This article contains graphic references to domestic violence which readers may find disturbing.
Actor Amber Heard has broken down in tears on the witness stand as she said ex-husband Johnny Depp sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle and threatened her life while they were in Australia.
Testifying in a widely watched defamation trial, Heard said she visited Depp in Australia about a month after their wedding in early 2015 when he was filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
On their first evening together, Heard said, a planned dinner at the house where Depp was staying evolved into an argument.
Depp, who she said was drinking, pushed her against the refrigerator and held her there by her throat, Heard told the court.
Heard said she broke free and retreated upstairs, returning later in her nightgown to find Depp still awake.
Actor Johnny Depp at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, on 5 May, 2022. Source: AAP, AP / Jim Lo Scalzo
Depp ripped off her nightgown, leaving her naked, she said, and threw her on a ping-pong table before inserting a bottle into her.
"He was shoving it inside of me over and over," said Heard, who shook her head and sobbed as she described the episode.
She said she kept thinking that she hoped the bottle was not one of the ones that was broken.
During the assault, Depp repeatedly said "I'll f***ing kill you," she told the jury.
"I was scared," Heard said. "I had just married him."
A few months later, back home in Los Angeles, Heard said Depp broke her nose and ripped out chunks of hair in another violent encounter.
Depp, 58, testified earlier in the trial that he never hit Heard and argued that she was the one who was the abuser.
The star of the Pirates of the Caribbean films is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million (A$70 million), saying she defamed him when she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse.
Heard has counter-sued for $100 million (A$141 million), arguing Depp smeared her by calling her a liar.
Amber Heard embraces a member of her legal team at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, on 5 May 2022. Source: AAP, EPA / Jim Lo Scalzo
His attorneys showed evidence of his hospital visit to surgically repair the injury.
Depp acknowledged using blood from his finger to write on the wall to remind Heard of "lies" she had told him.
He described her as "bullying" to him throughout their relationship and said she left him "broken".
The legal case hinges on a December 2018 opinion piece Heard authored in the Washington Post.
The article never mentioned Depp by name, but his lawyer told jurors it was clear Heard was referencing him. The couple's divorce was finalised in 2017 after less than two years of marriage.
Depp, once among Hollywood's biggest stars, said Heard's allegations cost him "everything".
A new Pirates movie was put on hold, and Depp was replaced in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, a Harry Potter spin-off.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
The Men’s Referral Service provides advice for men on domestic violence and can be contacted on 1300 766 491.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
