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Is this end of Johnny Depp's case? #StandWithAmberHeard trends after actress's heroic testimony

Amber Heard testified that Depp was this Jekyll-and-Hyde man who would beat her and threaten to kill her when he abused drugs and alcohol

Amber Heard's dramatic testimony saw the 'Aquaman' actress breaking down multiple times as she narrated the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of Johnny Depp. Heard testified on Wednesday, April 4, that Depp was this Jekyll-and-Hyde man who would beat her and threaten to kill her when he abused drugs and alcohol. The 'Aquaman' actress took her stand over three weeks after Depp’s side presented its case. “He was the love of my life but he was also this other thing … And that other thing was awful,” Heard said in the Fairfax, Virginia, courtroom. "An awful thing that would come out and take over and you couldn’t see the Johnny I loved underneath it," added, referring to Depp as a "monster". 

Heard said she never knew which version of Depp she was going to get. "Johnny on speed is very different from Johnny on opiates. Johnny on opiates is very different from Adderall and cocaine Johnny, which is very different from quaaludes Johnny, but I had to get good at paying attention to the different versions of him,” Heard said. “When I was around Johnny, I felt like the most beautiful person in the world,” she said. “It made me feel seen. It made me feel like a million dollars.” She testified that the turning point in their relationship came when Depp first slapped her in 2013. "I’ll never forget it. It changed my life,” Heard said.

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Heard said that the two were sitting on a couch when she asked him about a tattoo that he had which she was unable to make out. Depp told her it said “Wino”, which was a cover-up from a previous tattoo that said "Winona Forever”. This prompted Heard to laugh, but Depp, who allegedly did not find it funny, struck her across the face, Heard said. “I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. I thought this must be a joke,” she said. She said she though he would laugh too, he he instead yelled, "You think it’s so funny? You think it’s funny, bitch? You think you’re a funny bi***?" Depp allegedly slapped her again and then began begging for forgiveness.

Heard accused Depp of threatening to kill her while they were in the Bahamas in July 2013. “He slams me up by my neck and holds me there for a second and tells me that he could f—ing kill me and that I was an embarrassment,” she said. Among several other allegations, Heard accused Depp of performing cavity searches where he used his fingers to search Amber Heard's vagina for cocaine.

'A really badly prepped monologue'

Heard's testimony has divided social media users. A number of Twitter users slammed the actress for 'acting for the jury'. "I feel like I'm watching Amber heard playing the role of Amber heard in a made for tv movie about Johnny Depp. Its wild. The way she's acting for the jury doesn't feel authentic, sounds like what Dr Curry described in her testimony," one user wrote on Twitter. "Oh my god. I haven’t even seen any of Johnny Depp’s testimony but watching Amber Heard and there is something seriously wrong here. If you’ve ever heard a woman talking about sexual abuse….it looks nothing like this. It’s like a really badly prepped monologue," wrote another.

One user commented, "She literally looks at Johnny for any sort of acknowledgement and he refuses to give it to her…if he was a real narcissist and abuser he would…..because that’s exactly what amber heard did to him during his testimony." "As someone who suffered major PTSD from being a victim of DV, Amber Heard is a dam liar. She is no victim. She’s a narcissist. & I hope she gets everything that’s coming to her. It’s been triggering to see some of her testimonies. People that can lie like that are dangerous," one user wrote, while another said, "We’ll give the Oscar to Amber Heard. We have over 4K people watching (survivors of DV) and they are all against her for this scripted testimony."

'Amber deserves so much better'

Despite all the social media criticism, however, Heard's testimony appears to have left a genuine impression on her fans. As some sought justice for Johnny Depp, several others stood with Heard. In fact, these positive reactions for Heard seem to be taking center stage after the actress fired her PR team and switched to a new one days before her testimony in court. Heard ditched crisis PR firm Precision Strategies last week because she was unhappy about how the trial was being covered. 

"I stand with amber heard, I stand with evan rachel wood, and I stand with all victims of domestic abuse. men can be victims of dv but in this case he is not. if you disagree unfollow or block," one user said on Twitter. "On day 14, continued love and support for @realamberheard!! Times are tough and hard, but we are with you and continue to stand with you!!" another user wrote. 

"If resilience and strength are persons, they would both be Amber Heard! I stand and will always stand with Amber Heard!!!" one user wrote, while another said, "Amber deserves so much better. To be cast on the stand and for the whole world to see you relive those haunting experiences must be terrifying for her. I hope she recovers from Johnny!!" "Belittling the issue of domestic violence. Johnny Depp is not a victim. #IStandWithAmberHeard #JusticeForAmberHeard," one user said. One user commented, "Really? It’s funny how everyone began attacking her, harassing her and accused her of making false allegations before the trial began. Then after it began, threats toward her were made. This is called mob justice."

Depp has finished testifying in his $50 million defamation trial against Heard. At the trial, the actor claimed that he was telling the "truth" for his family and children's sake. He also claimed that Heard's allegations against him have ruined his relations in Hollywood. The trial is expected to last at least six weeks. While jurors have heard several contradictory accounts of the relationship between the former pair, Heard's team has portrayed Depp as an abusive partner who was regularly into alcohol and drugs. Depp's team, on the other hand, has labeled Heard's allegations of violence as a "hoax" and claimed that it is a deliberate attempt to destroy Depp's reputation.