Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Amber Heard as Australian.
Actor Johnny Depp has reportedly accused ex-wife Amber Heard of painting bruises on herself before a 2016 court appearance, using recently admitted court documents to dispute the star’s allegations of domestic abuse.
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People reports that new court documents, submitted by Depp in relation to his USD$50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard, accuse her of fabricating evidence of domestic violence.
“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,” Depp wrote.
The declaration goes on to accuse Heard of throwing various household objects at Depp, including a vodka bottle, which he claims caused hand injuries requiring surgery.
In response, Heard’s lawyer Eric George told People that Depp’s statements were becoming “increasingly desperate,” and that nobody would be “gaslit by Mr. Depp’s baseless blame-the-victim conspiracy theories.”
Depp and Heard married in 2015, but divorced in 2o16 after Heard sought a restraining order and accused Depp of domestic violence. Their divorce settlement was finalised out of court the next year, resulting in Heard donating her USD$7 million to charity.
The settlement included non-disclosure agreements barring either party from publicly discussing their relationship. Depp claims Heard broke that agreement when, in 2018, she penned an article for The Washington Post discussing her role as a “public figure representing domestic abuse”.
While Heard didn’t name Depp in the piece, he argues the implication was clear – hence the USD$50 million lawsuit, which Heard has asked a judge to throw out.
The case is ongoing.
If you would like to talk to a counsellor about rape, sexual assault or domestic violence, please contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
