Amber Heard Says Trial is 'Torture,' Wants to 'Move On'

US actress Amber Heard (R) speaks to her legal team as US actor Johhny Depp (L) returns to the stand after a lunch recess during the 50 million US dollar Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022. (AFP)
US actress Amber Heard (R) speaks to her legal team as US actor Johhny Depp (L) returns to the stand after a lunch recess during the 50 million US dollar Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022. (AFP)
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Amber Heard Says Trial is 'Torture,' Wants to 'Move On'

US actress Amber Heard (R) speaks to her legal team as US actor Johhny Depp (L) returns to the stand after a lunch recess during the 50 million US dollar Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022. (AFP)
US actress Amber Heard (R) speaks to her legal team as US actor Johhny Depp (L) returns to the stand after a lunch recess during the 50 million US dollar Depp vs Heard defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, April 21, 2022. (AFP)

Amber Heard testified on Monday that the multi-million dollar defamation suit filed against her by her former husband Johnny Depp is "torture" and she just wants him to leave her alone so she can move on with her life.

The 36-year-old actress also told the jury hearing the case that she filed for divorce from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star in May 2016 because she feared for her life, AFP said.

"I had to leave him," Heard said. "I knew I wouldn't survive if I didn't. I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me."

Heard said Depp would become a physically and sexually abusive "monster" when he was drinking and her efforts to curtail his drug and alcohol use had failed.

"The monster had been this thing that was now the normal and not the exception," she told the seven-person jury hearing the case in Fairfax, Virginia. "The violence was now normal."

The 58-year-old Depp, during his four days on the witness stand, denied ever striking Heard and claimed that she was the one who was frequently violent.

Depp filed suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."

Heard, who had a starring role in "Aquaman," did not name Depp in the op-ed, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.

The Texas-born Heard countersued, asking for $100 million and claiming she suffered "rampant physical violence and abuse" at his hands.

Heard said the trial has forced her to live "over and over again the most intimate, embarrassing, deeply humiliating and personal things that I've survived."

"I want to move on and I want Johnny to move on," she said. "I just want him to leave me alone."

Filing for divorce was "the hardest thing I've ever had to do," the actress said.

"It was hard because I loved Johnny so much," she said. "I loved him so much."

Heard said the same week she filed for divorce she sought a temporary restraining order following an argument during which Depp threw a mobile phone at her, hitting her in the face.

'Under the makeup' -
Under cross-examination, Depp's lawyers asked Heard about multiple incidents of alleged domestic violence she testified about and then showed photos from subsequent days where no injuries were visible.

"You should see what it looks like under the makeup," Heard retorted.

They also grilled her extensively about a pledge she made to donate the $7 million from her divorce settlement from Depp to charity.

Heard acknowledged that she has not donated the entire amount yet but said that was because she needed the money to fight the defamation suit filed against her by Depp.

"I haven't been able to fulfil those pledges yet because I've been sued," she said.

Judge Penney Azcarate has scheduled closing arguments in the case for May 27, after which it will go to the jury.

Depp's lawyers have put experts on the stand who testified that he has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $22.5-million payday for a sixth installment of "Pirates."

Depp filed the defamation complaint in the United States after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater."

Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard met in 2009 on the set of "The Rum Diary" and were married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized two years later.


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'Superman' Director James Gunn Remakes the Hero for the Big Screen

FILE PHOTO: Director James Gunn poses at a photo call for the film Superman in Culver City, California, US, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director James Gunn poses at a photo call for the film Superman in Culver City, California, US, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
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'Superman' Director James Gunn Remakes the Hero for the Big Screen

FILE PHOTO: Director James Gunn poses at a photo call for the film Superman in Culver City, California, US, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director James Gunn poses at a photo call for the film Superman in Culver City, California, US, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

James Gunn, writer and director of the off-kilter "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, tussled with various ideas on how to deliver a new take on Superman to the big screen.

Gunn said he was aware of the many ways the noble hero had been approached since his 1938 debut, initially in comic books and then radio serials, television shows and movies.

The challenge was to deliver something fresh that would appeal to a new generation of moviegoers and reinvigorate Warner Bros Discovery's DC Studios.

His vision, in the movie titled simply "Superman," starts rolling out in international theaters on Wednesday and in the United States and Canada on Friday, Reuters reported.

In the opening scene, Superman, played for the first time by David Corenswet, is seen bloodied after a fight, an unusual portrayal for the Man of Steel.

"I wanted to take the character of Superman and just focus on a piece of him that we haven't necessarily seen before," Gunn said.

Gunn surrounded Superman with elements that enthralled him from the comics as a child. Superman lives in a world, Gunn said, with "superhero friends and giant monsters and flying dogs, robots and all this magical stuff."

The new film includes Superman's four-legged sidekick, a superpowered dog named Krypto first introduced in a 1955 comic. The latest version is based on Gunn's real-life, misbehaving rescue mutt.

Warner Bros is counting on "Superman" to start a new era at DC Studios, which has failed to match the superhero success of Walt Disney-owned Marvel. Gunn, who made the "Guardians" movies for Marvel, was named co-CEO of DC Studios, alongside producer Peter Safran, in 2022.

The pair have plotted a long-term slate that features a Supergirl movie for June 2026, a film based on Swamp Thing and TV shows for HBO Max. Wonder Woman and Batman also are expected to return to cinemas.

Gunn said the aesthetic that audiences see in "Superman" will not necessarily foreshadow future DC Studios endeavors. "I want to be really certain that every project has its own unique flavor," Gunn said.

"We're doing Clayface, and that doesn't feel like this movie. It's an R-rated horror movie. We're doing 'Lanterns,' which is an HBO show, which feels very much like an HBO show, very grounded, very kind of brutal. We have 'Peacemaker,' which is an adult show with a lot of emotion and a lot of comedy."

Gunn admitted he has felt the weight of responsibility to produce a hit.
"I've felt pressure all along," Gunn said. "That's been difficult."

But as he started to see initial reaction to the film, "I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "It's pretty fun. I'm seeing the effect the movie has on people."