Amber Heard’s ex-girlfriend defends actress in past arrest

LOS ANGELES – Amber Heard’s ex-girlfriend said Wednesday the actress was wrongfully accused of domestic violence in 2009.

The comment by Tasya van Ree came after Heard recently filed for divorce from Johnny Depp and claimed he was physically abusive toward her.

Van Ree said she and Heard were involved in an incident in Seattle years ago that has been “misinterpreted and over-sensationalized.”

“I recount hints of misogynistic attitudes toward us, which later appeared to be homophobic when they found out we were domestic partners and not just ‘friends,’” van Ree said in a statement released by Heard’s spokeswoman Jodi Gottlieb.

Heard was arrested in 2009 by police for domestic violence at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2009, said Perry Cooper, a spokesman for the Port of Seattle.

The prosecuting attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges in the case.

Heard and van Ree dated for five years and remain close, van Ree said.

“It’s disheartening that Amber’s integrity and story are being questioned yet again,” she added. “Amber is a brilliant, honest and beautiful woman and I have the utmost respect for her.”

Heard and Depp were married for 15 months before a divorce petition was filed last month.

Heard, who appeared in “The Rum Diary” and “Magic Mike XXL,” said in a Los Angeles court May 29 that Depp had been physically and emotionally abusive throughout their relationship. She appeared with a bruise on her right cheek.

The actress obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, alleging he threw her cellphone at her face, striking her below the right eye during a fight May 21.

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AP writer Gene Johnson contributed to this report from Seattle.