The Johnny Depp Trial Opens With Shocking Accusations Against Amber Heard
The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard legal battle is underway, and Depp's lawyers have started their opening argument with some huge claims against Heard.
This article is more than 2 years old
The defamation lawsuit that Johnny Depp has brought against Amber Heard started yesterday morning with jury selection. Since jury selection happened so quickly, it was stated that lawyers would be presenting their opening statements this morning. That has happened, with Depp’s legal counsel starting their morning by posing some serious claims against Heard. His attorneys are Ben Chew and Camille Vasquez. Per their opening statement, “She presented herself as the face of the #MeToo movement — the virtuous representative of innocent women across the country and the world who has truly suffered abuse,” Vasquez said. “The evidence will show that was a lie.”
One of the biggest claims that the public has long backed is that Amber Heard has been lying about Johnny Depp treating her in the manner that she has told the public. This same sentiment has been echoed by his lawyers in today’s court proceedings. Even crazier is that they claim she attempted to be the face of the #metoo movement. Should Heard lose this case, that fact will certainly be one that could forever stain her reputation. Depp’s lawyers claim that most of what Heard claimed happened never actually occurred. These wild allegations have led to the actor losing out on multi-millions of dollars due to his reputation being severely damaged in the industry. They added, “The evidence will show that Ms. Heard’s false allegations had a significant impact on Mr. Depp’s family and his ability to work in the profession he loved,” Chew said. “Ultimately this trial is about clearing Mr. Depp’s name of a terrible and false allegation.”
Amber Heard has her own lawyers that claim that she was been subject to strong domestic abuse, even going so far as stating that the op-ed piece that she wrote was not instrumental in damaging the career of Johnny Depp. Her lawyers claim that his reputation was damaged due to his behavior and alleged subsequent abuse of Heard. According to Heard’s lawyer, Ben Rottenburn, “It’s time to make Johnny take responsibility… It’s up to you, ladies and gentlemen, to make him do that.” Heard’s representation is attempting to convince the jury that Depp did engage in such horrific domestic abuse, and he should answer to those allegations.
Johnny Depp is suing Amber Hear for defamation of character for the sum of $50 million. This number is likely due to the actor being fired from Fantastic Beasts as well as the now-canceled Pirates of the Caribbean reboot that Disney was said to have started with Depp. Heard is also countersuing for $100 million, stating that this defamation case is severely damaging her own reputation. She was nearly fired from Aquaman 2 based on claims that the chemistry between her and Jason Momoa was not good. Whether or not this makes it into part of the evidence used on Depp’s behalf is yet to be seen. Both parties are claiming that their reputations have suffered greatly because of the cases brought against them. Actors and important figures will also reportedly testify in the case. High-profile actors like James Franco and Paul Bettany are set to appear in court, along with the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. There is no telling if they are meant to testify on behalf of Depp or Heard.
The Johnny Depp defamation suit is said to last up to six weeks, with the judge presiding over the case taking a small break in the second week of May. This is assuming the case goes that long, as settlement could happen before then. Based on both cases, that is likely not to happen, but it also certainly could. This case is certainly going to be a huge story in the weeks to come.
