Johnny Depp has accused his ex-wife Amber Heard of walking into court with “painted-on bruises”, in his first declaration as part of his defamation lawsuit against her.
The actor is currently suing his ex-wife for defamation, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018.
While Johnny’s name was excluded from the piece, his legal team have claimed that the op-ed implies that he “perpetrated domestic violence against her”.
In a statement submitted on Monday, Johnny wrote: “I have denied Ms. Heard’s allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016 when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week.”
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Johnny has alleged that he “was the victim”, and accused Amber of abusing him during their marriage.
He wrote: “She was the perpetrator, and I was the victim. While mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol, Ms. Heard committed innumerable acts of domestic violence against me, often in the presence of a third-party witness, which in some instances caused me serious bodily harm.”
Johnny further claimed that Amber “hit, punched, and kicked” him.
He alleged: “She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls, and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me.”
Describing one alleged incident between the pair, Johnny claimed Amber “went berserk” when he asked her to sign a post-nuptial agreement, after they had got married in 2015.
Johnny alleged: “She went berserk and began throwing bottles at me. The first bottle sailed past my head and missed, but then she threw a large glass vodka bottle.”
The bottle allegedly hit Johnny’s hand, causing serious injury.
He claimed: “I had to have 3 surgeries to reconstruct my finger and contracted MRSA three time. I feared that I would lose my finger, my arm and my life.”
In response to his statement, Amber’s lawyer Eric George said: “The evidence in this case is clear: Johnny Depp repeatedly beat Amber Heard.”
“The increasingly desperate attempts by Mr. Depp and his enablers to revive his career by initiating baseless litigation against so many people once close to him — his former lawyers, former managers, and his former spouse — are not fooling anyone.”
“In light of the important work done by the #TimesUp movement highlighting the tactics abusers use to continue to traumatize survivors, neither the creative community nor the public will be gaslit by Mr. Depp’s baseless blame-the-victim conspiracy theories,” he added.
In a response to Amber’s attorney, Johnny’s lawyer said: “Here’s a scorecard on the ‘baseless litigation’ we have brought against those who have financially or violently abused Johnny Depp: his former business managers TMG settled favorably for Mr. Depp after we exposed them as the target of multiple federal criminal investigations and their office was raided by the FBI in June 2017.”
“His former law firm Bloom Hergott just announced the ‘retirement’ of Bloom AND Hergott and a restructuring of the firm to evade liability less than 4 months before trial in a case where the primary issue has already been won in court.”
“And Ms. Heard, the self-appointed leader of the #metoo movement despite a prior arrest and incarceration for violent domestic abuse, now faces a growing mountain of evidence including new female victims coming forward, a fraudulent letter to Homeland Security, scheming in writing with her lawyer to suborn witness perjury, and her infamous hoax getting obliterated by 24 sworn eyewitnesses, 2 police officers, 87 video surveillance tapes, audio tape, and her own sworn confessions of violence.”
“In contrast, Amber Heard’s lawyer says ‘the evidence in this case is clear,’ and then presents none,” Johnny’s lawyer added.
Amber filed for divorce from Johnny in 2016, one year after the couple tied the knot.
At the time, the actress obtained a temporary restraining order against him, and alleged that he was verbally and physically abusive towards her – claims Johnny has vehemently denied.
The pair eventually settled their divorce out of court in August 2016, and issued a joint statement which read, “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future.”
The actress reportedly donated her share of the divorce settlement, about $7 million, to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
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