All reality surpasses fiction, the story of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is proof of this. The actors are the protagonists of a media trial that will define the course of their careers, which are already hanging by a thread in the face of accusations of domestic violence. Two years after the first episode of their legal battle, the Hollywood stars meet again in the Fairfax County Court, Virginia, where testimonies, images, audio, and messages about the aggressions, both verbal and physical, which both claim to have experienced during their marriage, which has been described by the couple’s former therapist as a “mutually abusive” relationship. The litigation began on April 11, but it is far from coming to an end since the jury must still attend to the defense of the actress.
This is how the story of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp began
Johnny Depp met Amber Heard in 2009 during the filming of the movie Diary of a seducer -produced by Depp himself-, in which the actor plays a frustrated journalist who starts working at a local newspaper in Puerto Rico, where he lives. a passionate affair with Chenault, played by Heard. It would only be a matter of time before the chemistry between the celebrities would cross the big screen.
At that time, Johnny Depp was in a relationship with Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children, Lily-Rose Melody, and John Christopher III. A year after his separation from Paradis was announced -which happened in 2012-, the histrion confirmed his courtship with Amber Heard.
Your discreet wedding in the Caribbean
The actors no longer hid the love they felt for each other, they showed themselves very affectionately at public events and film festivals. 12 months later they decided to take the next step in their relationship and got engaged. The couple arrived at the altar in February 2015; Their wedding was held in an intimate ceremony on a Caribbean island, which by the way, the actor’s daughter, Lily-Rose, did not attend, because she and Heard “were not on good terms, for various reasons,” Depp revealed. in the recent trial.
Divorce and a million-dollar settlement
Fifteen months after their marriage, Amber appeared in court in Los Angeles to request a divorce and a restraining order against Depp, this occurred six days after a fight they had in his penthouse, where the actor would have physically assaulted his then-wife, according to the testimony of the actress, who showed the mark of a blow to her face during her visit to court in May 2016, accusations that Depp has since denied.
Despite allegations of mistreatment, the couple divorced in early 2017 on supposedly good terms, as suggested by a joint statement: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and sometimes volatile, but always with love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intention of physical or emotional harm.” The actors reached a millionaire agreement, in which Amber promised to deliver 3.5 million dollars to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). On this matter, the head of operations of the foundation assured in the litigation that the actress only donated 1.3 million, of this figure Elon Musk covered half of it while she was Heard’s partner.
In December 2018, the Aquaman actress wrote a column for The Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse,” noting that she hoped her story would help other women speak out. Her article was published at the height of the Me Too movement, the same under which Harvey Weinstein‘s victims denounced the sexual harassment and abuse they experienced by the producer, sentenced to 23 years in prison.
His first court battle
Although Heard‘s article did not mention Depp, he insisted his name was implied and sued The Sun in 2020 for calling him a “wife-beater”; however, the High Court of London dismissed the actor’s complaint stating that what was written in the article was “substantially true”. Johnny did not sit idly by: he sued his ex-wife for defamation and requested $50 million in damages; while Heard filed a counterclaim for $100 million.
The revelations in the trial of Depp vs. Heard
The trial began on April 11, 2022, and is expected to last around six weeks. In the first three, Depp‘s defense discovered an incident in which his client lost part of a finger when the actress threw a bottle of alcohol at him. In addition to a letter -written in May 2016-, in which Heard asked the actor to continue covering his expenses or else he would make public the request for a restraining order against Depp. Violent text messages about Heard that the actor sent to his friends were also read in court.
In addition to the toxicity that characterized the marriage, Depp declared himself a victim of domestic abuse and exposed having lost millionaire contracts, including the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and his role in Fantastic Animals, due to the defamation of abuse made by Heard, who would suffer from borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder, as determined in court by forensic psychologist Shannon Curry, hired by Depp’s legal team. The truth is that the legal process still has a long way to go and the final verdict is uncertain since the case prepared by Heard’s lawyers remains to be heard.