Amber Heard put Johnny Depp through “years” of physical and verbal abuse — and never leveled claims that he attacked her while they were together, Depp’s former personal assistant claimed Monday.
Stephen Deuters said in a written witness statement that he was “extremely surprised and outraged” when Heard, 34, filed for a restraining order because “Heard was the abuser in the relationship.”
“At no point did Ms. Heard ever mention any physical abuse and I never saw evidence of any injury to Ms. Heard,” he claimed of the “many occasions” he was with her during her relationship with his boss.
“In contrast, Mr. Depp told me on multiple occasions that Ms. Heard had attacked him or abused him physically and verbally.”
Deuters was with the couple “very regularly” and never saw any signs of injury on the “Aquaman” actress, he said in the statement submitted as part of Depp’s libel case against The Sun newspaper.
The first he ever heard of any allegations of abuse came when Heard filed for a temporary restraining order against Depp in 2016, Deuters said.
“I, along with many others, was extremely surprised and outraged when this hit the press,” insisted Deuters, who has worked for the 57-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star since 2004.
“I knew that Ms. Heard was the abuser in the relationship and I was appalled that she would behave in this way.”
Deuters said he was present during some of the 14 times Heard claimed Depp abused her.
The ex-personal assistant also took the stand Monday, where he admitted he was more of a friend than an employee and agreed he was “regarded almost as family” by Depp.
He is also still financially dependent on the star, now as the European president of Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil — which a lawyer for The Sun, Sasha Wass, suggested showed his “loyalty to him has been rewarded.”
“If Mr. Depp or the brand is damaged professionally, you in turn are damaged financially,” Wass stressed, which Deuters acknowledged was true.
He was also accused of regularly buying illegal drugs for the Hollywood star, which he denied.
Deuters told the court he “never” heard Depp refer to women the way he has been accused in court so far, denying he used terms like “slut,” “whore” or “c–t.”
Depp is suing The Sun newspaper over an April 2018 article that called him a “wife-beater,” which he repeatedly denied during five days on the witness stand — accusing his wife of the violence.
Depp is also suing Heard for $50 million in the US for allegedly defaming him in a Washington Post article about domestic abuse. That case is due to be heard next year.
With Post wires