Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met in 2009 on the set of the movie Rum Express and got married 7 years later (in 2015) in a small private ceremony with their closest friends. At first it seemed like everything was fine and the couple was leading a pretty happy life, but a few years later Amber Heard filed for divorce and accused the actor of repeatedly hitting her.
The Aquaman actress claimed that the Pirates of the Caribbean actorhad a problem with alcohol and drugs, and that he became a violent monster every time he used them. Johnny Depp denied everything, but the case went around the world and many started asking that he be fired from the films he had done (mainly the Fantastic Beasts sequel ).
In 2018, The Sun newspaper ran an article calling the actor a “wife beater”, and for Johnny Depp, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He decided to sue the newspaper for defamation and have everyone involved tried in court to decide whether the publication had defamed him or not. During the trial, Johnny Depp claimed to be the victim of a violent and manipulative woman, while Amber Heard denied having lied and presented photographs proving the violence. Other people have testified in the case and defended the actor, suggesting that Elon Musk caused Amber Heard’s blows and bruises. Today, the two actors await the verdict of the trial which revealed terrible details of
How did it all start?
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard got married in 2015 after meeting on the set of Rhum Express . At that time, Depp was still married to actress Vanessa Paradis and Amber Heard had a relationship with American painter and photographer Tasya van Ree. The two ended up separating from their respective partners and began one of the most controversial relationships in the business (when they met, Depp was 47 years old and Heard 24). Depp and Heard started dating in 2012 and eventually got married in secret in 2015.
Divorce
Just over a year after getting married, Amber Heard has filed for divorce and a restraining order against Johnny Depp, claiming the actor had a drug problem and physically abused her, despite not gave no further details at the time. It was during the divorce proceedings that, according to Amber Heard, a violent argument occurred, leaving her with marks and bruises. The actress said Johnny Depp threw a phone in her face, but law enforcement sources said they found no evidence of such an incident. Johnny Depp has denied the charge and a rep said Amber Heard was “trying to get a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.”
The $7 million deal
In August 2016, Amber Heard testified under oath in a deposition, but an agreement was eventually reached after she withdrew her request for a domestic violence injunction. She also withdrew her alimony claim of $50,000 a month. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard also released a joint statement, saying: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and volatile at times, but always tied to love. Neither party made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any attempt at physical or emotional harm.” Amber Heard received $7 million for the divorce, but donated it to organizations working with women experiencing domestic violence and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Finally get a divorce
The divorce ended in 2017. Heard kept the dogs (which were at the center of a scandal in 2015 when the couple did not declare the animals during a trip to Australia), while Johnny Depp took all possessions, including his private island in the Bahamas, as well as his collection of cars and motorcycles.
In December 2018, Amber Heard wrote an article in The Washington Post about the situation of women living with domestic violence. Johnny Depp is not mentioned by name, but Amber Heard says, “I became a public figure representing domestic violence, and I felt the full force of our culture’s anger towards women speaking out.”
In 2019, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation, seeking $50 million in compensation for the article. The complaint said that Amber Heard “was not the victim of domestic violence, but that she was the perpetrator”. Johnny Depp has again denied abusing her. The lawsuit concluded that Amber Heard’s accusations were part of an “elaborate scheme to generate positive publicity” for the actress. In an attempt to dismiss Johnny Depp’s libel suit, Amber Heard detailed multiple instances of alleged abuse that she says happened during his marriage and dubbed him ‘the monster’, according to Variety. We hear she still has scars on her arms and feet from an incident in which Johnny Depp allegedly threw her on a ping pong table and dragged her over broken glass.
Amber Heard shared photos showing her bruising on her face after she was allegedly beaten by Johnny Depp, and TMZ also released a video that allegedly shows the actor behaving violently with his ex-wife. On the other hand, in January 2020, the Daily Mail published a series of phone calls in which Amber Heard allegedly confessed to beating Johnny Depp on several occasions, and that’s when things got worse.
The lawsuit against The Sun
On July 7, 2020, Johnny Depp’s libel lawsuit against The Sun newspaperbegan. There, the actor said he never hit Amber Heard or any other woman, and re-affirmed that she was the abusive person in the relationship. Johnny Depp was defended by employees who claimed they had never seen him attack Amber Heard and that Elon Musk could be the one who gave him all those bruises (on the other hand, the court allowed Johnny’s former partners Depp, Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, to file written statements on behalf of the actor). When it was Amber Heard’s turn to testify, she maintained that Johnny Depp had beaten her and that she had to wear makeup to cover all the marks he left on her body. The actress claimed he was crazy and became violent when he drank alcohol or drugs. Amber Heard, who said the actor once punched her because she laughed at one of his tattoos, was not on trial but was called to testify for the newspaper.
The verdict
The trial ended on July 30, but according to Deadline , the verdict is expected by September. If the verdict is in favor of Johnny Depp, The Sun will have to retract the article published in 2018. There could also be some sort of compensation via damages (which would certainly be astronomical). If they rule against the actor, the English court could then charge him with domestic violence, and there could be legal consequences. On the other hand, the $50 million lawsuit that Johnny Depp filed against Amber Heard for the Washington Post story is still unresolved.