Featured Image Credit: Court TV
Topics: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard
Simon Catling
As the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard TV trial gets underway earnest, there have already been tears in the witness box as the former neighbour of the feuding former couple made an emotional plea for them to begin the healing process.
The trial began on 11 April, which will see Depp stand to net $50 million or more if he can prove that his former partner defamed him in an article written for the Washington Post, in which she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse.
Opening statements were heard on 12 April, with a personal and most likely ugly trial sure to follow.
It's not taken long for the distress that the saga has had on friends and family, with neighbour Isaac Bucha becoming tearful as he took Depp's side in the conflict.
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Asked if he was angry at Heard, Bucha said: “I want this all to end – her to go heal, him to go heal.
“So many people have been affected by this malicious lie that she started and she [Amber Heard] created," he continued.
“It's not fair, it’s not right what she did, and what happened.
“For so many people to get affected from this, it’s insane, how this happened.”
Depp and Heard will both eventually take to the stand themselves, but Depp's sister has already spoken. Answering questions from Depp's lawyer, she spoke of their childhood and the physical abuse her brother received at the hands of their mother Betty Sue Palmer - but insisted that he never fought back.
She said in court: "Mom would scream, yell at him, she would hit him, call him names, that kind of thing."
Speaking of Heard and Depp's relationship, she said: "On one occasion I was at the office, I had a meeting with Dior who wanted to sit with Johnny and talk about working together.
“Amber had come in and asked if she was interrupting, we said no, Johnny told Amber that I had just had a meeting with Dior and they were interested in him.
“Her reaction to that was that she was in disbelief and sort of disgust, and she said ‘Dior? Why would Dior want to do business with you? They are about class and style and you do not have style.’"
Others expected to give evidence at the trial include British movie star Paul Bettany - who will take the stand for Depp - while James Franco and Elon Musk will be witnesses for Heard.