Johnny Depp’s lawyers denounce Amber Heard’s ‘devastating’ effect

AFP

The domestic violence allegations that Amber Heard, 35, made against Johnny Depp, 58, to whom she was married, had a “devastating” effect on the American actor’s career. That’s what the actor’s lawyer said on Tuesday (12) in a US court, where the ex-couple accuses each other of defamation.

The trial, which takes place near Washington, relates to an article published in the Washington Post in 2018, in which Amber Heard described herself as a “victim of domestic violence”. She has complained of being harassed by society after denouncing Depp two years earlier.

“This case demonstrates how devastating words can be when they are untrue and spoken in public,” the actor’s attorney, Benjamin Chew, said at the opening of the lawsuit. “Amber Heard forever changed Depp’s life and reputation and you’ll hear him recount the terrible impact it had on his life.”

According to Benjamin Chew, Heard accused her husband of violence in 2016 to get back at him for filing for divorce. Two years later, in the wake of the “MeToo movement” and “shortly before the premiere of the movie Aquaman”, in which she participated, the actress “chose to remind the world of these venomous accusations in a newspaper known worldwide”, he pointed out.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

In her text, the actress does not mention Johnny Depp, whom she met in 2009 and whom she married in 2015. A year later, she applied for a restraining order, claiming that the actor had beaten her. But she dropped those charges as part of her divorce, which was finalized in 2017.

After the publication of the text, Depp, who denies the assault, filed a defamation suit against Amber Heard, asking for US$ 50 million (about R$ 234 million) in damages. The actress, in turn, filed a defamation lawsuit in which she asks for US$ 100 million (R$ 467 million), for the continuation of the “abuse” and “harassment” that Johnny Depp imposed on her during her marriage.

The actor filed the suit in the state of Virginia, where the Washington Post is printed and where the legal framework is more favorable to defamation allegations. Both actors reside in California.

This case is mainly based on the “First Amendment” of the Constitution, which gives Amber Heard “the right to say the words that he said”, replied the actress’ lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, and asked the jury to “confirm and protect” that right. .

“If Amber had intended to use this article to detail the abuse she suffered this article would have been very, very different,” he explained.

“You will see the real Johnny Depp, beyond the red carpets, the fame and money of pirate costumes,” added the lawyer, who describes him as a man who became violent due to alcohol and drug abuse, addictions that destroyed his life. career.

The two ex-spouses watch the trial, broadcast live on television and which will last for weeks. The witness list is worthy of Hollywood movies, with billionaire Elon Musk, actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, and actress Ellen Barkin.