Amber Heard made it out of a gruelling two-day cross-examination, where gob-smacking revelations were made about her past relationship with ex Tasya van Ree, her connection to James Franco, and her questionable behaviour in a 2016 deposition.
Shocking things revealed in Amber Heard cross-examination
Camille Vazques, one of Johnny Depp‘s lawyers, won over supporters with her cut-throat cross-examination, blowing holes in Heard’s testimony.
Heard has a violent history
The Virginia court’s fully-benched jury heard first-hand about the rocky nature of Heard’s romantic relationship with the photographer. The pair were involved in a domestic partnership between 2008 and 2012, and while, for the most part, everything was rosy, there were violent streaks.
When Vazques put it to Heard that Depp was not the only partner she’d allegedly assaulted, the actress categorically stressed that she’s “never assaulted any partner.”
“I’ve never assaulted Mr Depp or any other person I was romantically linked to, ever,” she exclaimed.
This, of course, is in contradiction to a 2009 arrest warrant issued to Heard by the Port of Seattle police for slapping Tasya in a heated public quarrel that took place at the Seattle-Tacoma International airport.
Heard was booked with misdemeanour domestic violence, and the case was assigned to King County District Court, but, as reported by Mirror.co.uk, prosecutors refused to press charges against the actress.
Despite this, Heard and Tasya remained close, even after they broke things up in 2012.
Were Depp’s suspicions about James Franco valid?
In her attempt to drive home claims about Depp’s obsessive jealousy, Heard revealed in her testimony that fellow actor Franco was a threat to her former partner.
The couple would fight about him all the time, but according to Vazques, Depp had every reason to be suspicious of the nature of Heard’s ‘friendship’ with Franco since the two were caught on CCTV footage being a little too cosy.
The footage, taken inside an elevator of her Los Angeles (LA) penthouse, shows Franco embracing Heard intimately on 22 May 2016, a day after her explosive argument with Depp.
“You knew that Mr. Depp was out of town May 22, 2016, didn’t you?” Vazques poked.
Heard vehemently refuted having any romantic affair with Franco, claiming Franco was a next-door neighbour and a dear friend who availed himself in time of great need.
“I’d exhausted my support network and I was happy to welcome as much friendship as I could possibly get,” she stressed.
Heard skipped out on her charity promise
Perhaps, the most uncomfortable moment from Tuesday’s cross-examination came when Vazques grilled Heard on her failure to honour a pledge she had made in 2016.
At the end of the divorce settlement, Heard had announced that she’d donate her entire $7 million (est. R111.2 million) payout to charity. Except, six years later, she has yet to forward a dime from that lump sum.
What was meant to be a massive charity donation to the American Civil Liberties Union and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles languished in Heard’s bank account and Vazques used this as yet another demonstration of the actress’ inconsistencies.
According to Insider, Heard had claimed in 2018 that she had donated the funds, but an executive from ACLU refuted this, confirming that, in fact, the actress paid less than half of what she’d pledged.
Moreover, the donation had come from her ex-boyfriend, Elon Musk, whom she dated following her breakup with Depp.
“”I still fully intend on honoring all of my pledges. I would love him to stop suing me so I can,” she said.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million. The actress is also counter-suing for $100 million.
