During the opening comments of Johnny Depp’s libel case against Aquaman actress Amber Heard, Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard’s attorneys accused him of “sexual violence.”
Heard’s lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, alleged that Heard was abused in “various forms,” including physical, mental, and psychological assault, in his opening statements, which were televised on CourtTV. The charges were described as “fictitious” and “erroneous” by a Depp spokeswoman in a statement.
Depp, 58, filed the case in response to an op-ed Heard, 35, penned for the Washington Post in 2018. Although Depp was not named in the piece, their bitter 2016 divorce had been in the press for the preceding two years.
The online version of Heard’s op-ed has the following headline: “Amber Heard: I stood up to sexual violence and suffered the wrath of our culture. This must change.” Heard, according to Rottenborn, did not compose the headline herself and was not given final permission. “Tragically, it’s real,” the attorney claimed of the headline.
“Amber was sexually abused by Depp,” Rottenborn stated. “You will hear about the brutality she experienced in the most detailed and frightening terms. You’ll hear it directly from her. She’ll take the stand and tell you what happened.”
Meanwhile, Depp’s publicist in a statement noted, “these false charges were never made at the time of Amber’s allegations in 2016, and only appeared years later when she was sued for defamation after claiming in an op-ed that she was a victim of “sexual assault.” In a defamation action, words matter, and this charge came after that.”
“This continues a pattern of her intricate, false allegations that have continued to shift and expand over time for Hollywood shock value, which Amber has mastered and exploited a major social movement,” the statement read.
Rottenborn remarked that Depp went blackout drunk in Australia in 2015 and “abused and sexually attacked Amber, all because she had the bravery to confront him about his drinking.”
Camille Vasquez, Depp’s attorney, repeated in her opening statement that Heard manufactured her charges to boost her career and reputation during the peak of the #MeToo Movement.
Depp first sued Heard for $50 million in defamation in 2019. Depp alleges in the suit that Heard’s allegations of sexual assault against him were an “elaborate fraud.” Depp claims the op-ed harmed his career. He claims that four days after the op-ed was published, he was dropped from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
The suit alleges that the essay “depends on the core idea that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her,” even though Heard never addressed Depp by name in the article. Depp has denied abusing Heard in the past.
Following her petition in May 2016, Depp and Heard concluded their divorce in January 2017. In February 2015, they married after only 15 months of dating. After an incident in which Heard claims Depp physically assaulted her, Heard was given a temporary restraining order against Depp in May 2016.
Depp was ordered to pay Heard $7 million as part of their divorce settlement, which she opted to gift to multiple charities, including the ACLU, with a “focus to eliminate violence against women.”
The libel lawsuit will be heard in Virginia’s Fairfax County Courthouse over the following six weeks.