Amber Heard Vs. Johnny Depp: Libel Case Over, Defamation Suit Ongoing
Johnny Depp alleges he was physically abused by Amber Heard and the internet has gone crazy.
This article is more than 2 years old
In 2015 28-year-old actress Amber Heard married 51-year-old actor Johnny Depp. In May of 2016 Heard filed for divorce and then filed a domestic violence restraining order against Depp. The media went crazy and a campaign to #CancelDepp ensued, accusing him of being a domestic abuser and for a time costing him work.
Fast forward to 2020 and everything has changed. Depp filed a defamation lawsuit against Heard which alleges she lied about his physical abuse against him and that she, in fact, was the abuser. In addition to the defamation case, Depp filed a libel case against the newspaper The Sun for publishing her allegations.
The lawsuit filed by Depp against The Sun has reached a verdict. British courts found The Sun had not committed libel, because their accusation that Johnny Depp is a wife beater is true. Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard is ongoing.
Elon Musk Involved With Amber Heard
Telsa mogul Elon Musk has now been dragged into Johnny Depp’s defamation case against Amber Heard. A person purporting to be Amber Heard’s best friend claims that Heard and Elon Musk had a threesome with model/actress/singer Cara Delevingne in Johnny Depp’s Penthouse.
Further there are allegations from a concierge that he saw Elon Musk and Amber Heard going up to Johnny Depp’s suite in 2016 while the couple were still married.
Elon Musk is going on the record to say all of this is false, and once more he’s challenging Johnny Depp to a fight… sort of?
Here’s what he said to the New York Times first: “I definitely was not having an affair with Amber while she was married to Johnny, this is totally false. We did not have the threesome, you know. So I think people think these things are generally more salacious than they are.“
Then in reference to a text read in court in which Johnny Depp threatened to cut off a piece of Elon Musk’s anatomy, the SpaceX founder had this to say, jokingly: “If Johnny wants a cage fight, just let me know.” I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that even if they wanted to, neither of this guys can throw a decent punch.
Elon Musk has further spoken out on these allegations and here’s what he has to say according to Page Six: “Cara and I are friends, but we’ve never been intimate. She would confirm this. Also, I wish to confirm again that Amber and I only started going out about a month after her divorce filing. I don’t think I was ever even in the vicinity of Amber during their marriage! Regarding this lawsuit, I would recommend that everyone involved bury the hatchet and move on.“
Surveillance tape of Musk and Heard together in the garage of Depp’s building has been submitted as evidence. Reportedly, in the video Heard is wearing a swimsuit and the two can be seen “getting cozy” in the elevator.
Along with the tape this accusation was filed with the court…
“Only one calendar month after Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard were married—while Mr. Depp was out of the country, filming in March 2015—Eastern Columbia Building personnel testified that Ms. Heard received Musk ‘late at night’ at Mr. Depp’s penthouse… Specifically, Ms. Heard asked staff at the Eastern Columbia Building to give her ‘friend Elon’ access to the building’s parking garage and the penthouse elevator ‘late at night,’ and they testified that they did so. Building staff would then see Ms. Heard’s ‘friend Elon’ leaving the building the next morning.“
Amber Heard Claims She Was Held Hostage
As part of a statement filed in Johnny Depp’s libel case, Amber Heard claims he held her hostage for 3-days. Here’s her description of what happened (via Deadline)…
“The best way I can describe what happened in Australia is that it was like a three-day hostage situation. We were due to be there for three days on our own, but it was only when I arrived that I realized I was trapped in this remote place without any means to leave and that Johnny had already been using and had a bag of drugs…
Over the course of those three days, there were extreme acts of psychological, physical, emotional and other forms of violence. It is the worst thing I have ever been through. I was left with an injured lip and nose and cuts on my arms.”
At some point he pulled me around by my neck and pushed me down against the bar, I was against the bar, naked, bent over backwards, my back against the marble. He was pressing so hard on my neck I couldn’t breathe. I was trying to tell him that I couldn’t breathe. I remember thinking he was going to kill me in that moment.”
– -Text From Amber Heard’s Witness Statement
It was at some point during this period when Johnny Depp’s finger was cut off, but Amber Heard says she doesn’t know when that happened and she didn’t see it cut off. The next day after Depp was gone she says she found a nightgown she’d been wearing…
“There were pieces of it wrapped round something and I realized it was the steak I had planned to cook. He had ripped the gown into pieces and put raw meat in it. He had also gone around and painted on all my clothes in the closet. He had taken a lot out of them and put them in the tub and smeared paint on them. And he had hidden more bits of raw meat in places, like in the bedroom closet. It was really messed up.”
