Amber Heard claimed that she has received a number of death threats throughout the course of the defamation trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp on Thursday, May 26. The Aquaman actress, 36, returned to the stand as a rebuttal witness in the trial, where she spoke about what impact the trial has had on her life. “I receive hundreds of death threats regularly, if not daily. Thousands, since this trial has started,” she said. “People mocking my testimony about being assaulted.”
When Amber first returned to the stand, her lawyer asked how she’d suffered as a result of statements made by Johnny’s former lawyer Adam Waldman. “I am harassed, humiliated, threatened, every single day even just walking into this courtroom, sitting here in front of the world, having the worst parts of my life things I’ve lived through used to humiliate me,” she said. “People want to kill me. And they tell me so every day.”
Amber also detailed that some of the more disturbing death threats she’s received aren’t only directed at her, but her family. “People want to put my baby in the microwave. They tell me that,” she testified.
During the emotional testimony, Amber spoke about how the trauma from the alleged abuse from her ex-husband have affected her, saying that she has “unspoken rules” for her friends, as well as rules for her doctors, and she said that she’s had instances where she’s been triggered while training for movies. As her testimony wrapped, she said she wanted to “get [her] voice back” as what she wants to “reclaim” after the trial.
Johnny sued Amber for $50 million over, because of an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post. The Black Mass actor has claimed that since the op-ed was published, his reputation is tarnished, and he has lost lucrative movie deals. Amber countersued her ex-husband for $100 million, also citing defamation.
Throughout the course of the trial, the pair have rehashed the many alleged instances of physical fights during their relationship and marriage. Johnny and Amber started dating after he broke up with his ex and the mother of his children Vanessa Paradis. The couple got married in February 2015, but Amber filed for divorce in May 2016.
During the trial’s final week, Johnny’s lawyers brought multiple witnesses to give rebuttal testimony after Amber’s lawyers made the case for the Aquaman star. Among the witnesses called back to the stand was Johnny, and his lawyers asked him for his reaction to hearing his ex-wife‘s testimony, and he once again denied being abusive towards Amber. “It’s insane. To hear heinous accusations of violence, sexual violence that she’s attributed to me, that she’s accused me of,” he said. “I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse, all these outlandish outrageous stories of me committing these things.”
The legal battle between the two exes has captured national attention, especially because of some of the more outlandish stories, including the accusation that Johnny made against Amber, saying she defecated in his bed (which she denied). It has led to parodies from places like Saturday Night Live, and many stars offering their opinions on the trial, including Chris Rock, who joked about it, showing that he was on Johnny’s side.