Amber Heard changes testimony mid-trial, sparks ridicule online

American actress Amber Heard was back on the stand on May 16, weeklong after the high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by her ex-husband Johnny Depp was halted on May 5.

The 36-year-old star's testimony began on Monday when she was cross-questioned by Johnny Depp's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft. However, Heard was seen changing her testimony mid-trial.

According to Heard's previous statement, Depp's first act of violence against her happened in early 2012. But in her latest testimony, she claimed that Depp started assaulting her "around early 2013," and not the year before. She said she had given an inaccurate date for Depp's first violent act against her to "forget" it. However, she claimed:

"You never forget the first time someone hits you like that."

Heard said the police came several times during their relationship, and they discussed going over her therapist files to see if there were any incidents of physical assault.

When questioned why she didn't simply recall the incidents, she stated that their relationship was "violent" and "chaotic," as well as "loving" and "emotional," so the "violence was almost normal."

“I am embarrassed to say. I think I would have liked to believe that the period in which I had to fall in love with Johnny, and we fell in love, in which he was sober and he wasn’t violent to me, lasted for a lot longer than it did. Think I would have liked to believe that I wasn’t hit so early in the relationship and still stayed. He was also sober for a period in 2012 which was a peaceful time for us, in which we fell in love. So I had kind of allowed myself I guess, to forget that the beginning of that period – 2012, before he got sober was, really violent and chaotic as well. I am embarrassed to say that.”

She claimed to have coped with many variations of Depp throughout their relationship, and the two developed a safe word during fights: "couch." She said that divorce was mentioned frequently in their relationship.

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Twitter reactions to Amber Heard's testimony

Twitterati was not pleased with Amber Heard's changed statements during the ongoing trial at Virginia's Fairfax courthouse. Many applauded Bredehoft for "destroying" Heard during her testimony.

In contrast, others think Amber Heard and her team of lawyers went to social media to realize that she made a mistake during her previous depositions.

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Amber Heard claimed that she had a valid reason for putting a temporary restraining order on Depp

During the trial, when Bredehoft asked Amber Heard why she filed for a temporary restraining order, the actress claimed that she wanted to "change my locks" because she wanted a "good night's sleep." She further said:

“Security would always let him into the house no matter what I asked them, but I begged them to let me know when he was coming over, no matter how much I begged them not to let him in when he was mad or drunk or high. And I couldn’t sleep. I’d wake up in a panic. I was losing hair. I was losing weight. I got really sick."

Heard further claimed that she was having panic attacks all the time and was "falling apart." The Aquaman actress said that she was "very conflicted" because of being "in love" and while also being scared of Depp, "which was tricky."

"And I was thinking one step at a time. I was thinking very myopically. I wanted just to get a good night’s rest, good night’s sleep. I just wanted to change my locks.”

Depp sued Heard in 2019 after she wrote an op-ed article for The Washington Post in 2018, claiming that she had been a victim of domestic violence.

Although she did not directly name the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, his lawyers argue that Heard was talking about him and asked for financial compensation in lieu of tarnishing his professional career.