Access from “anger” which culminated in physical and sexual violence: the lawyers of Amber Heard described Tuesday before an American court the hell that the young actress would have lived, victim of her husband Johnny Depp transformed according to them into “freak” by drugs and alcohol.
The former couple accuses each other of defamation during this trial in Fairfax, near Washington, for a column published in the washington post in 2018. Amber Heard described herself as a “victim of domestic violence” bullied by society after coming out of silence two years earlier.
Amber Heard “loved the side of Johnny you see in the movies, charismatic, charming, generous, he’s the man she fell in love with”told the jurors his lawyer Elaine Bredehoft. “But unfortunately, the monster […] appeared when he was drinking or taking drugs”she added, referring to cocktails of alcohol, drugs, cocaine, ecstasy and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Johnny Depp had in him “huge anger” which transformed it into “demon” who “verbally, psychologically, physically and sexually assaulted” Amber Heard, explained Me Bredehoft. She recounted several scenes of violence, notably in March 2015 in Australia, where Johnny Depp was filming the fifth episode of Pirates of the Caribbean.
makeup set
The actress never separated from a makeup kit to hide the bruises on her face, said the lawyer, who plans to show the jury “shocking pictures” of abuse.
In her column, the 35-year-old actress did not name Johnny Depp, 58, whom she married in 2015. But she did mention the domestic violence charges she had brought against her husband in 2016. actress had dropped her charges as part of their divorce, concluded with a bang and a check for $ 7 million in 2017.
After the publication of this column, the former undercover policeman of 21 Jump Street, who denies ever hitting his wife, had filed a defamation suit, claiming $50 million in damages. The actress had in turn filed a defamation suit, asking for 100 million dollars.
Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Benjamin Chew, denounced him for “devastating words when false and spoken publicly”. “Amber Heard forever changed the life and reputation of Mr. Depp, and you will hear her recount the terrible impact it had on his life”he told jurors.
“Old Fat”
According to Benjamin Chew, Amber Heard had accused her husband of violence in 2016 to get revenge on him after his decision to divorce. Two years later, “in the wake of the #MeToo movement” denouncing sexual violence and “just before the film’s release Aquaman“ in which she played, Amber Heard “chose to remind the world of these venomous allegations in a globally recognized journal”he assured.
Johnny Depp’s sister Christi Dembrowski described on the stand a toxic marital relationship with a young woman “always in confrontation”who “exaggerated a lot” her husband’s alcohol and drug problems and who called him “old fat”.
“Dior is class and style, and you have no style”, she would have launched during discussions on an advertising contract with the French perfumer, according to the witness. The actor filed his lawsuit in the state of Virginia, where the washington post is printed and where the legal framework is more favorable to claims of defamation than in California, where the two actors reside.
The two former spouses attend the trial, broadcast live on television and which should last several weeks. The list of witnesses is worthy of the great Hollywood films: billionaire Elon Musk, companion of the actress after her divorce, actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, and actress Ellen Barkin.
In 2020, Johnny Depp had already lost a defamation lawsuit in London, against the publishing company of the daily The Sun after an article portraying him as an abusive husband. Amber Heard then claimed to have been the victim of a dozen assaults committed by her husband. He had admitted to using too many drugs and alcohol, but said he had never laid his hand on a woman.
After this setback, the actor’s career took a dive and he was ousted from several projects, including the sixth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean.