Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard: chronology of a violent marriage and a sordid legal battle
Since their separation in 2016 after just 15 months of marriage, the former Hollywood couple has waged a war with explosive accusations of physical and emotional abuse. The difficult relationship that was visible to all in a trial in which crude accusations are crossed from both parties
In a desperate quest to clean up his image, Johnny Depp sued The Sun newspaper because in a 2018 article he called him a "wife beater." In the trial that takes place in London, the star witness of the British tabloid is her ex-wife Amber Heard, who called Depp a "monster" and accused him of having made her live through hell during their years together. The lawsuit comes after the actors' scandalous divorce in 2017, which included allegations of physical and verbal abuse from both parties. The couple, who met on the set of their movie "The Rum Diary" (2011), went public the following year after the movie star announced his separation from French singer Vanessa Paradis, after 14 years of relationship. and two children in common. They got married in February 2015 and fifteen months later they divorced.
The one who was one of the most desired and best paid men in Hollywood stars in one of the most scandalous legal battles of recent times.
During the intense trial, Heard accused her ex-husband of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, as well as displaying "extremely controlling and intimidating behavior," while Depp defended himself and said that it was she who was violent. with the.
In the process, the actor uncovered his addictions and spoke of his violent marriage to Heard that was recorded in raw footage with photos, videos and audios of her explosive fights. Bodyguards, janitors, personal assistants, ex-girlfriends, friends and family of both parties have testified for three weeks in London High Court.
The legal battle would culminate next week when the final ruling was known. However, it will not be the last legal fight between the actors: Depp will face next year against his ex-wife in a lawsuit that began for $ 50 million.
Chapter 1: love on the set of the movie "The Rum Diary"
The actors fell in love on the set of "The Rum Diary," a film based on a book by writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who was a personal friend of Depp. In her court statement in London, Heard said that she and Depp started dating "in late 2011 or early 2012" and that their relationship began in secret because she did not want to be blamed for the breakup of Deep and French singer Vanessa Paradis. , which ended in 2012 after 14 years together and two children together: Lily-Rose (21 years old) and Jack (18).
Before meeting Depp, Heard made headlines in 2009 for physically assaulting her then-girlfriend, Hawaiian artist and photographer Tasya van Ree, at Seattle-Tacamo International Airport in Washington. It was reported in the media that Heard allegedly beat Van Ree, and she was arrested. However, all charges were dropped, and Van Ree herself said publicly that her partner had been "wrongfully" accused by police officers who "misinterpreted and overstated" the incident.
Chapter 2: engagement ring and double wedding
In January 2014, after two years of dating, People magazine announced that the couple was engaged and that Heard was already wearing a beautiful engagement ring. A year later, they were married in a civil ceremony at their Los Angeles mansion, then moved to the Hollywood star's private island in the Bahamas for a second beach wedding celebration with very few guests. It was the first marriage for Heard, who made headlines in 2010 for openly saying he was bisexual, and the second for Depp, who was married to makeup artist Lori Anne Allison from 1983 to 1985. Twelve months before they became husband and wife. , Depp spoke for the first time about his future wife and called her "a wonderful woman".
Chapter 3: the first marriage scandal
At the end of 2015, the couple made headlines when they tried to avoid the strict Australian laws to protect their fauna and flora when they tried to enter the country with their two dogs illegally. The actress traveled in her private plane to visit her husband, who was filming the latest installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean," accompanied by the couple's pets, Boo and Pistol. She was charged with animal trafficking and falsification of documents. In April 2016 she pleaded guilty and paid a fine. That was not all. The couple starred in a bizarre apology video, which made them the target of ridicule.
Chapter 4: Divorce and Domestic Violence Report
After 15 months as husband and wife, the marriage culminated in May 2016 in the middle of a major media scandal. Heard filed for divorce, reported him for domestic violence and requested a restraining order in a Los Angeles courthouse. Depp wasn't in town; he was in Lisbon with his rock band Hollywood Vampires. Accompanied by her lawyers and taking advantage of the fact that her husband was miles away, the actress cited "irreconcilable differences" and spoke of "years of physical and psychological violence", which Depp continues to deny. She claimed that she feared for her life and provided pictures of her bruised face.She also mentioned the long and old history of drug and alcohol abuse by the interpreter.
Amid the uproar, entertainment site TMZ posted a video of Depp allegedly throwing a glass of wine at Heard in the middle of a violent fight in the kitchen of her Los Angeles residence of hers. And Heard appeared on the cover of People magazine with the wounds left by the actor after the last beating.
“I have vehemently denied Ms. Heard's allegations since she first made them in May 2016 when she went to court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted bruises that witnesses and surveillance cameras showed that she did not have the week previous ”, defended the actor, according to court documents. "I will continue denying it the rest of my life."
