Johnny Depp has denied the sexual assault allegations his ex-wife Amber Heard made against him on the first court day of his $50 million defamation trial.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star launched the defamation lawsuit against Amber in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018.
While the actor’s name was excluded from the piece, his legal team have argued that the op-ed implied that he “perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
The former couple is currently squaring off at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.
Amber’s attorney Ben Rottenborn told the courtroom on April 11 during his opening argument: “Tragically, it’s true. Amber did suffer sexual violence at the hands of Depp.”
He also claimed Amber suffered domestic abuse by Johnny that “took many forms,” including physical, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse.
Rottenborn said about Amber’s upcoming testimony: “You will hear in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered.”
“You’ll hear that straight from her. She will get on the stand and she will tell you that. It happened.”
A spokesperson for Johnny has denied the sexual assault allegations, saying the actor believes it is not a coincidence these claims are coming out now.
Johnny’s spokesperson said in a statement to People on April 11: “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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
During the trial’s opening statements, which was broadcast live by Court TV, Johnny’s attorney Camille Vasquez accused Amber of manufacturing the “false allegations” to boost her career during the #MeToo movement at the time.
His lawyers also argued that Amber added sexual assault allegations to her case because she “panicked” when she realized “the seriousness of what she’d alleged.”
Vasquez also claimed Amber’s lawyers had “explosive” stories “designed” to “distract” from “common sense.”
Johnny has already lost a different libel case in November 2020, when he sued The Sun for calling him a “wife beater.” However, a judge found the article to be substantially true.
Amber filed for divorce from Johnny in 2016, just one year after the couple tied the knot. She had also filed a domestic violence restraining order against Johnny, accusing him of abusing her.
She wrote in court documents obtained by E! News at the time: “During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me.”
“I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him.”
Taking to Instagram on the Saturday ahead of the trial, Amber wrote: “I’m going to go offline for the next several weeks. As you may know, I’ll be in Virginia, where I face my ex-husband Johnny Depp in court.”
“Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in The Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse.”
“I never named him, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny.”
Amber continued: “I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”
“At this time, I recognize the ongoing support I’ve been fortunate to receive throughout these years, and in these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever.”
“With love always, A,” she signed off.
