A forensic psychologist testified Tuesday that actor Amber Heard suffers from borderline character dysfunction and histrionic character dysfunction, as the civil lawsuit between her and ex-husband Johnny Depp continues to wallow within the couple’s private points.
Depp is suing Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court docket after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Put up referring to herself as “a public determine representing home abuse.” The article doesn’t point out Depp by identify, however his attorneys say the article incorporates ”defamation by implication” as a result of it clearly refers to allegations of home abuse made by Heard when she filed for divorce in 2016.
The psychologist, Shannon Curry, was employed by Depp’s authorized group. She stated she reached her prognosis throughout 12 hours of interviews with Heard, in addition to from reviewing her mental-health data.
Scientific and forensic psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry testifies within the courtroom on the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., April 26, 2022.
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Curry additionally testified that Heard doesn’t undergo post-traumatic stress dysfunction from her relationship with Depp, as Heard has claimed.
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Depp’s group hopes Curry’s testimony bolsters their rivalry that Heard was the aggressor within the couple’s troubled relationship. Depp simply concluded 4 days on the witness stand and testified about Heard’s “want for battle” and her tendency to hound and pursue him throughout arguments when he tried to stroll away and disengage.
The 2 character problems are related, Curry stated. Borderline character is a illness of instability, she stated “pushed by an underlying concern of abandonment.” She stated individuals with the dysfunction “will make determined makes an attempt to forestall that from taking place.”
Proof launched earlier on the trial contains audio clips of Heard begging Depp to not depart, and to stick with her after he indicated a need to interrupt up or separate.
She additionally stated that borderline character dysfunction “appears to be a predictive issue for ladies who implement violence in opposition to their companion.” Depp has stated he’s the one who was a sufferer of home violence, and that Heard hit him on a number of events and threw gadgets like paint cans and vodka bottles at him.
Histrionic character dysfunction, Curry stated, is related to “drama and shallowness,” and a should be the centre of consideration.
She stated there’s a correlation within the dysfunction with people who find themselves bodily enticing and “make the most of their seems to be to get that spotlight.”
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On cross-examination, Heard’s attorneys questioned Curry for potential bias, noting that she had dinner and drinks with Depp and his attorneys at Depp’s home earlier than she was employed. Curry stated it was simply a part of the interview course of.
Heard’s attorneys known as consideration to proof that Heard reported abuse contemporaneously to her therapist and to the couple’s marriage counsellor.
Whereas the libel lawsuit is meant to centre on whether or not Depp was defamed within the article, many of the trial has targeted on ugly particulars of the couple’s transient marriage. Depp has denied ever placing Heard. Heard’s attorneys say Depp bodily and sexually abused her and that Depp’s denials lack benefit as a result of he was usually drunk and excessive to the purpose of blacking out.
Earlier Tuesday, jurors heard testimony from Tara Roberts, who managed Depp’s non-public island within the Bahamas. She testified that she by no means noticed Heard with any form of bruises. Her testimony additionally offered one other window into a number of the extravagances of Depp’s life-style.
She stated she was paid $120,000 to handle the island, the place Depp tooled round on a John Deere utility automobile. The island had a four-person employees, together with Roberts, although Depp was solely there just a few occasions a 12 months. One part of shoreline on the island was dubbed Brando Seashore, for the actor with whom Depp had collaborated prior to now.
Roberts additionally testified about an incident that occurred when Depp and his household had a ultimate tour on a yacht earlier than it was to be offered to creator J.Okay. Rowling. On cross-examination, Roberts acknowledged that Depp handed out face-first within the sand, and that she organized for a helicopter to take some passengers away after the yacht journey turned disagreeable.
Earlier testimony has centred on actions that occurred within the 5 penthouses Depp owned atop the Jap Columbia Constructing in Los Angeles.
The ultimate witness Tuesday, Los Angeles police officer Melissa Saenz, testified about her go to to the constructing in Might 2016, simply days earlier than Heard filed for divorce and confirmed up at a courthouse to hunt a restraining order with a big mark on her face that she says got here from a struggle with Depp that night time.
The officer, testifying via a recorded deposition, stated she noticed that Heard had been crying however noticed no proof of an harm — Depp’s attorneys say Saenz’s testimony is proof that Heard faked her harm to wreck Depp’s status.
Saenz couldn’t recall many particulars of her interactions with Heard that night time, however she did “bear in mind being impressed by the penthouse, how large and exquisite it was.”
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