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Johnny Depp, Amber Heard trial: All you need to know about the legal battle

Johnny Depp filed a defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, three years ago. The trial finally began on Monday at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia.

Hollywood Johnny Depp Amber Heard trial All you need to know about the legal battle drb
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Mumbai, First Published Apr 11, 2022, 11:33 PM IST

Johnny Depp had filed a defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard after she allegedly accused him of domestic abuse. The lawsuit was filed by the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actor three years ago, the trial of which finally began on Monday. The legal battle is being heard at Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court in the United States of America.

For the unversed, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met in the year 2009 on the set of ‘The Rum Diary’, following which they got married in 2015. Soon after their wedding, their relationship went sour which led to serious allegations pressed by both the actors against each other. As the trial in Johnny Depp’s defamation case has begun, here is a lowdown on everything you need to know about their marriage and the legal battle.

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How it began: After their marriage in 2015, the two were embroiled in a controversial split for months. This was followed by both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard accusing each other of bad behaviour. Amber then accused Johnny of bruising her face by hurling a phone at her in their Los Angeles home. These charges were however denied by Johnny; he wasn’t charged with any crime either. Months later, the couple was finally divorced.

The defamation suit: In 2018, Amber Heard has written a piece for the Washington Post wherein she spoke about “domestic abuse” without taking the name of Johnny Depp. She also claimed that she was dropped out of a global brand’s campaign and also from a movie that she was “attached to” which replaced her role. The following year, Johnny filed a defamation suit against Amber for $50 million.

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Johnny, through his defamation, claimed that he was falsely accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife further mentioning that her allegations cost him financial losses which included his name being dropped from future "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, a franchise that he led for 15 years.

Johnny Depp continued to maintain that he was innocent and had not abused Amber Heard as the latter had alleged. However, in 2021, Johnny, in an interview with The Sun, claimed that he was facing a boycott by Hollywood.

Amber Heard’s response to the suit: The actress tried to get the defamation suit against her dismissed in the year 2019. Amber Heard, in her pursuit to get the suit dismissed, alleged that Johnny Depp was into drugs and alcohol abuse. "He would become a totally different person, often delusional and violent. We called that version of Johnny, 'the Monster', " Amber stated in her filing. She also alleged through her court documents that Johnny tried to throw bottles, hit her, shoved her, yelled at her, pulled her hair’s chunks and also strangled her at one point. Her motion to dismiss the suit was however denied. Countering Johnny Depp’s suit, Amber Heard filed a $100 million defamation against him in the year 2020.

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