One ofJohnny Depp’s security guards says he witnessed Amber Heard punch the actor in the face during their marriage.
Travis McGivern testified Monday via live video link during Depp’s ongoing defamation trial against his ex-wife. McGivern elaborated on some of the arguments he overheard between Depp and Heard after they returned home in March 2015 from Australia, where the infamoussevered finger incidenthappened.
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“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fist and an arm come across my right shoulder and I heard and saw a closed fist contact Mr. Depp in the left side of his face. That was Ms. Heard’s fist,” he said. Adding of the actor’s reaction,' he said: “The initial look on his face kind of mirrored mine, kind of a look of shock. Like, ‘What just happened? Where did that come from?’ At that point, I wasn’t gonna let Mr. Depp get hit any more so I moved him down the last flight of stairs to the lower level and told him, ‘We are leaving.’ It wasn’t up to him anymore. Just for his safety.”
He said he saw a “nice little shiner” on Depp’s face afterward that was “swollen and red” but not “black and blue yet.”
During cross-examination, Heard’s attorney asked whether Depp was “reaching for Amber’s hair while he was trying to hit her” in that incident. McGivern said the attorney’s description of the incident was “not correct.” The lawyer also asked if it was true that Heard only punched Depp after he shoved her sister that day. McGivern denied that as well.
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The actor has testified that his “goal is the truth” as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets. Ahead of the trial, Heard — who is expected to take the stand later this week — said in a statement that “hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”
A spokesperson for Depp denied the allegation, calling it “fictitious” and “for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement.”
Depp has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any woman. He was asked about a December 2015 incident where he allegedly head-butted Heard, who sustained bruises on her face. He “vehemently” disagreed with the statement that he intentionally head-butted her, arguing that it could have been an accident while he attempted to restrain her.
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“You didn’t get punched; you got hit. I’m sorry I hit you like this, but I did not punch you,” she told Depp. “I did not f—–g deck you. I f—–g was hitting you. I don’t know what the motion of my actual hand was. But you’re fine. I did not hurt you. I did not punch you. I was hitting you.”
One of Depp’s witnesses, their former marriage counselor Dr. Laurel Anderson, previously testified that Depp and Heardengaged in “mutual abuse” with each other. Anderson said she also observed “multiple” small bruises on Heard’s face at an in-person meeting.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
