'It's just Amber's face': Isaac Baruch says he DIDN'T see physical marks of abuse on Amber Heard
Isaac Baruch, Johnny Depp's childhood friend, testified that he did not witness any physical abuse by him or detect any hints of bruises or marks on Amber Heard's face when he saw her after the former couple's May 21, 2016, argument.
At the Depp-Heard defamation trial in Fairfax on Wednesday, April 13, Baruch described living next door to Depp and Heard and seeing Heard on May 22, after the argument she had with Depp the night before. He said that Heard told him, "Johnny came by last night and he became violent." Baruch said that he questioned Heard, asking, "He hit you?"
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"And she said, 'Yeah. He threw a phone at me and hit me.' And I am looking because I had just seen her two feet away and I am going, 'Where?' I am looking at the whole thing and I don't see anything. I don't see a cut, bruise, swelling. It's just Amber's face," Baruch explained.
He said that he then made a joke to her. "Well, I don't see anything, but maybe all the beauty from one side of the face is outshining everything. And she laughed, smiled. And I just looked at everybody and said, 'Hey, this sounds nuts.'" Baruch revealed that Heard wasn't wearing any makeup and that he hugged her and kissed her on the side of her face after.
Isaac Baruch said he never saw #JohnnyDepp get physically violent with #AmberHeard.
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 13, 2022
When asked if he'd lie under oath for Depp, 'No, no, no, no..." @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/jX3YFA6X1m
Deadline reports that Baruch elicited laughs from Depp, who was sitting a few feet away, and a brief grin from Heard, who was on the other side of the courtroom, while he described their friendship. "I love her. I fell in love with her just like Johnny fell in love with her. She treated me with great respect." He said that heard would offer him something to eat or drink whenever he visited, the only exception being when he once came in and she was in a facial mask. "Is that something that can help me? She goes 'no.'" In the courtroom, Heard smiled at that.
Actor Johnny Depp's childhood friend Isaac Baruch welled up with tears while testifying in Depp's defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard pic.twitter.com/LBRRENvCTF
— Reuters Showbiz (@ReutersShowbiz) April 13, 2022
Baruch said that he witnessed two verbal arguments between Depp and Heard, but "I did not witness any physical violence." He further added that after seeing the pictures of Heard with bruises on the internet, he thought, "What the hell is this? What is going on?" On being asked if he was still angry over Heard's claims, an emotional Baruch said, "Am I angry anymore? What I am is tired, and I want this all to end, her to go heal, him to go heal. So many people have been affected by this malicious lie that she started and she created, and it has gone out the door and around the world."
isaac baruch, johnny depp's witness talking about amber heard's accusations
— aurore 🦝 (@EDDILFVEDDER) April 13, 2022
"are you angry at miss heard?"#JusticeForJohnnyDepp pic.twitter.com/qL8MWRt92t
Depp sued Heard for $50 million for defamation in connection with Heard's 2018 Washington Post op-ed, where she stated that she was a victim of domestic violence. Though the article did not name Depp, as per the actor's lawsuit, it relied "on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her." A month later, Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp and submitted photographs to the court showing a large bruise on her face while counter-suing him for $100 million.