After the scandalous separation, on August 16, 2016, Heard retracted her accusations when she and Depp reached an out-of-court settlement that required the actress to withdraw the restraining order for gender violence, and that the actor pay her $ 7 million, that the interpreter donated to charity. Their marriage was "intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love," the actors' spokesmen said in a statement. "There was never any intention of physical or emotional harm."
Chapter 5: Depp seeks to clean up his image at any cost
In December 2018, Heard publicly denounced in The Washington Post that she was the victim of harassment and she lost several jobs after reporting having been the victim of verbal and physical assault by Depp. " Two years ago, I became a public figure who represented domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of the anger of our culture for the women who speak, ”she recounted in her editorial. "They told me that I would never work as an actress again, that they would put me on a blacklist."
In March 2019, despite not being mentioned in the article, Depp filed a lawsuit for $ 50 million against Heard. He dismissed the accusations of his ex and affirmed that "the abuser of the relationship" was really her, whom he also accused of wanting to build a "dossier" on their relationship in order to get an "insurance policy" and be able to align with the #MeToo movement. Despite Heard's attempts to avoid trial, the former couple will face Virginia court in January of next year.
In February of this year explosive audios of Heard came to light in which she appears to admit to having mistreated Depp. In a series of recorded conversations obtained by the tabloid Daily Mail, the protagonist of "Aquaman", in 2015, can be heard confessing physical attacks against Depp. Said material was recorded by the actress.
Depp is also taking legal action against The Sun newspaper, for an April 2018 article calling him a "wife beater." The protagonist of "Pirates of the Caribbean" demands financial compensation from the British newspaper and its owner News Group Newspapers for presenting as a proven fact that he was violent with Heard.
Chapter 6: The Explosive Trial Against The Sun
Depp, 57, allowed her dark past to be exposed in order to win the libel suit against the British newspaper The Sun. Before a London court, the Hollywood star accused his ex-wife - who testifies in favor of the newspaper - of being a "calculating sociopathic narcissist who married him to advance her career." He flatly denied having been violent towards Heard and claimed that he was the victim. Questioned by the newspaper's lawyers, the protagonist of "Pirates of the Caribbean" had to review his previous relationships and detail his history of drug and alcohol use. Although Depp's defense did not finally call Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder to testify in person, the written statements they contributed were made public, where both affirmed that he was never violent with them. "The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the furthest thing from the Johnny that I knew and loved," Ryder said in his note, with which the actor had a relationship in the 90s. Meanwhile, Paradis described him as a "kind, attentive and generous" man.
Supreme Court Justice Andrew Nicol listened to Depp and several current and former employees who have supported his side of the story. The actor insisted that he was the one who suffered abuse at the hands of Heard and presented incriminating material against his ex.
A bodyguard for Depp showed photos of the actor with injuries to his face. Sean Bett, who has worked for the actor for nine years, said he took the pictures with his cell phone in December 2015, adding: "Mr. Depp told me that Ms. Heard had slapped him multiple times." In his witness statement he said Heard attacked the actor on another occasion after his 30th birthday party in Los Angeles in April 2016. He claimed he regularly saw the actress throw "bottles, glass and other objects" at Depp while I was also verbally abusive towards him. And he maintained that Depp remained passive in the face of the attacks and that he "always tried to get away from the situation."
From the beginning of the trial, Depp's legal team has sought to prove that Heard, 34, meticulously mounted a case against him.
The protagonist of films such as "Young Scissorhands" or "Blow" also stated that his ex-wife encouraged him to consume alcohol and drugs and that he did not support his efforts to seek help to combat his addictions.
Meanwhile, Heard affirmed that he never wanted the world to know the details of the hell he suffered at the hands of Johnny Depp and that he only wanted to be "left alone" when he finished presenting his evidence in the defamation case of his ex against The Sun. He said that everything he had said was true and that public exposure harmed his film career. "What woman has benefited from being a victim of domestic violence?" He noted.
Both Depp and Heard have accused each other of mistreatment, physical and verbal abuse, and to prove it they have provided respective photographs of bruises and injuries.
Heard alleged that in the years they were together the actor physically assaulted her on about 14 occasions, including an opportunity in Australia where she claimed that she was beaten, strangled and spat on by Depp, who held her hostage for three days.
In his witness testimony, Heard denied that she was the aggressive one in the relationship and accused Depp of a variety of acts of violence, including throwing "grenade-like" bottles at her, head butting her and putting out a cigarette on her cheek. He alleged that he often feared for her life while he lived with Depp, whom he labeled a "monster," and that he attacked her when he was drunk and high. According to the actress, he repeatedly threatened to kill and rape her. He also remarked that he was "very jealous" and that he was "obsessed" with knowing who he had slept with before him. And that Depp accused her of having affairs with all the actors she worked with, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco, Kevin Costner and Channing Tatum.
The war of declarations between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in the media trial ends next week with the presentation of the final arguments of both parties.
