Episodes of “anger” that ended in verbal, physical and sexual assault: Amber Heard’s lawyers described Tuesday in an American court the hell that the young actress would have lived, victim of her husband Johnny Depp transformed according to them into a “monster” by drugs and alcohol.
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The former couple accuses each other of defamation during this trial in Fairfax, near Washington, which stems from a column published in the Washington Post in 2018. Amber Heard described herself as a “victim of domestic violence” bullied by society following coming out of silence two years earlier.
But the lawyers of the actor of the films “Pirates of the Caribbean” denounce false accusations which had a “devastating” effect on his career.
Amber Heard “loved the side of Johnny that we see in the movies, charismatic, charming, generous, he’s the man she fell in love with,” her lawyer Elaine Bredehoft told the jurors.
“But unfortunately the monster appeared and this monster appeared when he was drinking or taking drugs,” she added, referring to cocktails of alcohol, drugs, cocaine, ecstasy and magic mushrooms. .
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Johnny Depp had in him “a huge anger” which transformed him into a “demon” and “it was during these episodes of anger that he attacked verbally, psychologically, physically and sexually” 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”.
The actress never parted with a makeup kit to hide the bruises on her face, said the lawyer who plans to show the jury “shocking photos” with “bruises, split lips, torn hair”.
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“You will see the real Johnny Depp, beyond the red carpets, the notoriety and the money of the pirate costumes”, had previously affirmed another lawyer for the actress, Ben Rottenborn.
In her column, the 35-year-old actress did not name Johnny Depp, 58, whom she married in 2015.
The following year, she applied for a protective order to keep him away, claiming she had been hit by the actor. But she 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 forum, the former undercover police officer of “21 Jump Street”, who denies having ever hit his wife, filed a defamation complaint, claiming 50 million dollars in damages.
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The actress had in turn filed a defamation suit to obtain 100 million dollars.
Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Benjamin Chew, denounced him at the opening of the debates of “devastating words when they are false and spoken publicly”.
“Amber Heard forever changed Mr. Depp’s life and reputation and you will hear her recount the terrible impact it had on his life,” he told jurors.
According to Benjamin Chew, Amber Heard had accused her husband of violence in 2016 to get revenge on him following his decision to divorce.
And two years later, “in the wake of the MeToo movement” denouncing sexual violence and “just before the release of the film Aquaman” in which she played, Amber Heard “chose to remind the world of these venomous allegations in a world-renowned newspaper “, he assured.
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 libel claims than in California, where the two actors reside.
The two former spouses attend the trial, broadcast live on television and which should be very well attended. It should last several weeks and the list of witnesses is worthy of the great Hollywood films: billionaire Elon Musk, companion of the actress following her divorce, actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, and actress Ellen Barkin.
This scenario resembles the one that played out in 2020 in London. At the time, Johnny Depp sued the publishing company of The Sun newspaper following an article portraying him as an abusive husband.
Called as a witness, his ex-wife had described a dozen attacks committed, according to her, by a husband transformed into a “monster” by his excessive use of drugs.
He had admitted to using too many drugs and alcohol, but said he had never laid his hand on a woman.
British justice had finally ruled in favor of the tabloid.
After this setback, the actor’s career plunged and he was ousted from several projects, including the sixth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
