Denise Richards’ makeup artist detailed alleged threats hurled at the actress by her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers.
Pamela Brogardi, a beauty professional based in Beverly Hills, California, testified in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday, October 7, as part of Richards’ effort to obtain a permanent restraining order against her ex, 53, Us Weekly can confirm.
Responding to questions posed by Richards’ legal team, Brogardi claimed that Phypers said to Richards, 54, “I’ll break your f***ing legs,” after bursting into a room at his Malibu wellness centre in December 2021 where Brogardi was working on Richards’ glam for the day.
Brogardi, who worked with Richards when she starred on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during seasons 9 and 10 in 2019 and 2020, also alleged that she heard Phypers speak “aggressively” to Richards on multiple occasions and covered up bruising on the actress’ body “at least a dozen times.”
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Recalling an alleged incident that occurred “between 2020 and 2022” when she sighted multiple, “maybe half the size of my palm,” thigh bruises, Brogardi claimed Richards “was scared” when she confronted her about it. “She seemed like she was scared and feared for her life,” Brogardi said. “She was very scared that night. He didn’t care if anyone was around or not. He went after her and that’s what scared her.”
Brogardi, who acknowledged that she was “like a sister to Richards” during cross examination by Phypers’ lawyers, noted that she did not see Phypers strike Richards at any stage. “I didn’t see with my eyes [but] I have a good senses,” Brogardi said after her bruising sighting claims against him. “I can assure you, if she [Richards] said this is how it happened, that’s how it happened,” Brogardi said.
Brogardi’s testimony comes after Richards took to the stand earlier on Tuesday to discuss the alleged abuse she experienced at the hands of Phypers, who filed to divorce Richards on July 7. (Richards did not publicly address Phypers’ filing at the time but was granted a temporary restraining order against him nine days later.)
Richards’ legal battle against Phypers, which reached day two on Tuesday, is seeking to transition the restraining order into a permanent 100-yard restriction enforced against her ex for the next five years. Richards claimed during her testimony that Phypers abused her while she was recovering from a tummy tuck and breast implant surgery in May. “I didn’t feel pain from my drain site prior to him [Phypers] hitting me and jamming me into the toilet paper holder,” Richards alleged in response to a question asked by Phypers’ lawyer.
Brogardi recalled multiple incidents while speaking in court, including a trip to Atlanta “around October 2022 to November 2022” when she was hired as Richards’ makeup artist on the set of a film. Brogardi alleged that Phypers, who joined his ex on the trip, became “pretty heated” after realizing he couldn’t fit a suitcase into Richards’ loaned Ferrari.
The makeup artist claimed that from behind a hotel room door, she heard the former couple arguing. “I heard a lot of cursing about her not f***ing listening to him … I specifically remember him calling her a f***ing bitch” and [being] mad about her not listening to him when he said not to pick her up in the car,” Brogardi alleged.
During cross examination over the alleged Atlanta incident by Phypers’ lawyers, Brogardi said she was not at the airport herself and did not physically witness an altercation between the former couple. She stated she did not call the police or security officials at the time.
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Brogardi also discussed allegedly overhearing an earlier expletive-filled argument in November 2021 prior to a Los Angeles red carpet event before recalling an alleged incident in “January or June 2022” that saw her apply makeup to a significant bruise. “[Richards] lifted up her glasses and I saw one of the worst black eyes I had ever seen,” Brogardi claimed, adding that Richards seemed, “sad, embarrassed [and] carried shame” as a result of the black eye.
“I asked her [how she got it] … she told me they had gotten into an argument and Aaron hit her but he was very apologetic about it,” Brogardi alleged. “She was almost protecting him.”
Brogardi noted that Richards showed a similar sentiment when explaining the moment that she allegedly overheard Phypers threaten to break her legs. “[Richards] sometimes has a way of excusing bad behavior … acts like he’s joking,” Brogardi said. “She was used to it.”
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Phyers has denied that he abused Richards during the pair’s relationship. He previously told Us in a statement, “These accusations are completely false and deeply hurtful. Denise and I, like many couples, have faced our share of challenges, but any suggestion of abuse is categorically untrue. I have always tried to approach our marriage with love, patience, and respect. I ask for privacy as we navigate personal matters, and I hope that the public and media will refrain from spreading harmful and baseless claims.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
