Amber Heard had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of sexual violence and domestic abuse she endured while in a relationship with her ex-husband Johnny Depp, a psychologist testified on Tuesday morning. According to HuffPost, Dawn Hughes was hired by Heard's legal team to present the actress's PTSD diagnosis and dispute the diagnosis of the psychologist hired by Depp's lawyers, Dr. Shannon Curry, who alleged that The Stand actress exaggerated her PTSD symptoms and suffered from a borderline personality disorder (BPD) and a histrionic personality disorder (HPD).

Depp is accusing his ex-wife Heard of falsely claiming that she was the victim of domestic abuse in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed article. Depp took the stand first in the televised defamation trial. After Depp's lawyers rested their case on Tuesday, a judge rejected a motion from Heard's lawyers to dismiss the case, arguing that Depp had failed to make his case as a matter of law. But the judge, Penney Azcarate, said that Depp only needed to provide a "scintilla" of evidence backing his claims in order for the trial to continue, according to the law. Thus, the case proceeded, and Dr. Hughes was the first witness to take the stand on Heard's behalf, testifying that there is corroborating evidence of the many instances of abuse, including "apologies and admissions made by Depp to Heard and admissions he made to friends in text messages about his bad behavior when he drinks." In some instances, there is contemporaneous proof from the medical documentation of Heard's therapist at the time of the incidents.

Depp said in court that he never abused anyone but himself, and Heard was often the aggressor in their relationship, routinely hitting him and throwing things at him. Indeed, in Heard's evidence, she admits to calling Depp names and pushing and shoving him. But there is limited reporting from news outlets on what perpetuated these Heard's incidents of violence against Depp, only a comment from Dr. Hughes mentioning that Depp used violence to intimidate and threaten Heard's safety, leaving unanswered questions about battered women's syndrome or common couple violence.

Amber Heard Had PTSD Symptoms While Filming Aquaman 2

Amber Heard as Mera in Aquaman.
Warner Bros.

Dr. Hughes testified that much of Depp's violence stemmed from his jealousy. He wouldn't allow the actress to perform nude scenes and would accuse her of affairs with co-stars like Billy Bob Thornton and James Franco. When Heard would work on a film, Depp would call people on set and say he "had eyes" there to report on his wife's behavior. And Hughes said that Heard, who identifies as bisexual according to treatment notes used as evidence at trial, faced double the scrutiny from Depp because of her identity. "Amber got accused of women hitting on her, and she got accused of men hitting on her," Hughes said Depp allegedly even penetrated the actress with a bottle because of her interaction with a woman.

The psychologist also told the court that Heard suffered from PTSD symptoms while filming Aquaman 2 due to "intimate partner violence." According to the Mirror, while being cross-examined by Depp's legal team, Dr. Hughes said that Heard had a "number of PTSD symptoms while she was filming Aquaman 2," which is set for release next year. The PTSD "interfered with her ability to really organize a lot of resources for herself in order to go forward and film," she added. "She has to continue to work even though she has a panic attack, even though she has intrusive recollections of the trauma, even though she's having heart palpitations and sweaty palms when something comes into her mind. It doesn't stop her from doing what she needs to do, but it does interfere."