Amber Heard to be cross-examined by Johnny Depp's legal team as defamation trial resumes

The 'Aquaman' actress will return to the witness stand on Monday

Actor Amber Heard testified that her ex-husband repeatedly struck her. Reuters

Actor Johnny Depp spent the majority of his ex-wife's testimony doodling.

Actor Amber Heard testified that the beginning of her relationship with Johnny was 'magical'. AP

Actor Amber Heard said that Johnny Depp lavished gifts on her, including a horse. AP

Actor Amber Heard testified that she declined accepting a horse from Johnny Depp. AP

US actor Johnny Depp returns to the courtroom after a lunch break. AFP

Actor Amber Heard testified that she worked in a soup kitchen and with deaf children as a teen-ager in Texas. EPA

Actor Amber Heard convenes with her legal team at lunch break before taking the stand. EPA

Actor Johnny Depp arrives at Fairfax County Circuit Court during his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard in Fairfax, Virginia. Reuters

Depp greets his legal team as he arrives at Fairfax County Circuit Court, where he is suing his ex-wife for libel. EPA

Depp talks to his lawyer in the courtroom. Pool Photo via AP

A pile of gummy bears sits on Depp's table in the courtroom. Reuters

Depp is reflected in a courtroom monitor while listening to an audio recording. AFP

Actress Amber Heard arrives at Fairfax County Circuit Court. Reuters

Heard speaks with her lawyer in the courtroom. Pool Photo via AP

Heard (C) stands with her legal team at Fairfax County Circuit Court, where she is being sued by her ex-husband Johnny Depp. EPA

Clinical and forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes gives evidence during the case. Reuters

Forensic psychologist Dr Dawn Hughes testified as the first defense witness for actress Amber Heard. AP

Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard returns to the witness stand on Monday as the celebrity couple's defamation trial resumes in a Virginia courtroom after a one-week hiatus.

Heard's attorneys are expected to wrap up their questioning of the actress, 36, before turning her over to Depp's legal team for what is expected to be a gruelling cross-examination.

The first four weeks of the multi-million dollar defamation case being heard by a seven-person jury in Fairfax, near Washington, have exposed the couple's volatile relationship in excruciating detail.

In her two days of testimony, a frequently tearful Heard accused Depp of becoming a physically abusive "monster" when he had been drinking and abusing drugs and of being obsessively jealous of her co-stars.

The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial continues into its 15th day. AP

Heard and Depp in the courtroom. AP

Spectators fill the courtroom before the start of the Depp v Heard defamation trial. AFP

Actress Amber Heard takes the stand for day two of evidence. EPA

Evidence presented in the $50 million Depp v Heard defamation trial shows a photo of actor Johnny Depp passed out. EPA

Evidence shown during the trial. EPA

A photo shows Depp passed out on a floor. EPA

Judge Penney Azcarate speaks with lawyers during the trial. EPA

Heard becomes emotional as she speaks in the courtroom. AP

Johnny Depp's latest supply of sweets. Reuters

Heard said that her ex-husband once kicked her to the floor of a plane with his boot. AFP

Heard said Johnny Depp tried to control what roles she took. Reuters

Depp leaves for a recess. AFP

Depp insists that her never harmed ex-wife Heard. EPA

A photo showing Depp falling asleep while sitting up appears on a monitor. EPA

Heard said her ex-husband's handlers and staff enabled his behaviour by doing nothing. EPA

Evidence of Depp's abuse used in court by Heard's defence team. EPA

Evidence in the Depp v Heard defamation trial. EPA

Depp arrives at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse. AFP

Heard filed for divorce after 15 months of marriage. EPA

Heard and Depp met when they were cast in 'The Rum Diary'. Reuters

Heard and Depp in better times. AP

Heard said that after the Met Gala, she believes Depp broke her nose. Reuters

Heard at the premiere of 'Aquaman'. AP

"He hated, hated James Franco," she said.

Depp, during his four days on the witness stand, denied ever striking Heard and claimed she was the one who was frequently violent.

During a particularly heated argument between the couple in Australia, an "irate" Heard severed the tip of one of his fingers by throwing a vodka bottle at him, Depp said.

Heard alleged that Depp sexually assaulted her with a bottle during the fight which occurred in March 2015, a month after their marriage.

He then used blood from his severed finger to write messages on walls and mirrors throughout the home where the couple had been staying during filming of the fifth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, she said.

Closing arguments on May 27

Depp, 58, brought the suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".

Heard, who had a starring role in Aquaman, did not name Depp in the op-ed, but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking $50 million in damages.

The Texas-born Heard countersued, asking for $100m and claiming she suffered "rampant physical violence and abuse" at his hands.

Judge Penney Azcarate has scheduled closing arguments in the case for May 27, after which it will go to the jury.

Depp's lawyers have put experts on the stand who testified that he has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $22.5m for a sixth instalment of Pirates.

Depp filed the defamation complaint in the US after losing a separate libel case in London in November 2020 that he brought against The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater".

Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard met in 2009 on the set of The Rum Diary and were married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalised two years later.