Trigger warning: This article contains allegations of physical abuse.
The high profile libel trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard continues this week, and on Wednesday the court heard from Amber's sister, Whitney Heard Henriquez.
As Henriquez spoke, those watching the trial were quick to notice Depp's 'eye contact' with her, who gave evidence about a fight she witnessed between the pair.
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You can watch the moment below:
Standing up in court this week, Heard's sister detailed an incident from March 2015 in which Depp allegedly hit her in the back before clutching Heard's hair, hitting her, and trashing her closet.
According to Henriquez's testimony, she had been staying in one of the apartments in the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles, where Depp and Heard shared a penthouse.
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She alleges that her sister woke her up one night to tell her that Depp had been cheating on her.
Leaving Heard in her apartment, Henriquez claims that she then left to speak to Depp herself. She testified that Depp was 'clearly drunk' and blamed Heard when she confronted him about his actions.
Soon after, Heard reappeared in the apartment and, Whitney claims, the pair began screaming at each other.
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"I’m standing up there at the top of the stairs with my back to the stairs and that’s when Johnny runs up the stairs," she said.
"I’m facing Amber. He comes up behind me and he strikes me in the back."
She said that Heard yelled at Depp: "Don’t hit my f***ing sister" before 'smacking' him.
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The move comes after weeks of Depp refusing to look Heard in the eye.
Earlier in the trial, Camille Vasquez, one of Depp's lawyers, asked Heard: "Mr Depp hasn't looked at you once this entire trial, has he?", to which Heard replied: "Not that I've noticed, no."
"You've looked at him many times, haven't you?" Vasquez asked.
"You know exactly why Mr Depp won't look back at you, don't you? He promised you would never see his eyes again, isn't that true?"
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Vasquez was referring to an audio recording taken in 2016, during a conversation between Depp and Heard, where Depp said: "We won't have to see each other again. You will not see my eyes again."
Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a 2018 op-ed article in The Washington Post.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor and his team argue that the article implies Heard was physically and sexually abused by Depp when they were married, although the article does not mention him by name.
The trial comes following Depp's failure to overturn a High Court ruling in the UK, which rejected the actor's claim that The Sun newspaper committed libel when they called him a 'wife-beater' for the alleged abuse against Heard.
The trial continues.
Topics: News, Johnny Depp
Lucy Devine