Johnny Depp's lawyer says Amber Heard 'perpetrated serial violence'; she fires back with abuse claims

Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard are both standing by their accusations of abuse toward each other after audio recordings surfaced of the then-couple arguing about physical altercations.

The audio, shared by the Daily Mail and confirmed to USA TODAY by Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman as a real recording from 2015, includes Heard and Depp discussing an incident that got physical.

The two debate the degree to which Heard injured Depp. At one point, Heard tells Depp she was hitting him: "Babe, you're not punched ... I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you're fine. I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you."

At another point, Depp can be heard saying, "I do not want to leave you. I do not want a divorce, I do not want you out of my life. I just want peace. If things get physical, we have to separate."

Heard replied she couldn't promise that she would "be perfect, I can't promise you I won't get physical again."

"God, I (expletive) sometimes get so mad I lose it," she added. "I can (expletive) promise you I can do everything to change."

In a statement to USA TODAY, Waldman noted that Heard "recorded her conversations" with Depp.

“The first confessional tape she made reveals a conversation any real abuse victim will recognize all too well," Waldman added. "It exposes that Ms. Heard perpetrated serial violence against Mr. Depp, and then concocted an elaborate abuse hoax to cover it up. Ms. Heard gives a motive for her violence: Mr. Depp was always trying to 'split' to escape her abuse.”

In a statement to USA TODAY, Heard's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, did not address the audio recordings and did not deny the allegations of physical violence but argued that Heard was also a victim of abuse.

“The fact that a woman fights or talks back does not mean that she has not been the subject of repeated domestic violence and abuse," the statement read. "It’s a myth to say, as Mr. Depp apparently is implying, that if Ms. Heard slapped him, then she can’t also be a victim. That is just not true."

Kaplan shared excerpts from Heard's "formal discovery responses in the Virginia case from more than a month ago," in which the actress said that she used her "body and limbs" and would "throw objects in Mr. Depp's direction" to protect herself when Depp "would violently assault her."

More: Johnny Depp sues Amber Heard for defamation seeking $50 million

Since reaching a divorce settlement in August 2016, Depp and Heard have battled against each other in civil court with allegations of domestic abuse and defamation.

In March 2019, Depp filed a civil lawsuit against Heard seeking $50 million and accusing her of defaming him by setting herself up as a "domestic abuse" victim in an opinion column she published in The Washington Post the previous December.

Heard shot back by filing more than 300 pages of documents, expanding on the abuse allegations she lodged against Depp during their divorce in 2016.

In the documents, Heard claimed Depp regularly beat her up before she married him in 2015 and continued during their 18-month marriage.

More: Johnny Depp claims Amber Heard put out a cigarette on his face early in their marriage

She attached multiple pages of photos of herself with bruises on her face, scars on her arms and hair allegedly torn from her head, plus pictures of wrecked rooms – broken glass and overturned furniture – that she says Depp inflicted on their home. She included screenshots of dozens of text messages describing these incidents at the time, and excerpts of her divorce deposition describing shocking abuse.

Heard's California lawyer, Eric George, in a statement to USA TODAY at the time, said what she had submitted constituted "irrefutable evidence" of the alleged monstrous behavior of Depp, whom she refers to as "the monster" in the documents.

More: Amber Heard donates $7M divorce settlement from Johnny Depp to charity

But Depp went a step further in May 2019, saying that "while mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol," Heard "hit, punched and kicked me. 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."

As evidence, he submitted a photo of his black and puffy eyes and scratches. The actor also detailed an alleged attack by Heard one month after their marriage in Australia during his described efforts to get Heard to sign a post-nuptial agreement. Depp said the conversation resulted in the severing of his fingertip from a shattered glass bottle thrown by his then-wife.

Contributing: Maria Puente and Andrea Mandell, USA TODAY