Kate James' testimony paints Heard as the violent party and Depp as the peaceful one.
Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard, for defamation for penning the Washington Post op-ed in which she wrote about domestic abuse and violence. Depp has not been mentioned in the article by name but his attorneys are calling the article "defamation by implication." In the article, she wrote about being a victim of domestic abuse in 2016 and how she felt the wrath of women who speak up about abuse. She had alleged that Depp had physically and then sexually assaulted her. Depp claims that these accusations are false.
Taking to the witness stand during the trial was a former personal assistant to Heard who worked with her from 2012 to 2015. She has stated that all of Heard's claims of physical abuse are false. Kate James testified in a video deposition saying she never saw Heard suffer at the hands of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. She did, however, share her own experience working with Heard who once spat in her face when James asked for a higher salary. She also shared how the Aquaman actress would go off into screaming fits of blind rage, send incoherent text messages at 4 a.m., and was also often drunk and high on illegal drugs, as reported by The Associated Press.
Kate James testifies that she never believed #AmberHeard's stories of abuse by #JohnnyDepp. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/mF6smzQDUc
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 14, 2022
James also noted that when she met Depp, he gave her the opposite impression. She recalled how he was very calm, almost shy, “like a total Southern gentleman.” There have been various contradictory statements coming from both parties. Depp was accused of violence after intoxication by Heard's representatives who maintained that his denial did not mean anything since he would black out from time to time and not remember his outburst. James' testimony paints Heard as the violent party. According to her, Depp was the peaceful one. “Her poor sister was treated like a dog that you kicked, basically,” James said about Heard who would frequently get intoxicated and was verbally abusive to her own mother and sister.
Kate James recalls one verbal abuse incident with Amber Heard:
— Sienna (@winonasrider) April 14, 2022
"I was standing in her office, she put her face approximately 4 inches to my face, she was spitting in my face telling me how I dare asking for the salary I was asking for."
In the courtroom, Heard was smirking. pic.twitter.com/5Eq7ZE9UGU
James even shared instances during her time as Heard's assistant where she witnessed the 35-year-old actress' “blind rage.” She said Heard was a “very dramatic person” who was deeply insecure in the relationship. She would often call James to cry and complain about Depp, she claimed. “I remember one time she called me when she was alone in New York City, and she was crying and walking around the streets,” James recalled, adding that she had asked Heard to go inside. “I was worried that the paparazzi might take a photo of her.”
Heard's attorneys brought up a text Depp had sent to James after his divorce with Heard was finalized. The text read: "Come over for a spot of purple and we’ll fix her flabby ass nice and good." James explained: “This is the way he writes. It’s very random and you don’t sort of question it. ... He writes in a very abstract way.” When asked if he meant to call her for some wine and "fix her" meant Heard, James said she did not want to speculate. When the attorneys claimed she had "nothing but animosity" towards Heard after her employment with her ended, she denied it and said, "Any close relationship has ebbs and flows, it's pretty standard. Things happen and life goes on."
Kate James on how #JohnnyDepp spoiled her son … pic.twitter.com/ftiF3X09oo
— ReemDepp - Johnny Depp Deserves Justice (@ReemDepp) April 14, 2022