A marriage counsellor Laurel Anderson, who worked with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard during their stormy marriage, recently testified in the court that both the actors abused each other during their relationship.

As per a report in Insider, she said that Johnny and Amber had been victims of domestic abuse during their childhoods but came to their relationships with different temperaments. She claimed that Depp had been ‘well-controlled’ which changed when he tied the knot with Amber.

The publication quoted her as testifying in the court, “I thought he had been well-controlled for decades. And then with Ms. Heard, he was triggered, and they engaged in what I saw as mutual abuse.”

While testifying in the court, Laurel recalled her numerous therapy sessions with both the stars, each between an hour and 3.5 hours long, as well as several appointments with each of them individually.

She said that the therapy sessions were first dominated by Amber Heard. Laurel said that she “talked over him” and “cut him off,” and that he couldn’t keep up with her rapid-fire way of conversation as a result of which he was overwhelmed.

According to Laurel, Amber began to understand that her communication style made it impossible to have productive conversations, and the relationship seemed to get on steadier ground. However, that didn’t last long.

The therapist said that in December 2015, she held solo sessions with Head where she had bruises on her face, and also showed her photos with pictures of herself with bruises. Laurel testified that she personally didn’t witness physical abuse by either party.

She also said she believed that Amber had been violent towards Depp and would often intuit the physical fights between them.

“It was a point of pride, if she felt disrespected, to initiate a fight,” the therapist told the court characterizing Heard’s remarks from a therapy session.

She said, “I know she led on more than one occasion and started it, to keep him with her. Because abandonment and having him leave was her worst nightmare. I think he may have initiated it on occasions too – that I’m less sure on.”

Laurel testified that in one solo appointment with Heard, she described an incident where Depp was intoxicated and she “socked” him.

“She slapped him because he was incoherent and talking about being with another woman. She initiated that one because, I think, she had felt demeaned or threatened,” Laurel said. According to Anderson, Heard told her that she “escalated” the fights by physically assaulting Depp in order to stop him from leaving.

For the unversed, in 2019, Johnny Deep had filed a lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard alleging that she defamed him by describing herself as a victim of domestic violence in an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post and asked for $50 million in damages.

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