Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski was the first person to give evidence during the opening of his libel trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

"He wanted to make her life hard, he wanted to ruin her life. "Ms Heard took on the role of a lifetime, she couldn't back down. It's disturbing but not surprising." She is preparing to give the performance of a lifetime in this trial." "Words matter." A false statement uttered by his former wife, Amber Heard."

The opening statements in Depp v Heard defamation duel in Virginia were no less shocking, despite being familiar from earlier trial in London in 2020.

"She said I needed to get off my cross and stay out of her marriage," Dembrowski said. She said Depp wanted a pre-nuptial agreement to protect his kids and Heard refused to sign. Dembrowski tried to push back against questions about texts she sent Depp in 2014, which Rottenborn asserted involved her telling him to stop drinking, taking cocaine and pills. "She said 'why would Dior want to do business with you, they’re about class and style, you don’t have style,' " Dembrowski said. "Amber made a mistake millions before her and millions after who are victims of domestic abuse - she chose to stay. She said her brother's reaction as a child was to run and hide during these episodes. One incident that stayed with her, she said, was after she met with Dior about working with Depp; Heard's reaction was disbelief and disgust. "The words she wrote are true...She drew on her experiences as someone who reported domestic abuse and there is no dispute she did in fact report this in 2016...This article is about the social change she is advocating and which the First Amendment protects." But Rottenborn argued the case is about the First Amendment and how it protects Heard's right to comment on a matter of public interest. "(Depp) will go to his grave knowing there are people out there in the world who believe he abused a woman," Vasquez said. Anticipating testimony that some witnesses claimed to see Heard without bruises or other marks of abuse after this alleged episode, Bredehoft said Heard never left her bedroom without full makeup. "By choosing to lie about her husband for her own personal benefit, (Heard) forever changed Mr. Depp's life and reputation.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's legal battle continues as the divorced movie stars face off in court in a libel case. Follow along here for updates.

“She’s going to give the performance of a lifetime in this courtroom.” Chew said she showed up at the courthouse on May 27 of that year with a bruise on her face that was photographed by the paparazzi. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world." Rottenborn said the evidence will show that Depp physically and sexually assaulted Heard on multiple occasions. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future." Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 35, for $50 million, alleging she defamed him in an opinion column she published in the Washington Post (which is printed in Fairfax County) in December 2018.

Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are back in court to determine whether Heard libeled her ex-husband in 2018 when she wrote an op-ed for the Washington ...

It also alleged that “she is the perpetrator” and noted that she had been previously arrested on suspicion of violently abusing her former domestic partner. The lawsuit called her ongoing allegations of domestic abuse “categorically and demonstrably false,” and said that Depp never abused Heard. Depp’s lawyers have also said they filed the lawsuit there in part because the laws are more favorable to their case. Judge Azcarate ruled against Depp, but that doesn’t mean Heard has immunity for what she wrote. They announced a divorce settlement in August 2016 and by January 2017, a judge finalized the acrimonious split. She also brought a photo of herself with a bruised face to court, which got a judge to order that Depp stay away from her. In March 2021, Depp’s attempt to appeal the verdict was rejected. “Friends and advisers told me I would never again work as an actress — that I would be blacklisted. That’s also about the time she first publicly accused Depp of domestic violence — allegations that Depp denied. That same year, Depp separated from Vanessa Paradis, his girlfriend of 14 years, with whom the Academy Award nominee has two children. “Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

Explosive new allegations have been made by Amber Heard about her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, during the opening arguments of his defamation trial.

“[Ms Heard’s] reaction to that was that she was in disbelief and sort of disgust, and she said ‘Dior ? Why would Dior want to do business with you? She claimed her mother called Mr Depp “one-eye” because he wore an eyepatch to correct a lazy eye when he was a child. “These fictitious claims were never made at the onset of Amber’s allegations in 2016, and only advantageously surfaced years later once she was sued for defamation after noting in her op-ed that she was a victim of ‘sexual violence.’ Words are key in a defamation case and conveniently, this allegation only came after that. “Ms Heard had never made that accusation against Mr Depp — it was never part of her allegations of abuse in 2016. “In Mr Depp’s 58 years, not a single woman has ever accused him of violence, and nobody in Hollywood or the world had any reason to believe he was an abuser – until Ms Heard publicly accused him.” "She threw a vodka bottle at him that hit his hand and exploded, severing the end of one of his fingers.”

A jury in Virginia is scheduled to hear opening statements in a defamation lawsuit filed by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

But a judge ruled that Depp was within his rights to bring the case in Virginia because The Washington Post’s computer servers for its online edition are located in the county. The trial is expected to last for more than a month. FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A jury in Virginia is scheduled to hear opening statements Tuesday in a defamation lawsuit filed by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

Johnny Depp's attorneys told jurors that "his name is associated with a lie," characterizing his ex-wife Amber Heard's claims of domestic abuse as false ...

