Amber Heard steps out after news of her 2009 domestic violence charge surfaces
Amber Heard isn't keeping a low profile.
The 30-year-old actress was snapped running errands in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the same day ET confirmed that she was arrested and booked in 2009 for Assault in the Fourth Degree - Domestic Violence, a misdemeanor offense, against her then-girlfriend, photographer Tasya van Ree, though charges were never filed. Heard is accusing her estranged ex, Johnny Depp, of physically abusing her throughout their relationship.
Wearing jeans, a simple white t-shirt and a black jacket, Heard looked somber as she covered up in a hat and sunglasses.
The prosecuting attorney's office declined to file criminal charges against Heard in September 2009, since both Heard and van Ree, 40, lived in California, and Heard was arrested in Seattle, Washington. According to TMZ, the two got in an argument at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which triggered the arrest. Heard allegedly grabbed and struck van Ree in the arm, which upset her.
Still, Heard's friend -- writer and TV host iO Tillett Wright, who called 911 to report Depp's alleged abuse in May -- went on the offensive on Monday, passionately defending the actress.
"How much evidence does a woman need to present?!" Wright tweeted. "She has photos, texts, witnesses, and filed a restraining order... This culture of victim blaming makes me sick. I'm a witness. I'm here. I'm standing up. I can't take any more of this witch hunt."
Depp, 52, has yet to directly respond to Heard's allegations against him. His divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, claimed in court documents that Heard is "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse."
The actor's close friends and family are also defending him. Depp's ex and the mother of his two children, Vanessa Paradis, penned a letter slamming Heard's allegations.
"He is a sensitive, loving and loved person, and I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations being made are outrageous," Paradis wrote. "In all the years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive with me and this looks nothing like the man I live with for 14 wonderful years."
But after Depp's friend, comedian Doug Stanhope, wrote that Depp was being "blackmailed" by Heard in a guest column published by TheWrap.com, the actress filed a defamation lawsuit against Stanhope. According to court documents obtained by ET, Heard claimed that Stanhope "orchestrated a plot to write an article, which was published at TheWrap.com, which falsely accuses plaintiff Amber Heard of 'blackmail' and other criminal behavior towards her husband, Johnny Depp, from whom she is seeking a divorce."
In the papers, Heard added that the allegations in the article "have caused and will continue to cause her tremendous harm."
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