Johnny Depp's Security Guard Testifies He Saw Amber Heard Punch the Actor in the Face

Johnny Depp's security guard said the actor sustained a "nice little shiner"

One of Johnny Depp's security guards says he witnessed Amber Heard punch the actor in the face during their marriage.

Travis McGivern testified Monday via live video link during Depp's ongoing defamation trial against his ex-wife. McGivern elaborated on some of the arguments he overheard between Depp and Heard after they returned home in March 2015 from Australia, where the infamous severed finger incident happened.

The security guard, who's still employed by Depp, recalled a "relatively peaceful conversation" that devolved into a "louder" and "more volatile" discourse. He said Heard threw a Red Bull can at Depp during the incident, leading McGivern to stand near Depp as the "verbal onslaught continued from both of them."

"Mr. Depp was giving as good as he got at that point," said McGivern. "He was angry and agitated." The security guard added that he blocked a purse thrown by Heard too, and that the Aquaman actress "tried to spit on" Depp amid the "verbal vitriol from both of them."

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An "upset" Depp then "rearranged" Heard's closet, as McGivern put it, by causing disarray and throwing some of her stuff down a staircase. When Heard, along with her sister Whitney, returned to the penthouse, she and Depp were both "agitated," McGivern said. He recalled feeling it was time to remove Depp from the escalating situation.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fist and an arm come across my right shoulder and I heard and saw a closed fist contact Mr. Depp in the left side of his face. That was Ms. Heard's fist," he said. Adding of the actor's reaction,' he said: "The initial look on his face kind of mirrored mine, kind of a look of shock. Like, 'What just happened? Where did that come from?' At that point, I wasn't gonna let Mr. Depp get hit any more so I moved him down the last flight of stairs to the lower level and told him, 'We are leaving.' It wasn't up to him anymore. Just for his safety."

He said he saw a "nice little shiner" on Depp's face afterward that was "swollen and red" but not "black and blue yet."

During cross-examination, Heard's attorney asked whether Depp was "reaching for Amber's hair while he was trying to hit her" in that incident. McGivern said the attorney's description of the incident was "not correct." The lawyer also asked if it was true that Heard only punched Depp after he shoved her sister that day. McGivern denied that as well.

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Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 36, for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in which she opened up about surviving domestic violence, though she didn't mention him by name.

The actor has testified that his "goal is the truth" as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets. Ahead of the trial, Heard — who is expected to take the stand later this week — said in a statement that "hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world."

The Aquaman actress' attorney Ben Rottenborn told the courtroom in opening statements that Heard suffered domestic abuse by Depp that "took many forms," including physical, emotional, verbal and psychological. He added that she "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."

A spokesperson for Depp denied the allegation, calling it "fictitious" and "for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement."

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

A video played by Heard's legal team that she once filmed showed Depp slamming cabinet doors in their kitchen one morning, and another piece of audio showed the actor threatening to cut himself with a knife as Heard begged for him to stop.

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Additionally, in audio recordings played by Depp's legal team, Heard admitted to having started a physical fight, and she argued with him that she didn't "punch" him but was "hitting" him.

"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."

Heard added 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."

One of Depp's witnesses, their former marriage counselor Dr. Laurel Anderson, previously testified that Depp and Heard engaged in "mutual abuse" with each other. Anderson said she also observed "multiple" small bruises on Heard's face at an in-person meeting.

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.