Jurors in the £100 million defamation trial between warring Johnny Depp and former wife Amber Heard have been told the actress was the domestic abuser.
Depp’s legal team have alleged that Heard is a liar who used her allegations against the actor as an attempt to further her career in Hollywood.
In an opening statement to Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia the Pirates Of The Caribbean star’s lawyers accused Ms Heard of being a manipulative and aggressive individual.
Depp’s lawyer Benjamin Chew told the jury they probably know his client as a “respected artist whose name was associated with success at the box office. Today his name is associated with a lie.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
He added: “A false allegation can devastate a career, and it can devastate a family. And the evidence will show that Ms Heard’s false allegations had a significant impact on Depp’s family and his ability to work in the profession he loved.
“Mr Depp will go to his grave knowing whatever he does that there are people out there in this world who will always believe that he abused a woman.
“Common sense and the evidence will tell you that this is all a lie … Heard tells a lie and covers up that lie with still more lies, in a constantly changing, evolving, evermore dramatic way.”
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
His prior relationships with stars including Kate Moss, Winona Ryder and his 14-year relationship with Vanessa Paradis were also cited in the opening statement, as well as the effects of his childhood growing up with an abusive mother to which his sister will testify.
Depp’s representatives also called Ms Heard a “profoundly troubled person,” claiming she uses manipulation against those close to her and would often have angry outbursts at Depp, taunting him and causing him to hide in places such as the bathroom to escape her while she screamed and chased him.
(Image: REUTERS)
It was also alleged that when the couple would travel together his team would book separate rooms for the actor so he could retreat to his own space when Ms Heard would turn aggressive.
His legal team also made allegations that Ms.Heard falsely claimed to police officers that she had been physically assaulted by Mr Depp and that officers arriving at the scene after a call from the Aquaman actress will testify that they saw “no injuries on Amber Heard and no property damage, no violence, no crime.”
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Elsewhere Depp’s lawyers confirmed to the court that he will testify during the trial and acknowledged his use of drugs and alcohol but said that does not make him an abuser.
The former couple’s latest trial, in which Depp will give evidence, stems from a complaint he filed in 2019.
He alleges Heard defamed him in an op-ed piece she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018.
(Image: Getty Images)
The actress, 35, described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in the article, although she did not name him by name.
He has asked for £38.4 million in damages.
Heard filed a counterclaim, accusing Depp of allegedly orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”
She has asked for £76.7 million in damages and immunity from Depp’s claims.
(Image: Getty Images)
Depp, 58, who wore an all black three-piece suit with a white tie, sat back in his chair in court, looking sombre as his attorney made his bombshell opening statement.
Heard, 35, showed little emotion in court as his attorney spoke.
Her lawyer Ben Rottenborn told the jury the case was based solely on whether the actor could prove the words Heard used in her piece were about him and were false.
He said: “Mr Depp’s team is going to try and turn this case into a soap opera. You’re doing to see who the real Johnny Depp is, behind the pirate costumes.
“Depp didn’t sue the Washington Post. He had no interest in doing that. He only sued Amber. He chose to bring Amber to court in Virginia, where she has no ties.
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Depp, 58, who wore an all black three-piece suit with a white tie, sat back in his chair in court, looking sombre as his attorney made his bombshell opening statement.
Heard, 35, showed little emotion in court as his attorney spoke.
Her lawyer Ben Rottenborn told the jury the case was based solely on whether the actor could prove the words Heard used in her piece were about him and were false.
He said: “Mr Depp’s team is going to try and turn this case into a soap opera. You’re doing to see who the real Johnny Depp is, behind the pirate costumes.
“Depp didn’t sue the Washington Post. He had no interest in doing that. He only sued Amber. He chose to bring Amber to court in Virginia, where she has no ties.
The trial continues.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
