FRIEND OF JOHNNY DEPP CASTS DOUBT ON ALLEGATIONS FROM EX WIFE AMBER HEARD IN COURT
0Friend of Johnny Depp casts doubt on allegations from ex wife Amber Heard in court
A longtime friend and neighbour of Johnny Depp testified that the actor's ex wife. Amber Heard. told him the movie star threw a phone at her and hit her inside the couple's Los Angeles penthouse. But Isaac Baruch said he never noticed any evidence of abuse on Ms Heard's face. both when he first saw her in the hallway or the next day in the sunlit lobby of their art deco style building. 'She's got her face out like this to show me. and I'm looking. and I inspect her face.' Mr Baruch said of the encounter in May 2016. 'And I don't see anything … I don't see a cut. a bruise. swelling. redness.' Mr Baruch is the second witness called in the trial over Mr Depp's allegations that Ms Heard falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser. Mr Depp said an opinion piece Ms Heard wrote for The Washington Post in 2018 indirectly defamed him. Ms Heard refers to herself in the article as a 'public figure representing domestic abuse'. It doesn't name Mr Depp. But his lawyers argue that it clearly referenced a restraining order that Ms Heard sought in May 2016. right after Mr Depp told her he wanted a divorce. Mr Depp denies abusing Ms Heard. Depp's friend says he didn't see bruises Mr Baruch. a painter. has been friends with Mr Depp since 1980. He also worked at the Viper Room when the Pirates of the Caribbean actor partly owned the famed Los Angeles club. Mr Baruch said Mr Depp has financially supported him. providing him with places to live and giving him about $US100.000 ($133.000) over the years. Mr Baruch testified he noticed no makeup on Ms Heard's face when she said Mr Depp hit her. But during cross examination. Mr Baruch conceded he didn't know if Ms Heard — who worked with cosmetics giant L'Oreal — had applied any concealer. foundation. powder or tint. Mr Baruch got emotional at one point. stating that Ms Heard needs to 'take responsibility and move on'. He said he never saw violence from Mr Depp. 'His family has been completely wrecked by all of this stuff. and it's not fair.' Mr Baruch said. 'It's not right. what she did. … It's insane.' Mr Baruch also testified that he saw security video showing Ms Heard's sister Whitney throwing a fake punch at Ms Heard's face while the two waited for an elevator in the building where he and Mr Depp and Ms Heard lived. 'And then they start laughing.' Mr Baruch said. Mr Depp's attorneys argued the sisters were practising for a real punch to feign abuse from Mr Depp. But Ms Heard's lawyers have said the evidence would show Mr Depp physically and sexually assaulted Ms Heard on multiple occasions. And they've argued that Mr Depp's denials lack credibility because he frequently drank and used drugs to the point of blacking out and failing to remember anything he did. Depp's sister questioned about his drug use The first witness called for the trial was Mr Depp's older sister. Christi Dembrowski. who faced a barrage of questions from Ms Heard's lawyers about Mr Depp's alcohol and drug use. When she took the stand. Ms Dembrowski said she and her brother endured a difficult childhood in which Mr Depp learned to hide from an abusive mother. Ms Dembrowski. who also worked as Mr Depp's personal manager. said she saw the same pattern in Mr Depp's relationship with Ms Heard. adding that she would book an extra hotel room for Mr Depp if Ms Heard started a fight. But Ms Dembrowski struggled on cross examination when asked why she sent texts to Mr Depp in February 2014 that said. 'Stop drinking. Stop coke. Stop pills.' Ms Heard's lawyers zeroed in on a text exchange between Ms Heard and Mr Dembrowski in February 2014. 'Ms Heard says. 'JD is on a bender.' and your response is. 'Where are the kids?' — correct?' J Benjamin Rottenborn asked. Ms Dembrowski said that was correct. She also confirmed a 2014 email exchange she had with a doctor who treated Mr Depp's addiction to pain medication. 'You believe that your brother needed help with drugs and...
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