The high-profile defamation suit between star divorcees Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is underway in Fairfax County, Virginia, with opening statements on Tuesday detailing violence, trashed homes, and substance abuse.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million for defamation after she penned a 2018 article that he claims insinuated he is a domestic abuser. Heard is counter-suing for $100 million.
Depp’s attorney, Benjamin Chew, argued that Heard’s “lie” about domestic violence and abuse has destroyed the actor’s reputation and career.
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“The evidence will show that Ms. Heard’s false allegations had a significant impact on Depp’s family and his ability to work in the profession he loved,” he said.
Heard’s attorneys maintained her previous graphic claims, detailing them once again, and claimed she has a First Amendment right to express her feelings regarding the experience.
“He has her jammed up against the bar,” Heard’s attorney, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, told the jury. “He has hurled bottles and bottles at her. He has dragged her across the floor on the broken bottles. He has punched her. He has kicked her. He has told her he’s going to f***ing kill her, and he f***ing hates her. He’s pounding at her, pounding at her. And then, he penetrates her with a liquor bottle.”
Heard opening: #JohnnyDepp sexually assaulted #AmberHeard in Australia.
He took 8-10 tablets of ecstacy. The next 3 days were very violent. He has hurled bottles at her, dragged her, punched her….then he “penatrates her with a liquor bottle.”@LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/hL9pCUrPYc— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 12, 2022
Heard’s representation claimed that the article was solely about Heard’s stance on social problems.
“The article isn’t about Johnny Depp,” her attorney, Ben Rottenborn, argued. “The article is about the social change she is advocating.”
They further claimed that freedom of speech “is the central issue in this case.”
Depp’s lawyers disagreed with that characterization of the case, saying, “Ultimately, this trial is about clearing Mr. Depp’s name of a terrible and false allegation.”
They also wholeheartedly rejected any domestic violence allegations, adding that while Depp is “not a perfect person,” he “does not abuse women.”
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They also argued that Heard’s accusations were part of a plot to raise her image and gather publicity. Depp’s attorney, Camille Vasquez, said, “The evidence will show that Ms. Heard used allegations against Mr. Depp to raise her own profile and advance her career.”
This is just the beginning of the six-week trial set to feature testimony from A-list celebrities James Franco and Elon Musk.
This isn’t the first time the celebrity pair have dealt with the court system. In 2016, Heard was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp after alleging domestic violence during their high-profile divorce. However, Heard withdrew the request for a restraining order later that year, and their divorce was settled out of court.
Heard also testified in Depp’s recent unsuccessful libel suit against Britain’s Sun newspaper after they called him a “wife-beater.” The actress told the court, “When I say he was dark, he had a violent and dark way of speaking — the way he talked about our relationship being ‘dead or alive’ and telling me that death was the only way out of the relationship,” and detailed the violence he committed against her. Depp denied her allegations.
