Photos of Johnny Depp were shown with a swollen black eye during his defamation trial Thursday, when a former security guard detailed a “recurring cycle” of abuse that he said was inflicted by the star’s ex-wife, Amber Heard. .
The 57-year-old “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” star was shown with a swollen left eye, with a large red mark on his cheek where Depp says he was hit by Heard “sociopath.”
However, the photo soon became controversial, amid confusion over when it was taken.
It was introduced by former Depp security guard Sean Bett, who said he took it while driving the star out of a brutal fight after Heard’s 30th birthday party in April 2016.
However, Bett admitted in court that the time stamp was more than a year earlier, March 2015, and that he may not even have taken it himself.
Lawyers for The Sun, the Depp newspaper is suing for an article calling him “handcuff puncher,” jumped on the disparity, accusing Bett of trying to trick the court into backing up his claims that Depp was the injured party.
He admitted that it was “a pretty serious mistake,” but insisted that the photo resembled the one he had taken of Depp’s injuries after the 30th birthday blast, which ended with poop on Depp’s bed.
“I took other pictures of injuries that I sent to the attorneys,” Bett said.
While she often saw injuries to Depp, Bett says she “never saw Ms. Heard cut, bruised or otherwise injured,” and never asked for help or reported violence from her actor husband.
“Throughout the relationship between Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard, Ms. Heard was verbally and physically abusive towards Mr. Depp,” Bett said in a witness statement while also taking the position on Thursday.
“On many occasions, I witnessed her cry to Mr. Depp. Mr. Depp also told me multiple times that Ms. Heard had physically abused him.
“A very common occurrence throughout the relationship would be that Mr. Depp would lead me and other members of his security team away from Ms. Heard because of his behavior. He would then stay elsewhere.
“This happened on so many occasions that I cannot recall them all in detail.
“However, I would describe it as a recurring cycle in which Ms. Heard would abuse Mr. Depp, who would later withdraw from the situation.”
He accused the 34-year-old “Justice League” actress of turning violent “when she had been drinking.”
“I quickly learned to recognize the signs, so we were able to leave the situation before it got worse,” he said.
He recalled a fight in May 2016, one in which Depp is accused of throwing a phone at his wife and tearing up his Los Angeles apartment, when they waited outside the apartment while Depp was picking up some of his belongings.
They expected a “discussion” from Heard because of his “boss,” said Bett, who soon ran in when he heard screaming.
“As soon as Mrs. Heard noticed that we had entered the room, she looked very surprised; her behavior then changed, “she said.
“She pointed to Mr. Depp and yelled words to us to the effect of ‘If you hit me one more time, I’m calling the police.'”
However, Bett insisted that “he had no red marks or evidence of bruises or abrasions on his face or body.”
“I could see that Mr. Depp was visibly upset that he had been accused of hitting Ms. Heard. However, he never approached more than 20 feet from her during the time I was able to observe them.
“I didn’t notice any broken glass or broken bottles in the apartment at the time,” he said.
They then took the “Edward Scissorhands” star out of the apartment “due to the fact that the situation had escalated and Ms. Heard was hysterically yelling at Mr. Depp and making accusations about his behavior.”
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