Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's therapist says the abuse was 'mutual'

The actor asks his ex-partner for 50 million dollars in damages. For her part, Heard responded with a counterclaim in which she alleges that the actor has launched a smear campaign against her and claims 100 million dollars.

The defamation trial facing actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had on its third day of oral arguments the testimony of the ex-partner's former therapist, Laurel Anderson, who stated that there was "mutual abuse" in the relationship.

The court of Fairfaix (Virginia, USA), where the litigation is taking place, projected this Thursday a recorded statement from the therapist who worked for the marriage during 2015 and 2016, both in individual and joint sessions.

"They were both victims of abuse in their homes. I think he kept himself under control for decades until Heard got out of control and they got involved in what I saw as mutual abuse," Anderson said.

When asked if Depp was violent with Heard, the therapist said "yes" and that she saw "multiple" bruises on her face.

Later, Anderson pointed out that, in her therapy sessions, the actress came to recognize that she also hit Depp during her fights.

"If Depp was going to leave to lower the intensity of the fight, she would hit him to keep him there because she would rather be in a fight than for him to leave," said the therapist after assuring that Heard, known for her role in "Aquaman", I was terrified of abandonment.

The protagonist of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the actress were present this Thursday at a new session of the trial in which Depp accuses his ex-wife of defamation for an article he published in The Washington Post in 2018 after their divorce and in which she referred to herself as someone who had experience in what "domestic abuse represents."

The process, which comes after a media trial in London for another similar article, is being broadcast live on the internet and will feature witnesses as famous as the actor James Franco or the billionaire Elon Musk.

In fact, the first day of the process was marked by the difficulty in forming a popular jury, since most of the candidates were aware of the case and had preconceived opinions.

Among the witnesses who have already intervened is a woman, Kate James, who worked as Heard's personal assistant and who portrayed the actress as an "unstable" person, who came to spit in her face after an argument and behaved in a way " verbally abusive" with his team.

A day earlier, a close friend of the actor, Isaac Baruch, assured that he was aware of the couple's arguments, but that he does not remember seeing signs of violence.

Baruch said he met Heard the day after an alleged fight on May 21, 2016, and did not see any marks on her face.

However, several Los Angeles Police (LAPD) officers appeared that same night at the building in the center of that city where the couple lived, according to the recordings taken by the security cameras of the skyscraper, where Depp owned. of five apartments.

The actor asks his ex-partner for 50 million dollars in damages.

For her part, Heard responded with a counterclaim in which she alleges that the actor has launched a smear campaign against her and claims 100 million dollars.

It will be the first time that the two celebrities face each other in court: In the trial held in London, and which Depp lost, the actress attended as a witness, since the accusation was against the British newspaper The Sun for an article that described to the "woman aggressor" actor.