Johnny Depp, Amber Heard trial: Actor's sister takes witness stand

Johnny Depp's sister, Christi Dembrowski, teared up during her witness testimony on Tuesday while discussing the death of her and Depp's mother, as well as Depp's divorce.

She testified that Heard filed for divorce against Depp shortly after their mother's death and Depp's movie premier in 2016.

"It made me sick, actually," Dembrowski said upon hearing news of the divorce filing. "It really made me feel ill. It made me sad, frustrated."

Dembrowski testified earlier that she was not entirely confident in Depp's decision to marry Heard, and that Heard had told her that Depp liked when she was "feisty."

"I just kept saying…'This kind of fighting is not normal,'" Dembrowski recalled.

Christi Dembrowski, Johnny Depp's older sister. (Court TV pool camera)

Christi Dembrowski, Johnny Depp's older sister, alleged Tuesday during Depp's defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, that their mother physically and emotionally abused their family.

She added that despite the alleged abuse, Johnny never hit their mother and would often just leave the room when emotions ran high.

Dembrowski described Depp as her "best friend" when they were growing up together in Kentucky.

The first witness in Johnny Depp's defamation trial against Amber Heard will take the stand Tuesday afternoon after the jury's lunch break.

Depp's and Heard's attorneys gave opening statements for over two hours on Tuesday morning.

Johnny Depp in court. (Court TV pool camera)

Amber Heard's attorney, Elaine Bredhoft, detailed graphic abuse allegations against Johnny Depp during her opening statements on Tuesday.

Bredhoft described various allegations of abuse from Depp's and Heard's marriage, which began in 2015 and ended in 2017, that involved the actor allegedly "kicking," "punching," and throwing objects at Heard.

Bredhoft also described Depp as "delusional" and "paranoid," claiming that he would drink and take drugs before allegedly "assaulting" Heard on various occasions.

The attorney said video and photo evidence of the alleged abuse will be shown to the jury over the course of the trial.

Amber Heard's attorney, Benjamin Rottenborn, gives his opening statement. (Court TV pool camera)

Amber Heard's attorney, Benjamin Rottenborn, said in his opening statements Tuesday that the actress will take the stand and detail the "graphic and horrifying terms" of her relationship with ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Rottenborn mentioned one instance of alleged abuse in which Depp "kicked" Heard in the back on a private jet, calling the actor an "obsessed husband hellbent on revenge."

Depp’s career is "in freefall" due to "problems he is responsible for" and "choices that he made," the attorney said, adding that his behavior was "fueled" by financial strain.

Heard received a temporary restraining order against Depp in 2016, but after their divorce was settled in 2017, she dropped the order, according to the Associated Press.

Amber Heard in court. (Court TV pool camera)

Amber Heard's attorney, Benjamin Rottenborn, asked a Virginia jury during his opening statement on Tuesday to determine whether the actress's 2018 op-ed saying she is "a public figure representing domestic abuse" is "protected free speech."

"The answer is very clearly yes," he said.

He also read part of the opinion piece published in The Washington Post during the height of the #MeToo movement, which does not directly name Depp.

"The article isn't about Johnny Depp," Rottenborn added, but about "social change" and the First Amendment.

Benjamin Chew, Johnny Depp's lawyer, claimed during his opening statements on Tuesday that surveillance video shows Amber Heard's sister throwing a "fake punch" at the actress in 2016 during the same week a 911 call was made alleging an assault at their address.

The video apparently further shows the sisters laughing about the fake punch, Chew said.

The attorney added that once police arrived at the scene in 2016, they did not find signs of abuse on Heard and that there was "no crime."

"Would a sister ever joke with an alleged victim after being punched by her husband?" Chew asked.

Johnny Depp in a Virginia courtroom. (Court TV pool camera)

Johnny Depp's legal team argued in a Virginia courtroom on Tuesday morning that his ex-wife, Amber Heard, "painted herself as the innocent victim of abuse" in her 2018 op-ed published in the Washington Post.

Heard did not directly name Depp in the op-ed.

"The evidence will show that that was a lie and that remains a lie," one of his attorneys, Benjamin Chew, said Tuesday of Heard's allegations in the op-ed. He added that "Hollywood studios" don't want to face the backlash of hiring an actor accused of domestic abuse, which can "devastate" a career and a family.

Camille Vasquez, another attorney representing Depp, later argued that Heard "manipulated" Depp and "berated" him.

Depp sued Heard for $50 million in 2019. Opening statements in the trial began Tuesday morning in Fairfax.

Johnny Depp arrives at Virginia courthouse for defamation trial (Fox News)

Jonny Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, arrived at a Virginia courthouse on Tuesday to hear opening statements in Depp's defamation case against Heard.

Several police cruisers and a small group of fans were waiting outside the courthouse as Depp arrived. Heard pulled up to the building minutes later.