(LONDON) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) Amber Heard’s younger sister told a U.K. court on Wednesday that she “begged” her sister not to marry Johnny Depp, claiming that she saw the Pirates of the Caribbean star punch Heard “really hard” during a heated argument.
Whitney Henriquez testified that the estranged couple’s relationship was “tumultuous from the start,” adding that she noticed signs of physical abuse, such as bruises, cuts and burns on the actress, “early on,” according to written testimony submitted in Depp’s libel trial in London’s High Court, and obtained by Variety.
Henriquez, 31, went on to says that she confronted Depp for the first time about the alleged abuse in 2014, asking him, “Why did you f****** have to hit her?”
“Sometimes he would flat out deny it or downplay it by saying ‘No, I just pushed her, I didn’t hit her,’” she continued, adding that other times he’d try to “justify it.”
“He blamed her for it, saying things like: ‘I just love her so much but this is what she does to me,’ and never really took responsibility for it,” she added.
Henriquez claimed Depp’s jealousy was a major factor in the couple’s fights, saying, “Johnny was incredibly jealous and possessive, and was threatened by her former partners and co-stars, both men and women.”
Depp is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) and The Sun’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, over a 2018 article referring to him as a “wife beater.” He denies abusing Heard.
The trial continues on Friday.
By George Costantino
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