Amber Heard Allegedly Stubbed Cigarette Out on Johnny Depp’s Face, Says Bodyguard
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Johnny Depp alleged that his former wife, Amber Heard, stubbed a cigarette out on his face, his bodyguard Malcolm Connolly told a court Tuesday.
Connolly, who has worked for Depp for about 16 years, was giving evidence at London’s Royal Courts of Justice on the sixth day of Depp’s libel trial against the publisher of The Sun newspaper.
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Depp is suing News Group Newspapers and journalist Dan Wootton for an article on The Sun website that described him as a “wife beater.” Depp denies that he was violent toward Heard, to whom he was married from 2015 to 2017.
Connolly gave evidence about an incident in March 2015 in Australia, where Depp was shooting “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” Connolly got an urgent call from the late Jerry Judge, the head of Depp’s security team, who told him: “Malcolm, get in the car, extract the boss from the situation.”
Connolly arrived at the rented house where Depp and Heard were staying to find a “ruckus” going on, with the recently wed couple “screaming at each other.”
Connolly took Depp out to his car, where the actor said: “She’s cut my f—ing finger off. She’s smashed my hand with a vodka bottle.” Connolly told the court: “I saw his finger and it was a mess.”
Depp also told Connolly that Heard had put a cigarette out on his face, and Connolly confirmed he saw a mark. Heard, who appeared uninjured, came close to the car and said something like: “Are you just going to leave it like this, you f—ing coward?”
Connolly said he had never seen Depp strike Heard. “I would not tolerate any man striking a woman,” he said. “No matter who he is. Not even if he is my boss. Not even if he is the pope.”
The court also heard from Tara Roberts, the estate manager of Depp’s private island in the Bahamas. “I never saw Johnny, who is an unusually kind man, be violent or aggressive with Amber or anyone else,” she said.
She said she told a colleague in December 2015 that Heard was a “thrower — someone who threw projectiles.”
Roberts added, “I also witnessed Amber lunge violently at Johnny, pull his hair, and commit other aggressive physical acts against him.”
“Prior to Johnny’s marriage to Amber, he was outgoing, friendly and social,” she said. “It was a family environment when he would visit the island.”
“Throughout their relationship and marriage there was a distinct change in Johnny, and the once social and animated person spent most days sleeping, became withdrawn, and our meals together dwindled to non-existent,” she went on.
The court also heard from Samantha McMillen, Depp’s stylist of around 18 years, who appeared via video-link. McMillen also worked as a stylist for Heard while they were married.
McMillen was asked about an alleged incident of violence in December 2015. The stylist saw Heard the next day when Heard appeared on James Corden’s talk show, but did not notice any injuries.
“I saw her throughout the day in good light, at close range, wearing no makeup,” McMillen said. “Throughout the day I could see clearly that Ms. Heard did not have any visible marks, bruises, cuts, or injuries to her face or any other part of her body.”
McMillen told the court that Heard said to her after recording the show, “Can you believe I just did that show with two black eyes?”
However, the stylist said, “I never noticed anything like that when I saw her. I never noticed her having two black eyes.”
The trial continues Wednesday.
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