Amber Heard's sister has been accused of lying after claiming she was not "frightened" of her older sibling.
Ms Heard, 34, has concluded her evidence in her ex-husband Johnny Depp's libel case against The Sunâs executive editor Dan Wootton and the paperâs publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN). The actress has made over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which NGN relies on in its defence of an April 2018 article which branded Mr Depp, 57, a "wife beater". Mr Depp denies the allegations and accuses Ms Heard of orchestrating a #MeToo "hoax" against him.
Ms Heard's younger sister Whitney Henriquez had told the High Court she was not "frightened" of her sibling and denied ever being on the receiving end of any violence.
But Mr Depp's lawyer David Sherborne accused Ms Henriquez of lying on Friday and a bombshell tape was played in court which shows injuries said to have been inflicted on her by Ms Heard. Mr Sherborne said his team was given the video overnight "to explain Amber Heard has a history of violence and attacking people".
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One of Johnny Deppâs lawyers has been accused of sending threatening messages to one of the witnesses in the case, Laura Divenere, after she gave evidence on Friday
Adam Wolanski QC, for The Sun, this morning highlighted a Tweet from Adam Waldman, a US attorney, which read: âIn memoriam, Elon Muskâs decorator Laura Divenere.â
âWe feel that is very sinister and macabre, itâs threateningâ, he said.
David Sherborne, for Depp, said the phrase âIn memoriamâ has been used for months when âMs Heardâs lies have been put to bedâ, and was not intended as a threat by Mr Waldman who is in the courtâs public gallery. He said it was aimed at Ms Divenere when she is said to have been caught out not telling the truth.
Mr Justice Nicol warned it would be âquite wrongâ if tweets about the case could be seen as threatening, adding: âWitnesses who give evidence in this trial must feel they can do so without risk of being threatened.
Amber Heard enters the witness box at the start of her evidence
Wearing a cream blouse and dark pencil skirt, with her long hair braided to one side of her head, Ms Heard affirmed her oath before being taken to her witness statements in the trial bundle by Sasha Wass QC, for NGN.
Ms Heard is due to face three days of questioning over her relationship with Mr Depp.
Johnny Depp arrives at the High Court
Actor Johnny Depp has arrived at the High Court in London for a hearing in his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton.
(PA)
Amber Heard smiles as she arrives at the High Court
The Aquaman actress has arrived at the High Court in London where she is due to face three days of questioning about her relationship with former husband Johnny Depp.
(PA)
Artist Kaya Mar holds an artwork depicting Johnny Depp and Amber Heard outside the High Court in London on Monday
It comes as Amber Heard is due to give evidence against her former husband.
(PA)
Amber Heard made âfraudulentâ allegations of domestic violence against Johnny Depp to âextort and blackmail himâ, a long-standing friend of the actor told the High Court last week
Isaac Baruch, an artist who has known the Hollywood star for 40 years, said Mr Depp told him that Ms Heard âlikes to argue and likes to hitâ and said: âIâm not gonna hit her, I love her.â
Giving evidence by video-link from the US on Friday, Mr Baruch said he saw Ms Heardâs face and did not see âa single markâ on May 22 2016, the day after Mr Depp, 57, allegedly threw his ex-wifeâs mobile phone at her and hit her in the face.
Mr Baruch â who lived rent-free in one of five penthouses in the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles owned by Mr Depp â described the Hollywood star as an âubermenschâ and âan ultimate good guyâ.
He also told the court that Mr Depp called Ms Heard, 34, a âc***â in a text to him âbecause she filed for a fraudulent domestic violence claim to push her hand and extort and blackmail himâ.
Johnny Depp confided in a childhood friend that Amber Heard âlikes to hitâ in the early part of their relationship, the High Court heard last week
Artist Isaac Baruch, who has known Depp since they were teenagers, claimed the actor spoke to him in 2013 about his private life with Heard.
In his evidence to the libel trial, Mr Baruch said Depp had told him: âI donât know what to do - she likes to argue and she likes to hit."
Mr Baruch said he pressed for details and was told: âShe just wants to argue about stuff all the time and then she'll start hitting me."
The artist said he was âkind of surprisedâ by the news, asking if Depp was referring to âplayful hittingâ but the star continued: âShe argues and then she'll just start punching me and wants to fight, I'll try to stop her but she just keeps going to the point where I just stop trying to stop her and say âOK, go ahead do your worst, get it out of your system."
Last week the court heard Amber Heard âhidâ violent abuse by husband Johnny Depp from her friends and entourage
The 34-year-old recorded herself speaking to her former interior designer, Laura Divenere, after taking public her claims of domestic abuse against Depp.
âItâs not your fault, you didnât knowâ, Heard tells Ms Divenere. âI hid it from everyone.. itâs what people do.â
Ms Divenere had made a statement in support of Depp in the US, but told Heard she had been âpressurisedâ into signing it and insisted it was not the truth.
âI knew what was going onâ, Ms Divenere said. âYouâve been living this whole nightmare for four years straight.â
The 19-minute recording was played at the High Court this afternoon as Ms Divenere gave evidence via videolink from Los Angeles.
Amber Heard expected to paint damning portrait of ex-husband as a 'jealous person' who 'doesn't respect women'
Parts of Ms Heardâs witness statement, which have been heard in open court, allege Mr Depp âattacked me a lot of times, on many different occasionsâ and was a âjealousâ person who âdoesnât respect womenâ.
She also says Mr Depp caused her âsignificant injuriesâ and, on occasion, led her to âfear for her lifeâ.
NGNâs lawyers claim that, when Mr Depp âfailed to control his alcohol and substance abuseâ, he âturned his rage and frustration on Ms Heard, berating her and launching into a variety of vile, crude and unreasonable accusationsâ.
The publisher also alleges: âOn such occasions, Mr Deppâs aggression typically descended into physically destructive behaviour, including the use of violence against her.
âHis âwife beatingâ behaviour included throwing objects at her, slapping her across the face, kicking her, gripping her around the throat and threatening to kill her.â
News Group Newspapers expected to request expert evidence about whether images of Amber Heard's injuries were 'manipulated or edited'
Before she begins her evidence on Monday morning, Mr Justice Nicol is likely to hear an application by NGN for permission to call expert evidence about whether images apparently showing injuries to Ms Heard â alleged to have been caused by Mr Depp â have been âmanipulated or editedâ in some way.
Ms Heard is also likely to face questions over allegations that she was having an affair with actor James Franco and Tesla founder Elon Musk while in a relationship with Mr Depp, as well as claims that she âdeliberately smuggledâ two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, into Australia illegally in April 2015.