Amber Heard looks 'injury-free' in pic with Keith Richards but claimed Johnny Depp split her lip in 'bloodbath'
Amber heard was accused by Johnny Depp's lawyer of changing the timeline of her allegation that her former spouse "backhanded" her in what was a so-called "disco bloodbath" after she appeared "injury-free" with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards in a photo from March 2013.
During her testimony in the libel case against the Sun over a 2018 article which branded the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor a 'wife-beater,' Heard was shown the photo which contradicted her statement submitted to the High Court that Depp attacked her in March 2013. In her statement, she said that the actor became jealous of a painting that her ex-partner Tasya van Ree put up in their bedroom and tried to torch it. According to her, he also hit her so hard across the face with a backhanded slap that blood from her lip ended up on the wall. She further claimed that the assault left her with a swollen face and a split lip.
Regarding the same incident, Depp said that he never hit the 'Aquaman' actress and merely asked her to remove the painting "as a courtesy" to which Heard had an "extreme reaction.'' He added that he later sent a text with the phrase "disco bloodbath," to placate her, not to offer an apology for alleged violence.
The photo obtained by Daily Mail, in which Depp, Heard, and Richards were seen posing with the actress' sister Whitney, prior to filming a documentary on the legendary musician, was submitted in court as part of evidence from Depp's side that he never carried out the said assault. In the snap, there were no bruisings or cuts noticed on Heard's face.
"And do you agree that there is absolutely no injury on your face in this photo?" Eleanor Laws, Depp's lawyer said, adding, "Does this photo show you before or after you were hit by Mr. Depp?" To this, Heard replied: ''Which time? There were a lot of incidents in March." The actress then told the court that the incident involving the painting took place on March 22, 2013, and, not March 8, 2013, as she originally stated.
"You have woven a web of lies that you have had to shift and change according to when evidence has emerged about this Keith Richards documentary," Laws said. ''There has been a change, hasn't there? Not just in relation to the date?"
Heard said that on March 8, there was a separate incident ''that we've called 'disco bloodbath." and in that Depp "accused me of having an affair with my best friend who was a man." The incident on March 22 was a separate one involving the painting. The actress was then pressed over her first witness statement where she had given a ''very detailed description of an argument that goes on overnight, it's over the painting and during the argument, Mr. Depp attempts to set fire to the painting." Laws added that "the other aspect is a very serious assault upon you with him hitting you in the face with the back of his hand and drawing blood, some of which ended up on the wall."
When asked how the blood "splattered" up on the wall, Heard responded, "I didn't watch the blood itself." Explaining the incident, she added, "Johnny, back in those days, hadn't gotten to the point of choking me. 'So, back then, it was just slaps or backhands and when he backhanded me it was still so early, it was a shock, fairly traumatic at the time. In retrospect, I feel different but at the time that's all I happened to notice. I felt his rings hit my mouth, my teeth."
When Heard was accused of conspiring to construct an incident along with her sister based on 'silly' text messages pf Depp allegedly changing Tasya van Ree's name to 'Tasya van Pee' on one of her paintings, Heard said, "No, this is a totally different painting." She went onto claim that Depp had ''defaced multiple paintings." Laws then accused Heard of "lying as you go along... dealing with the fact that what you and your sister was saying about this incident is total lies.''