Opening statements have concluded on day one of Johnny Depp’s multi-million defamation lawsuit against his former wife, Amber Heard, which began in Virginia on Monday morning with jury selection.
Seven jurors and four alternates were picked to hear the case. He claims a 2018 article written by Heard in The Washington Post – in which she spoke about domestic violence towards women – implied Depp, her former husband, was an abuser.
Although the 35-year-old did not name the actor, lawyers for Depp say Heard’s allegations have made it difficult for the 58-year-old to land roles he previously did.
Depp is known for starring in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeny Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Heard has appeared in titles including Aquaman and Drive Angry.
He is asking for $50m (£38.2m) in damages during the trial in Fairfax County’s district courthouse. Heard has meanwhile filed a counterclaim of defamation against Depp, who she divorced from in 2017, for nuisance.
Depp has previously lost a defamation case in the UK against British newspaperThe Sun regarding the claims in Heard’s 2018 article.
Johnny Depp’s team react to explosive new ex assault allegations made in court
Explosive new allegations were made by Amber Heard about her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, during the opening arguments of his defamation trial.
Ms Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, claimed that Depp sexually assaulted Ms Heard using a liquor bottle during a black-out drunk episode.
Depp was visibly skeptical as Ms Bredehoft made the claims, and shook his head “no” after her comments.
Now the actor’s team has issued a statement in response to the “erroneous” claims.
“These fictitious claims were never made at the onset of Amber’s allegations in 2016, and only advantageously surfaced years later once she was sued for defamation after noting in her op-ed that she was a victim of ‘sexual violence.’ Words are key in a defamation case and conveniently, this allegation only came after that. This follows a pattern of her elaborate, erroneous claims which have continued to change and evolve over time for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement.” a spokesperson for Depp told The Independent.
