legal team has accused Heard of being the abuser in the relationship.

Henriquez, who was cross examined by Depp’s attorney Rebecca Lecaroz, said that she sometimes acted like a marriage counselor and, at times, sided with Depp in arguments. Lecaroz questioned Henriquez about why she supported her sister when she wanted to stay in the relationship with Depp.

“You wanted Ms. Heard to stay with Mr. Depp even after you saw him hit her, right?” Lecaroz asked.

“That’s really oversimplifying something that’s far from simple. Again, Amber was very much in love, so was Johnny. She’s telling me that she wants something. Whether or not I agreed to it or not, whether or not I was OK with what was happening, it wasn’t my place,” Henriquez testified.

On Wednesday, Jurors also heard testimony from multiple witnesses, including a makeup artist and an acting coach who worked with Heard, who said they saw Heard with injuries during her relationship with Depp.

Multiple witnesses said they saw Heard with injuries on her face after a May 2016 altercation that ultimately preceded Heard getting a restraining order against Depp and the couple getting a divorce.

Their testimony contradicts that of two Los Angeles Police Officers’, who testified earlier in the trial that they did not see injuries visible on Heard’s face or disarray to the former couple’s home.

The trial is set to continue on Thursday.

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This story has been updated to clarify the sequence of events Henriquez testified to regarding an alleged altercation near stairs.