Los Angeles, June 1 (IANS): Actress Amber Heard was the victim of her estranged husband Johnny Depp’s drunken temper in the past, including a terrifying episode when he attempted to smother her with a pillow, her friend has claimed.

Heard texted the woman during the alleged attack last December, and the concerned friend rushed to the couple’s home, where she claims she discovered Heard battered and bruised, reports pagesix.com. 

“I got to her apartment to find her with a cut and bruised lip, a swollen eye and a chunk of hair missing from the top of her head,” the friend recalled.

“This incident really stuck with me because she confided in me that day that she feared for her life after an intoxicated Johnny tried to suffocate her with a pillow," she added. 

It was hardly the only time Depp, 52, laid his hands on Heard, the friend claimed further.

“I have personally witnessed the aftermath of Johnny Depp’s violent and abusive behaviour towards her on many occasions,” she said.

Depp has been ordered to stay away from Heard after she claimed he hit her in the face with a cellphone, pulled her hair, struck her and screamed at her during a fight. 

Last week, Heard was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp until June 17.