By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Aquaman” actor Amber Heard is anticipated to testify for a second day on Thursday within the defamation case introduced by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, the Hollywood star she mentioned assaulted her a number of instances earlier than and through their transient marriage.

Heard took the witness stand for the primary time on Wednesday within the broadly adopted trial and mentioned the pair had a “magical” relationship till it turned violent.

Depp’s first bodily outburst, Heard mentioned, got here after she requested what was written on certainly one of his light tattoos. She mentioned he replied “Wino,” and she or he laughed, considering it was a joke.

“He slapped me throughout the face,” Heard mentioned. “I did not know what was happening. I simply stared at him.”

Heard mentioned he slapped her twice extra and mentioned “you suppose it is humorous, bitch?”

Depp, 58, testified earlier within the trial that the tattoo struggle “did not occur” and that he by no means hit Heard. He argued that she was the one who was the abuser.

The star of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies and others is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million, saying she defamed him when she claimed she was a sufferer of home abuse. Heard has counter-sued for $100 million, arguing Depp smeared her by calling her a liar.

Underneath questioning by her attorneys, Heard mentioned Depp assaulted her “a number of instances,” often when he was consuming or utilizing medicine. Throughout a weekend away with buddies in Might 2013, Heard mentioned, Depp accused her of inviting what he perceived as suggestive advances from a girl.

That night, Heard mentioned Depp ripped off her underwear and caught his fingers “inside” her in a “cavity search” for medicine.

Earlier, psychologist Daybreak Hughes testified that Heard had informed her Depp had put his fingers up her vagina in a hunt for cocaine.

The case hinges on a December 2018 opinion piece Heard authored within the Washington Submit. The article by no means talked about Depp by identify, however his lawyer informed jurors it was clear Heard was referencing him. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2017 after lower than two years of marriage.

Depp, as soon as amongst Hollywood’s largest stars, mentioned Heard’s allegations price him “all the things.” A brand new “Pirates” film was placed on maintain, and Depp was changed within the “Incredible Beasts” movie franchise, a “Harry Potter” spinoff.

Heard’s attorneys have argued that she informed the reality and that her opinion was protected free speech beneath the U.S. Structure’s First Modification.

A state courtroom decide in Virginia’s Fairfax County, exterior the nation’s capital, is overseeing the trial, which is anticipated to final till late Might.

Lower than two years in the past, Depp misplaced a libel case in opposition to the Solar, a British tabloid that labeled him a “spouse beater.” A London Excessive Courtroom decide dominated he had repeatedly assaulted Heard.

Depp’s attorneys have mentioned they filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County as a result of the Washington Submit is printed there. The newspaper shouldn’t be a defendant.