Amber Heard Once Admitted to Hitting Johnny Depp in Audio Recordings Played for Courtroom

Johnny Depp, who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Amber Heard or any woman, was also asked about an incident when he allegedly head-butted her in 2015

Audio recordings played during Johnny Depp's testimony earlier this week show ex-wife Amber Heard admitting to starting a physical fight between them — and downplaying his reaction to the altercation.

On Wednesday, audio recordings of discussions between Heard and Depp were played for the jury in Fairfax, Virginia.

The actor, 58, is suing Heard, 36, for defamation over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote about surviving domestic violence, though she did not name him in the article.

Heard can be heard in the recordings discussing their explosive March 2015 Australia fight that resulted in Depp's right middle finger being severed at the tip. In the audio, Depp is heard saying he wants to remove himself from the situation to deescalate and "escape" the fighting, while Heard is heard urging him to stop running away so they can resolve their dispute.

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In another piece of audio recording, Heard admitted to once having started a physical fight with Depp. "You didn't get punched; you got hit. I'm sorry I hit you like this, but I did not punch you," she told Depp. "I did not f-----g deck you. I f-----g was hitting you. I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was. But you're fine. I did not hurt you. I did not punch you. I was hitting you."

She adds in the audio: "I'm not sitting here bitching about it, am I? You are. That's the difference between me and you. You're a f-----g baby. You are such a baby. Grow the f--- up, Johnny."

On Thursday, when Heard's attorney cross-examined Depp on the stand, more evidence was admitted, including audio of a moment when Depp threatened to cut himself with a knife as Heard begged him to stop. Another video shown to the court showed Depp slamming cabinet doors as he poured himself wine in the morning, while text messages showed the actor joking about killing Heard and having sex with her burnt corpse.

Depp — who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any other woman — was also asked about a December 2015 incident where he allegedly head-butted Heard, who then sustained bruises on her face. He "vehemently" disagreed with the statement that he intentionally head-butted her, arguing that it was an accident while he attempted to restrain her.

"I was trying to restrain Ms. Heard, and once I had restrained her, I would say if she's trying to still move around and kick at me or trying to get loose, any sort of movement when you're like this, your heads are this close together, it's not impossible for them to bump. But a 'head-butt,' that's pretty extreme definition of that," he said.

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Heard has not yet taken the stand to testify. During opening statements last week, her attorney Ben Rottenborn said evidence will show she suffered domestic abuse by Depp that "took many forms," including physical, emotional, verbal and psychological, as well as "sexual violence at the hands of Depp." A spokesperson for Depp denies the allegations, calling them "fictitious."

When discussing the headline used for the online version of Heard's op-ed, the attorney explained that she did not write that headline herself or get to approve it. It read: "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change." However, the attorney claimed Heard has indeed been the victim of sexual violence by Depp.

About the headline, "tragically, it's true," Rottenborn told the courtroom. "Amber did suffer sexual violence at the hands of Depp. ... You will hear in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered. You'll hear that straight from her. She will get on the stand and she will tell you that. It happened."

One of Depp's witnesses, their former marriage counselor Dr. Laurel Anderson, testified that the pair "engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse" with each other. Anderson claimed Heard would sometimes initiate fights in order to "keep him with her" because "abandonment was her worst nightmare." The therapist said she also observed "multiple" small bruises on Heard's face at an in-person meeting.

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Heard and Depp met while making the 2011 movie The Rum Diary and wed in 2015. They broke up in May 2016 when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and the former couple settled their divorce out of court in August 2016.

Back in November 2020, Depp lost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.