– -From Amber Heard’s Witness Statement
Amber Heard’s Poop In Johnny Depp’s Bed
Court documents from the lawsuit are reported to further allege that Heard even went so far as to defecate on Johnny Depp’s bed. The documents say, “Among other violent acts, Ms. Heard punched me repeatedly in the face as I lay in bed reading after the party, leaving me with an egg-shaped swelling under my left eye,” As evidence of this claim the documents are reported by Meaww to include a photo of Depp’s bruised face.
Now in recent court statements it has been revealed that Johnny Depp also allegedly engaged in some improper bathroom use to get back at Amber Heard. According to The Sun Amber Heard has now alleged that Johnny Depp wrote her name in urine. The claim is that he did it, while being escorted from their shared dwelling after their breakup. She says that he ran back inside and tried to write her name in pee on the walls and carpet.
Johnny Depp’s estate manager disputes Amber Heard’s urine claim and says there was no such property damage.
Bizarrely, it appears there is a photo of the alleged bed turd. If you aren’t into looking at biological waste, then go no further.
You’ve been warned, so Here it is….
Whether that is the actual poop in question remains to be determined, but for now that is allegedly the incident in question.
The official documents are then reported to add about the incident, “Heard or one of her friends defecated in my bed as some sort of a sick prank before they left for Coachella together.”
James Franco Testimony
Johnny Depp’s libel trial is now well underway and James Franco is being dragged into it. James Franco starred with Amber Heard in Pineapple Express and at some point during her marriage to Depp was spotted in an elevator. There are allegations that Franco witnessed bruises on Amber Heard’s face which she alleges were caused by Johnny Depp hitting her.
But things got really weird and disturbing when in his testimony Johnny Depp had this to say about James Franco. Depp says he didn’t like Amber being around him because: “She told me many things that were very, very negative about Mr. Franco, that he had tried to kiss her and made sexual advances towards her on the previous film they had made together. She said he was a creep and a rapist. She said he was quite aggressive in his advances towards her.“
When asked to clarify whether Amber actually told him that James Franco was a rapist Johnny Depp added: “She had to sort of run from the advances at one point, that he was kind of non-stop, she felt he was creepy and rapey, so I said a rapist.“
After Amber Heard appeared in Pineapple Express she would go on to star opposite James Franco again in The Adderall Diaries, and that’s when Depp claims he became uncomfortable with Franco.
Johnny Depp’s Drug Texts
One development in Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun is the revelation of texts sent by Johnny Depp to Amber Heard in which Depp was trying to procure drugs. These texts are relevant because part of Amber Heard’s accusation against Johnny is that he was violent with her after drinking and using drugs. The timing of Depp’s texts was shortly before the specific time when Amber claims Depp was violent with her, and goes a long way towards verifying her claims.
The Sun’s lawyers are now using those texts as fuel to try and get the case thrown out of court according to Deadline. So far they haven’t been successful and the case is moving forward, but they are a blow to Depp’s claim that Amber Heard made the whole thing up.
Even if Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun newspaper is thrown out, his separate defamation case against Amber Heard will continue. More on that below.
Audio Evidence
Since that lawsuit was filed, audio has emerged with seems to confirm that Heard’s accusations against Depp were untrue and that Depp’s accusations of abuse against Heard are instead the truth.
In a 2016 deposition audio was played, which has only now been released. In that audio Amber Heard appears to admit to hitting Johnny Depp in the head with the door, according to The Daily Mail.
In the tape the Daily Mail claims Depp can be heard saying, “I then stood up, I don’t even know if I said, I mean, I might’ve said like, what the f**k, you know, whatever. Cause I’d just been hit in the head with a f**king corner of the door… And then I stood up and then you f**king clock me.”
Heard then says of the punch to husband’s jaw, “I just reacted and I’m sorry. It’s below me.”
Amber Heard’s attorneys claim the audio “misrepresents what actually happened.”
Additional audio was leaked previously. Reports say that during the course of the audio she also can be heard taunting Depp and threatening to “get physical” with him again.
Johnny Depp’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Amber Heard
Johnny Depp has filed a defamation lawsuit against Heard in which he alleges, “She hit, punched and kicked me. She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me.”
