Johnny Depp allegedly tried to smother Amber Heard with a pillow

Amber Heard was the victim of Johnny Depp’s drunken temper in the past, including a terrifying episode when he attempted to smother her with a pillow, her pal told The Post in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

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

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“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.”

It was hardly the only time a boozed-up and ready-to-rumble Depp, 52, laid his hands on her, the pal claims.

“I have personally witnessed the aftermath of Johnny Depp’s violent and abusive behavior towards her on many occasions,” the confidante said of Heard, 30.

But the relationship wasn’t always volatile. At the start of their whirlwind romance, Depp and Heard were the epitome of the Hollywood power couple, sharing red-carpet kisses and singing each other’s praises in public, after meeting on the set of “The Rum Diary” in 2009.

“You can’t help but adore his talent, his passion, his magnetic force that pulls you into all his brilliance,” Heard gushed to reporters during a promotional tour for the film in 2011.

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

- Amber Heard palAt the time, Depp was still with his longtime partner, Vanessa Paradis, and the openly bisexual Heard was seeing photographer Tasya Van Ree.

But in June 2012, Depp and Paradis announced they had amicably separated, and it wasn’t long after that things turned romantic between the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star and his younger paramour.

They took a brief break in early 2013, and Heard was rumored to be hooking up with another beautiful blonde, French model Marie de Villepin.

It didn’t take long for Heard and Depp to reunite, and by April 2013, they were stepping out in public again, holding hands during a Rolling Stones concert in Los Angeles. Nine months later, they got engaged.

“She’s a wonderful girl,” Depp said on the “Today” show in April 2014. “She’s sharp as a tack, a Southern belle and sweet as can be, and very good for me.”

But like Depp, who has admitted to having a “hellish temper,” Heard confessed she’s not always calm and collected.

“Whenever my old friends meet someone I’m involved with romantically, they immediately warn them: ‘She may look refined, but when she’s angry, she can go trailer park really fast,’ ” she told W magazine in May 2014.

“But I’d always rather be passionate than bland. I can’t imagine living a quiet life.”

In December 2014, rumors started that Depp and Heard’s relationship was in trouble.

“There is no rush to marry at the moment,” a source told People. “Johnny is crazy in love with Amber, but there is turmoil in the relationship.”

Still, they tied the knot during a civil ceremony at Depp’s LA home on Feb. 3, 2015, then jetted off to his 45-acre private island in the Bahamas to exchange vows in front of friends and family.

Their days of marital bliss were brief. The very next month, Depp injured his right hand punching a wall during a fierce fight they had in Australia, sources told “Entertainment Tonight.”

The wound was so bad that Depp had to fly back to the US and undergo surgery, which stalled shooting on the fifth “Pirates of the Caribbean” flick for more than a month.

Sources told The Post that their marriage was on the verge of collapse after just three months �" but the couple agreed to stay together for at least a year before walking away.

“Their relationship turned sour almost immediately,” a source said.

“She’s really young and affected by the industry and ‘the scene’ at times.”

Her close relationship with female photographer iO Tillett Wright was also a point of contention, as Depp believed Heard and Wright “were spending too much time together,” a source said.

“He started making her travel with him,” an insider said, “and she started distancing herself from her lesbian friends.”

Heard also began to wonder what she was doing with an aging man like Depp, whose face is marked by years of hard partying.

“Amber was, like, ‘What am I doing with this old man who used to look like Johnny Depp?’ ” another source said.

The couple kept quiet about the behind-the-scenes drama until last week, when Heard filed for divorce, then dropped abuse allegations in court papers.

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Amber Heard leaves court in LA on Friday, May 27, after claiming Johnny Depp physically assaulted her.Photo: Splash News“During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me,” she said in the documents.

She claims that on May 21, Depp hurled an iPhone at her face and pulled her hair after showing up at their home “inebriated and high.”

The court filings include photos of the damage Depp allegedly did to the penthouse apartment that day, including the bottle of wine he supposedly used to smash “everything he could” and a broken picture frame.

Heard also included photos of herself with a bruise under her eye �" an injury she allegedly suffered during the assault.

Painting Depp as a paranoid alcoholic, Heard said in court papers that she lives “in fear that Johnny will return to [our house] unannounced to terrorize me, physically and emotionally.”

A judge granted her a temporary restraining order.

Meanwhile, Depp’s legal team has vehemently denied the court allegations, accusing Heard of coming forward out of pure financial interest.

“Amber is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse,” Depp’s divorce attorney Laura Wasser said in a statement.

“Her current application for a temporary restraining order, along with her financial requests, appears to be in response to the negative media attention she received earlier this week after filing for divorce,” Wasser wrote.

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Johnny Depp performs with his band, Hollywood Vampires, in Germany this past Sunday.Photo: AP“Yet Johnny cannot protect himself or Amber from media scrutiny, and Amber’s anger certainly cannot drive this dissolution proceeding.”

Depp’s reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Heard’s pal’s allegations.

Heard’s lawyers fought back on Tuesday, accusing Depp’s team of dragging her name through the mudand saying that the actress is giving a statement to the LAPD about the alleged abuse.

“Johnny’s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts, as she cannot continue to leave herself open to the vicious, false and malicious allegations that have infected the media,” lawyers Samantha F. Spector and Joseph P. Koenig said in a statement.

“Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny.”

Her lawyers say Heard hopes the LAPD will “conduct an accurate and complete investigation.”

“Hopefully, Johnny will get the help that he so desperately needs,” their statement said

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