By Sheila Mcjenzie-
Footage shows Amber Heard and Johnny Depp appearing to make eye contact while leaving court, as the actor’s defamation case against his ex-wife continues.
The clip depicts Heard leaving the stand as the court prepares to break, grabbing her water bottle as she steps down. Meanwhile, Depp stands up from his seat and walks towards the stand, where presumably a door is nearby, out of frame.
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As Depp moves closer to Heard, standing near the doorway, as law officials motion to the Pirates of the Caribbean star to stay back, allowing Heard to leave the room as he shrugs and walks back in the other direction.
The clip came after the dramatic court hearing, in which the 36 year old actress was walking off the stand after telling the Virginia courthouse how her ex-husband had sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle and threatened to kill her in March 2015 in Australia.
At the same time, Depp, who is partially sighted, stood up and moved towards the Aquaman star as the warring pair locked eyes.
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Examining the video, a number of journalists have pointed out that the two appeared to ‘make eye contact’ as Depp moved towards the stand.
Cathy Russon, Executive Producer at Law&Crime Trial Network, shared the clip on Twitter, writing: “Moment when #AmberHeard and #JohnnyDepp almost run into each other in the courtroom at the break. They appear to make eye contact.”
Sierra Gillespie, Executive Producer and Correspondent, then also reshared the footage, adding: “BIG MOMENT #JohnnyDepp and #AmberHeard appear to make eye contact in court today.”
Depp, 58, is suing ex-wife Heard, 36, for $50 million (£38.2 million) in a defamation lawsuit over domestic abuse claims she made in a 2018 article in The Washington Post.
She broke down on the stand as she detailed how Johnny Depp sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle during emotional testimony that the actor’s defense team labeled the ‘performance of her life.’
The alleged assault took place in March 2015 in Australia at their rented home he was living in while filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
This is the same incident that saw Johnny Depp’s finger severed. He claimed Heard threw a liquor bottle which severed it. Heard testified that she did not witness Depp’s fingertip being cut off.
‘At some point he’s on top of me, screaming I f**king hate you, you ruined my f**king life,’ Heard testified as she sobbed uncontrollably. ‘I’m on the countertop, he had me by the neck and was on top of me.
‘I’m looking in his eyes and I don’t see him any more. It wasn’t him, it was black. I haven’t been so scared in my life. He was looking at me. I was trying to get through to him, to say in some way it was me. Trying to get through to Johnny.
‘My head was bashing against the back of the bar and I couldn’t breathe. I remember trying to get up to tell him he was really hurting me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t get through to him. I couldn’t get up.’
At this point, Heard became overwhelmed with emotion on the stand. ‘Next thing I remember I was bent over backwards on the bar, I was staring at the blue light. My back was on the countertop. I thought he was punching me. I felt this pressure on my pubic bone and I could feel his arm moving. It looked like he was punching me. I could just feel this pressure.
‘I don’t remember what I said, I just remember being really still, not wanting to move. I remember looking around the room, looking at all the broken bottles, broken glass and I remember not wanting to move because I didn’t know if it was broken, I didn’t know if the bottle that he had inside me was broken.
‘I couldn’t feel it, I didn’t feel pain, I didn’t feel anything.
‘I saw so much broken glass I didn’t know if he would know if it was broken or not and I remember thinking please go I hope it’s not broken. I don’t know how that ended. I don’t know how I got off the countertop.
‘I just remember being in the bathroom. I remember retching, the sound my voice was making. I lost control of my bladder. I remember just retching, there was blood on the floor.’
Depp’s team claimed the actress’ tales of abuse have evolved with ‘new and convenient details’ and plan on exposing her lies on cross-examination.
“He loves to smash up a place,” she said, before saying the first time he hit her started innocuously, when she asked him what one of his tattoos said.
Depp had been drinking, and Heard said she thought he’d also been using cocaine, as there was a ‘jar’ of it on the table.
When he told her it said ‘wino’, she said she laughed – as she thought he was joking – and then she said he hit her.
Not knowing how to react, she said she laughed, before Depp responded: “You think you’re funny, b***h.”
Her voice breaking, Heard continued: “He slapped me again. It was clear it wasn’t a joke anymore.
“I didn’t want to leave him. I didn’t want this to be the reality. I didn’t want to have the man I was in love with… I know you don’t come back from that, you know, I’m not dumb. I know you can’t hit a woman.”
She added: “I wish I could sit here and say I stood up and I walked out of that house and I drew a line and I stood up for myself… but I was just looking at the dirty carpet, trying to will myself to get up.”
Heard physically shuddered and looked terrified, taking a step back as court officials immediately turned towards Depp and put their hands up, warning him to stay away.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor then turned away and appeared to shrug and smirk.
At this point, Heard became overwhelmed with emotion on the stand. ‘Next thing I remember I was bent over backwards on the bar, I was staring at the blue light. My back was on the countertop. I thought he was punching me. I felt this pressure on my pubic bone and I could feel his arm moving. It looked like he was punching me. I could just feel this pressure.
‘I don’t remember what I said, I just remember being really still, not wanting to move. I remember looking around the room, looking at all the broken bottles, broken glass and I remember not wanting to move because I didn’t know if it was broken, I didn’t know if the bottle that he had inside me was broken.
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