According to Yahoo News the courts have initially sided with Depp and refused to grant Amber Heard’s motion to dismiss the case. Fairfax County Chief Judge Bruce White has ruled that three of the four statements made in Amber Heard’s op-ed written against Depp were actionable under libel laws.
This doesn’t mean the case is over, merely that it will now actually go to trial. In response, Amber Heard’s team issued the following statement…
“Today’s decision leaves it to a jury to decide the meaning of Ms. Heard’s op-ed and the truth of what she said. As we have said all along, the courts have strong mechanisms in place for determining the truth. Here, we remain confident that Ms. Heard will prevail at trial when the jury is presented with evidence on the question that the Court identified — namely, whether ‘Ms. Heard was abused by Mr. Depp.“
The case has called in several witnesses. Most recently in March of 2020 they’ve taken statements from Johnny Depp’s estate manager Tara Roberts, who says she witnessed this altercation between Depp and Heard while they were still married in 2015…
“I saw Amber lunge at Johnny, clawing, tugging and aggressively pulling him. He continued to stand there yelling at her to stop and leave him alone. When he stepped back to leave, her onslaught would start again. During this entire incident, I never saw Johnny hit Amber, or push her back, nor did he physically react to the attacks… Also present on the island during this late 2015 visit was Johnny’s son, daughter, and his daughter’s friend. Johnny’s children did witness the aftermath of the night before as I got them that morning, explained to them what had happened, and took them to their father.”
— Tara Roberts Declaration
In the court documents, Roberts says that after the fight, Johnny had a huge gash on his nose.
The same source that told ScreenGeek WB didn’t care about the allegations against Amber Heard has more information on the lawsuit. That source alleges “there’s much more to these allegations than what’s been revealed so far,” and that this is why Heard hasn’t settled with Depp. That source further alleges, “Amber still has incredibly damaging evidence against Johnny Depp.”
Amber Heard Accused Of Body Shaming Johnny Depp
One of the most recent accusations against Amber Heard to come out in Johnny Depp’s defamation court case against her, is that she repeatedly body-shamed her now ex-husband. Depp’s estate manager Tara Roberts relays what she overheard from outside their house in new court documents. She says…
“She was insulting him, calling him names and in the middle of this onslaught I heard her say specifically “your career is over” “no one is going to hire you,” “you’re washed up,” “fat,” “you will die a lonely man,” and also screaming things that were incomprehensible.“
Roberts claims in official court documents that in 2015 Depp told her he “needed to get away from Amber”. She additionally says she witnessed a fight between the two in which Johnny repeatedly said “go away” and “leave me alone” while Amber repeatedly and continually berated him. She further alleges that she saw “Amber lunge at Johnny, clawing, tugging and aggressively pulling him.”
Roberts adss that “during this entire incident, I never saw Johnny hit Amber, or push her back, nor did he physically react to the attacks.”
Did Amber Heard Cut Off Johnny Depp’s Finger?
One of the claims made by Johnny Depp in court documents is that his then wife Amber Heard severed his finger when she threw a Vodka bottle at him. However new evidence casts some doubt on that claim.
In recent court documents uncovered by Page Six, texts from Johnny Depp to his doctor have him saying the following…
“I cut the top of my middle finger off… What should I do!?? Except, of course, go to a hospital…. I’m so embarrassed for jumping into anything with her… F**K THE WORLD!!! JD.”
And then twelve days later he texted the following…
“Thank you for everything. I have chopped off my left middle finger as a reminder that I should never cut my finger off again!! I love you, brother. Johnny.”
Amber Heard Could Go To Prison
One of the accusations being flung at Amber Heard by Johnny Depp’s legal team is that she falsified some of the evidence being presented in court.
The website IBT consulted with legal experts who told them, “The California Penal Code Section 141 PC stated that it is illegal to alter, modify, plant, place, conceal, manufacture or move any physical matter with the intention of causing someone to be charged with a crime. Some would face felony charges for this.”
Being found guilty of those crimes could result in a maximum prison sentence of up to 3 years in jail. It’s a crime even if the person involved didn’t intend to present false evidence, but only did so accidentally.
Vanessa Paradis Defends Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp has multiple court cases going. One is a defamation suit against Amber Heard, the other is a libel case against the UK newspaper The Sun for publishing her accusations.
