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Johnny Depp lawyers seek to discredit ex-wife domestic violence claims

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Actor Johnny Depp attends the 50 million US dollars Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, April 13, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein, EPA-EFE/Pool " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/04/14/johnny-depp.jpg"/><figcaption>Actor Johnny Depp attends the 50 million US dollars Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, April 13, 2022. <em>Evelyn Hockstein, EPA-EFE/Pool </em></figcaption></figure></div><p>FAIRFAX, United States — Lawyers for actor Johnny Depp sought on Wednesday to discredit a claim by his ex-wife Amber Heard that he threw a mobile telephone at her in May 2016 and hit her in the face.</p><p>The testimony, by Isaac Baruch, a longtime friend of Depp, came on the second day of the blockbuster defamation case filed by the &quot;Pirates of the Caribbean&quot; star against Heard.</p><p>Depp, 58, filed it Heard, 35, after she wrote a column for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a &quot;public figure representing domestic abuse.&quot;</p><p>The actress never named Depp, whom she met in 2009 on the set of the film &quot;The Rum Diary,&quot; but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.</p><p>Heard, who was married to Depp from 2015 to 2017, countersued, asking for $100 million and claiming she suffered &quot;rampant physical violence and abuse&quot; at his hands.</p><p>Heard has alleged that Depp hit her in the face with a mobile phone on the evening of May 21, 2016 during an argument.</p><p>Police were called but did not file a report.</p><p>Heard asked for a divorce two days later and sought a restraining order against Depp on May 25, appearing in a Los Angeles court with a mark on her face.</p><p>Baruch, who lived in the same building as Depp and Heard, testified that he saw her in the corridor a day after the alleged phone-throwing incident.</p><p>Baruch, who has known Depp since 1980 and had his rent and some of his expenses paid by the actor, said he asked Heard if Depp had hit her.</p><p>&quot;She goes, &#x27;yeah, he threw a phone at me and hit me,&#x27;&quot; Baruch said, adding that he inspected her face.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m looking at her forehead, I&#x27;m looking at the side of her eye, I&#x27;m looking at her cheek, I&#x27;m looking at her chin, I&#x27;m looking at the other side of the face, I&#x27;m looking at the whole thing and I don&#x27;t see anything,&quot; he said. &quot;I don&#x27;t see a cut, a bruise, swelling, redness.&quot;</p><p>Baruch said he gave &quot;her a hug and kissed her&quot; on the side of the face where she was allegedly struck.</p><p>Baruch said he learned several days later that Heard had asked for a divorce and he saw a picture of her in the news with a mark on her cheek.</p><p>He said he had never known Depp to be violent or witnessed any physical violence between the couple.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/09/23/21/johnny-depp-decries-cancel-culture-before-receiving-san-sebastians-top-prize">Johnny Depp decries &#x27;cancel culture&#x27; before receiving San Sebastian&#x27;s top prize</a></li></ul><p>Heard&#x27;s lawyers told the jury on Tuesday that Depp physically and sexually abused Heard during drug- and alcohol-fueled benders during which he became a &quot;monster.&quot;</p><p>Depp filed the defamation complaint against Heard in the United States after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against The Sun for calling him a &quot;wife-beater.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse </strong></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1998949" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Lawyers for Johnny Depp sought to discredit a claim by his ex-wife Amber Heard that he threw a mobile telephone at her and hit her in the face. 