Johnny Depp has found an unlikely ally in his ongoing court battle with Amber Heard — the actress’ “friend” and interior designer!
As you likely know, the former couple has been battling in court over the validity of her allegations of domestic abuse against him. Depp’s legal team has been hard at work submitting new evidence hoping to poke holes in Heard’s account of what went down.
Now the Pirates of the Caribbean star has found some support from Laura Divenere, a self-described “friend” of Heard’s who claims she “never saw Amber injured in any way” during the time the alleged abuse occurred.
Whoa.
Related: Johnny Subpoenas James Franco Over Surveillance Footage With Amber!
According to The Blast, Divenere filed a declaration in the ongoing $50 million defamation case in Fairfax County, Virginia, stating that she “worked for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard as their interior decorator in downtown LA in the Eastern Columbia Building from July 2014 to sometime in 2016.”
In fact, as she stated, she STILL works for Amber! Awkward…
Seemingly doubling down that she is not a friend of Depp’s, the designer added:
“I have been and continue to consider myself a friend of Amber’s. I remain in regular contact with Amber. I have not communicated with Mr. Depp since 2016.”
That clarification makes her next statement all the more powerful: she says she never saw Depp put his hands onthe Aquaman star.
Recalling how she was with Amber during the days after May 21, 2016, when one of the alleged domestic violence incidents took place, Divenere stated:
“I worked with Amber, retrieved packages for her, rode elevators with her, and saw her up close and in person. On none of those days immediately following the abuse claims did I observe any signs of physical abuse or injury, including redness, swelling, cuts, bruising, or damage of any kind. I never saw Amber injured in any way, although I am now aware that she has had many different abuse claims.”
Wow.
Divenere added that she never heard any of Heard’s close friends or family members — including iO Tillett Wright, who was allegedly on the phone with Heard when the physical attack began — mention the alleged abuse.
She explained in the docs:
“I knew and interacted with Amber’s close friends Rocky Pennington, Tillett Wright, and her sister Whitney Heard. None of them ever mentioned any accusation of violence or other abuse against Amber by Mr. Depp.”
Hmmm…
It’s entirely possible Heard, and those who knew about the alleged incidents, were simply keeping it hush-hush. We mean, it’s all too common for victims of abuse to stay silent.
Related: Johnny Accuses Amber Of Severing His Finger During Argument
Still, the fact Heard’s “friend” is giving testimony in support of Depp is hard to ignore — especially since the 33-year-old’s former stylist accused her of lying about a separate incident of violence at the hands of her ex.
As we reported, celeb fashion guru Samantha McMillen disputed Heard’s claim that Depp gave her a black eye in late 2015, testifying:
“On December 16, 2015, I spent much of the day and evening with Amber Heard, preparing her to appear on the James Corden show. I saw her throughout the day of December 16, 2015, in good light, at close range, wearing no makeup. Throughout the day of December 16, 2015, I could see clearly that Amber Heard did not have any visible marks, bruises, cuts, or injuries to her face or any other part of her body. She appeared as a guest on the James Corden show that day.”
Divenere’s testimony is the latest puzzle piece in Depp’s ongoing defamation suit against his ex over a Washington Post op-ed where she wrote about her experiences with domestic abuse.
Depp claims this piece implied he was the abuser, despite not directly accusing him, and his team went on to say Heard’s accounts were “conclusively refuted by two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses, and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera videos.”
In addition to calling Heard’s story “fabricated” and “categorically” false, Depp went as far to claim that Heard was actually physically abusive to him.
Back in May, Johnny claimed in court that “while mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol,” the starlet “hit, punched, and kicked me,” adding:
“She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls, and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me.”
Interestingly enough, Divenere also accused Heard of having a bad temper at times, saying in the declaration:
“I witnessed Amber being verbally abusive towards her former assistant Kate, screaming at her on the phone. Her then-assistant Kate called me several times in tears, very upset, regarding the treatment she received from Amber.”
While Amber is far from the only celeb to make her assistant cry, this testimony as a whole could be very damaging to her case.
Though a court date has been set, there will be a hearing on Friday for Amber’s motion to dismiss the case, which she filed last month.
What do U think about these new claims?
[Image via WENN]
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