Johnny Depp and singer/actress Vanessa Paradis were in a long-term relationship from 1998 to 2012. They even have two children together. So if anyone really knows Depp well, it’s probably the woman he spent fourteen years of his life with.
Vanessa Paradis recently joined the court battle in Depp’s libel case against The Sun and has come to his defense. She went on the record saying of Depp that he’s a “kind, attentive, generous and non-violent person.”
Javier Bardem On Amber Heard’s Accusations
Javier Bardem is married to Penelope Cruz so when she sided with Johnny Depp it was assumed Bardem was siding with him too. Now he’s made it official by filing court documents in which he makes an official statement.
Here’s what Bardem says about Johnny Depp according to The Blast: “I love Johnny. He has always been a true gentleman and an extremely generous and caring friend to my family and myself… I’ve had the gift of working with him twice and have experienced his respectful attitude towards every single member of the crew alongside his unique and hilarious sense of humor. I stand by Johnny because I have always seen and felt a true caring and loving man in him … an extraordinary and unique artist who has listened to anyone who needed his help.“
Penelope Cruz
Many of Johnny Depp’s famous friends are now being called in to testify in his defense, as the defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard drags on. The latest on the witness stand is Penelope Cruz.
Cruz and Depp starred in several movies together, including most famously the acclaimed 2001 movie Blow and more recently Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Cruz has now filed an official declaration with the court on behalf of Johnny Depp in which she says the following: “Many years have passed and I have not only made 3 movies with him, but I also count on him as a great friend… I’ve always been impressed by his kindness, his brilliant mind, his talent, and his peculiar sense of humor.”
Paul Bettany
The legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has now sucked in actor Paul Bettany. Back in 2016 when Amber Heard first levelled accusations at Johnny Depp, Bettany was one of the few people to stand up for him. Depp and Bettany are friends, so now that’s being used against Bettany.
According to Page Six, text messages that Johnny Depp sent to his friend Paul Bettany were read aloud during pre-trial hearings in Depp’s lawsuit against Heard. They read as follows…
“I’m gonna properly stop the booze thing, darling… Drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA, this past Sunday…Ugly, mate. No food for days…powders…half a bottle of whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane and what do you get..??? An angry, aggro Injun in a f–kin’ blackout, screaming obscenities and insulting any f–k who got near…I’m done. I am admittedly too f–ked in the head to spray my rage at the one I love…For little reason, as well I’m too old to be that guy But, pills are fine!!!“
–Johnny Depp Text Sent to Paul Bettany
The texts are being used by Amber Heard’s legal team to prove that Johnny Depp physically abused her. The heart of Depp’s lawsuit against Amber Heard is that he says she falsely claimed he abused her, while in fact she was the one abusing him.
#JusticeForJohnnyDepp
The rapid increase in attention to the battle between Amber Heard is due at least in part to #JusticeForJohnnyDepp trending on Twitter and increased media coverage as a result.
Using the hashtag fans have pushed to have Amber fired from her various gigs. As justification for getting her fired, they’ve claimed that Johnny Depp lost work, particularly in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, as a result of Amber Heard’s accusations against him. One problem: That may not be true.
ScreenGeek claims to have a source who tells them that Johnny Depp was never fired from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Their source says, “Johnny Depp was actually never officially dropped from Disney’s next Pirates of the Caribbean film… Disney was just looking to go in a different direction for a potential reboot and there never was any confirmation that the allegations cost him the role.“
It’s true that there was never an official statement from Disney on the matter. However it is also true that Johnny Depp suddenly started getting less work around the time Amber Heard’s accusations against him broke out. It could be a coincidence, but maybe not.
Still it does seem like the fan community should be SURE before they start to use something like that as justification to ruin someone’s life. On the other hand, there’s probably no good justification for using mob justice to ruin anyone’s life and we’re all probably better off letting the courts handle it.
Fans Campaign To Get Amber Heard Fired From Aquaman 2
Fans are excited about Aquaman 2, but not everyone is excited about Amber Heard’s return in the sequel. Since she’s been surrounded by rumors of domestic abuse a petition to have her fired from the franchise has been gaining steam online.
The petition to have Amber Heard fired from Aquaman 2 set a goal of reaching 300,000 signatures and as of February 13, 2020 it met that goal. They have now upped their goal to 500,000.
