Amber Heard "Initiated Fights" With Johnny Depp And "Would Strike Him" Due To Her Abandonment Issues, According To Their Therapist
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp recently went through a very public divorce in 2016, and the whole world watched as the abuse allegations came pouring out of Amber.
Soon enough, it became clear that Amber was just as abusive towards Johnny, if not more. It came to light that Amber actually fabricated the abuse and staged much of the abuse that she claimed was from Johnny. He is now suing his ex-wife for defamation in the amount of $50 million. The lawsuit just began this week in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's Therapist Says Amber "Initiated Fights" with Johnny
A therapist who worked with the now-divorced couple in 2015 has been called to testify in the defamation case. Laurel Avis Anderson had several sessions with Amber and Johnny between October and December 2015, and she testified via video deposition that was recorded in February and played for the jury on Thursday morning. She confirmed that Amber indeed initiated the abuse many times, but she wasn't the only one guilty of getting physical.
"I know she led (the fights) on more than one occasion and started it to keep him with her because abandonment and having him leave was her worst nightmare," Dr. Anderson said. "Ms. Heard reported that it was a point of pride to her, if she felt disrespected to initiate a fight. Her father had beaten her, she was not going to end. If he was going to leave, she would strike him to keep him there. She would rather be in a fight than have him leave."
According to Dr. Anderson, Amber had a fear of abandonment, and she would continue the abuse just so Johnny would stay with her. She also said that Johnny had not been abusive in previous relationships over the last few decades.
"He had been well controlled for almost 20, 30 years and both (Depp and Heard) were victims of abuse in their homes. I thought he'd been well controlled for decades and with Ms. Heard he was triggered, and they engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse," the therapist said.
Dr. Anderson said Johnny was having "difficulty in the sessions" because he found it hard to talk to his then-wife. "Ms. Heard had a jackhammer style of talking," she recalled. "She was very amped up. He had trouble talking at a similar pace. He was cut off a lot. I'm guessing this is what it was. This is how he didn't have a voice. He couldn't talk with her rapid-fire way of conversation, so he was really overwhelmed."
She said they loved each other and knew they were engaging in unhealthy behavior, but just found it very hard to stop it in its tracks. She also said that Amber came to her on December 17, 2015 with bruises under her eyes.
Prior to that, in June 2016, Dr. Anderson said she had a conversation with Johnny in which he called their relationship "chaotic" and "violent."
“I agreed,” Anderson said. “She initiated fights. She started violence. She rose to the challenge if he started first. In my opinion that had been established throughout the relationship – that she fought as hard as he did. And he tried to deescalate far more than I think she did."
She concluded that there was "mutual abuse" and Amber often "triggered" Johnny.