A friend who lived with ex-partner Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and who witnessed their turbulent marriage told the court on Friday that the latter had faked her bruises to blackmail her ex-husband.
the pirates of the Caribbean The star of the franchise is suing the publisher and executive editor of the British newspaper The Sun in London’s High Court over a 2018 story calling him a “handcuff puncher.”
The Sun says it can prove that the 57-year-old woman abused the 34-year-old model and actress 14 times before her two-year marriage fell apart in 2017.
Depp started the proceedings last week by admitting that he told Heard after a particularly stormy encounter that the two were “a crime scene waiting for it to happen.”
But the focus shifted from the actor’s alleged tendency to trash things while he was high or drunk to Heard’s credibility when Depp’s various bodyguards and staff took the position this week.
Depp’s childhood friend Isaac Baruch, an artist who lived in the couple’s five penthouses in Los Angeles, said the photos of Heard’s injuries leaked to the media were “false.”
“She had filed a fraudulent claim of domestic violence to push his hand and extort and blackmail him in the divorce,” said Baruch.
‘Not a single bruise’
A photo in question shows the right side of Heard’s face around his eye covered in red marks.
But Depp’s friend said he saw Heard “12 inches away” the next day and that his skin was clear.
“I didn’t see a single bruise, redness, mark or red fingerprint on the cell phone that was advertised in (magazines). Nothing. Nothing,” Baruch said.
Attorney Sasha Wass, representing the editors of The Sun’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), tried to present Baruch as an unreliable witness who relied on Depp for his livelihood.
He noted that Depp gave Baruch free accommodation and tens of thousands of dollars a year in living expenses.
Wass also asked how Baruch could be sure that Heard was not covering her bruises with makeup.
Baruch said he was “100 percent sure” because he saw Heard four more times in the next three days.
“I didn’t see any marks of any kind on either side of the face,” he said.
‘I hid it’
Heard has been attending the hearings daily, but will only enter the witness box for the first time on Monday.
You can expect Depp’s attorney to question her about whether she had staged or misrepresented any of the photos of her face submitted to court.
The Sun’s attorneys said they received a notice from the Depp team on Friday alleging that about 20 of the images had been “adapted or manipulated.”
Depp’s attorneys said the photo Baruch was asked about had been “retouched.”
Judge Andrew Nicol agreed to investigate the matter next week.
But Wass presented an audio recording in which Heard told one of his employees that she was covering her bruises in public.
“I hid it from everyone,” Heard said in the undated recording played in court.
The case was adjourned until Monday.
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