After a long silence a source which claims to be “close to the situation” has gone on the record with ScreenGeek regarding what Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio responsible for Aquaman 2, thinks of this situation. Their source tells them that not only does WB not“care about the allegations made” not care about the allegations against Amber, they also do not “have interest in social media“.
As justification for the uproar against Heard, the petition lists accusations of domestic abuse from Heard against actor Johnny Depp and others…
“As Amber Heard is a known and proven domestic abuser, Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment should and must remove Heard from their Aquaman 2 film project. They must not ignore the suffering of Heard’s victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser. “
– –Petition to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2
The $50 million dollar lawsuit filed by Depp against Heard details alleged incidents of domestic abuse perpetrated by the Aquaman actress. The petition also references a reported 2009 incident in which Heard is alleged to have been arrested for abusing a previous partner.
The latest word is that due to all the backlash against Amber Heard, Warner Bros. may now be considering replacing her in Aquaman 2. Scoopers claim several execs at the studio are discussing recasting the role of Mera, Aquaman’s love interest. This was the part Amber Heard played in the first Aquaman film.
No decision has been made by Warner Bros. yet, we’re just starting to hear that they’re discussing Heard’s Aquaman 2 involvement.
- Go in-depth on Aquaman 2 with Aquaman 2: All We Know About The Sequel
Petition To Remove Amber Heard As L’Oreal Spokesperson
Amber Heard has a job as a model and spokesperson for the makeup brand L’Oreal. She’s stunningly beautiful and a name, which makes her perfectly qualified for the job. But some crusaders, unwilling to wait for the courts to sort things out, want her fired.
Multiple petitions are underway and gaining steam in asking L’Oreal to terminate their relationship with Amber Heard. The petition accuses Heard of being “A liar and an abuser, a shame for women“.
As of this writing both petitions have been online for less than a week and only a few hundred signatures away from reaching their initial goals. If this grows as quickly as the petition to get Heard fired from Aquaman 2, L’Oreal may be forced to respond.
A source “close to the situation” however, has gone on record with ScreenGeek and tells them there’s no chance L’Oreal drops Amber. In fact they say, “L’Oreal runs Amber Heard’s social media pages and are very fond of her.“
Amber Heard Responds To Accusations
With the court case between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp ongoing, documentation of statements issued by the couple to the court have begun to emerge. According to Meaww in a declaration to dismiss the case Amber Heard admits to getting physical with Johnny Depp by hitting him once, but only in defense of her sister.
The declaration claims the incident happened on March of 2015. In it, Heard claims Depp was about to attack her sister and the declaration says, “After becoming enraged he began to destroy personal property all over the house, including my belongings in my closet. My sister Whitney was there, so when Johnny lunged to hit me, Whitney placed herself between us. Johnny turned his attention to Whitney, who was standing on the top of a flight of stairs, and moved on her. Acting in defense of my sister, as I was scared of her physical safety, I punched Johnny in the face to draw his attention away from her. That was the only time I ever hit Johnny. At that point, house security intervened and separated us.”
Heard also testified in court, insisting under oath that she never abused her husband. There she said, “People accused me of having abused Johnny. That simply is not true. I never attacked Johnny other than in self-defense (and in defense of my little sister). I have never physically abused anyone. I know what that does to people…”
The level attention being focused on Heard also prompted a response from her team. While Amber Heard herself has not responded directly to the anger of fans, her lawyer Roberta Kaplan issued this response on her behalf: “The fact that a woman fights or talks back does not mean that she has not been the subject of repeated domestic violence and abuse… it’s a myth to say, as Mr Depp apparently is implying, that if Ms Heard slapped him, then she can’t also be a victim. That is just not true.”
Johnny Depp’s Response
Johnny Depp’s lawyer has in turn issued this response, directly focused on the leaked audio tapes revealing conversations between Heard and Depp (you can hear those below): “The first confessional tape she made reveals a conversation any real abuse victim will recognize all too well… It exposes that Ms Heard perpetrated serial violence against Mr Depp, and then concocted an elaborate abuse hoax to cover it up. Ms Heard gives a motive for her violence: Mr Depp was always trying to ‘split’ to escape her abuse.”
Johnny Depp’s Image Rehab
In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic and also in the midst of his legal battle with Amber Heard, Johnny Depp decided to join Instagram and start rehabbing his image. His instagram journey began like this…
And then he posted a video which seems like it was captured using a camera specifically designed to film vampire movies…
Does Johnny Depp live in a cave? Because it seems like he might live in a cave.