“And the evidence will show that Ms. Heard’s false allegations had a significant impact on Mr. Depp’s family and his ability to work in the profession he loved, and loved to bring joy to everyone.” “The evidence will show that Ms. Heard showed up with a mark on her face that mysteriously appeared six days after she last saw Mr. Depp and six days before she publicly filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order alleging abuse.” Another attorney for Depp, Camille Vasquez, said that Depp himself was a survivor of his mother’s angry rages. As Chew spoke, Heard was on the other side of the courtroom, peering down at a legal pad. As she described Depp’s injuries, he flinched for a half second. The evidence will show that Mr. Depp learned that the best way to deal with violence was to leave. “But that’s going to come out over the course of this trial.” It is about the evidence. But this trial is about the evidence. Depp sued over Heard’s December, 2018, Washington Post op ed, which described herself as an abuse survivor but did not name her ex husband. “The evidence will show that six days after Mr. Depp requested a divorce, and he did so politely, and three days after Ms. Heard’s lawyer threatened Mr. Depp with claims of abuse if he did not agree to her financial demands, Ms. Heard arrived at the courthouse in Los Angeles, California to file for a restraining order alleging abuse,” Chew said. “The evidence will show that Disney had a dossier on him, that had articles from the press, had other information about Mr. Depp and they didn’t have this article at all in their files, didn’t register with them, just as it didn’t register with the public.”

Johnny Depp's lawyers gave their opening statement in a $50 million defamation trial, saying Amber Heard faked abuse to advance her career.

“Ultimately this trial is about clearing Mr. Depp’s name of a terrible and false allegation.” “The article isn’t about Johnny Depp,” he argued. “The evidence will show that was a lie.” It’s up to you, ladies and gentlemen, to make him do that.” Her attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, went through many of the allegations in detail in her opening statement, including one occasion when Depp allegedly sexually assaulted her with a liquor bottle. Her attorney Ben Rottenborn argued that Depp is seeking to ruin Heard’s life by pursuing the lawsuit.

Heard's counsel presents Depp as an 'an obsessed ex-husband hellbent on revenge'

Why, I’m not sure, because the evidence isn’t pretty for Mr Depp.” “She has been living and breathing this lie for years now,” she said. “But that’s going to come out over the course of this trial.” “Today, his name is associated with a lie. “She is preparing to give the performance of a lifetime in this trial.” Heard’s attorneys, meanwhile, argued that her allegations are true, she had a right to express her views, “and all Mr Depp has wanted to do is humiliate Amber, to haunt her, to wreck her career”.

Amber Heard "concocted a role as a victim", the former spouses' defamation trial is told.

She did not name Johnny Depp, she did not write the headline and in America there is a special constitutional protection for words written in the newspapers. "She has been living and breathing this role for years now and she is preparing to give the performance of her life." Yes, she had accused him of abuse but that was not what her article in the Washington Post was about. Before court proceedings began they were warned to keep phones hidden, to not take pictures, there would be no shouting of 'we love you, Johnny.' But as it began there was not a murmur or a sign of movement. Johnny Depp may have lost his case in London, this they feel will be different. "Mom would, she would scream, she would yell.

Johnny Depp was an “obsessed ex-husband hell-bent on revenge”, a court has heard, as the actor's defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard got underway in the ...

It’s disturbing but not surprising.” “She is preparing to give the performance of a lifetime in this trial.” But Mr Depp’s lawyers argued that the allegations by Ms Heard were false and the actress was “preparing to give the performance of a lifetime” during the proceedings. These included a “drug binge” with his “good friend” Marilyn Manson and a “blackout” in Australia, which Ms Heard had previously described as a “three-day hostage situation”. But Benjamin Rottenborn, representing Ms Heard, said the actor had brought the suit “rather than take responsibility for his own actions” and planned to turn the trial into a “soap opera”. Lawyers on behalf of the Aquaman actress said Mr Depp had sought to “destroy” her and that the situation was “disturbing, but not surprising”.

The actor is suing actress Ms Heard, his former partner, for libel over a 2018 article she wrote in The Washington Post. Actor Johnny Depp inside the ...

“He wanted to make her life hard, he wanted to ruin her life. He continued: “The evidence for Mr Depp isn’t pretty… It’s disturbing but not surprising.” But Mr Depp’s lawyers argued that the allegations by Ms Heard were false and the actress was “preparing to give the performance of a lifetime” during the proceedings. “She is preparing to give the performance of a lifetime in this trial.” These included a “drug binge” with his “good friend” Marilyn Manson and a “blackout” in Australia, which the court was told Ms Heard had previously described as a “three-day hostage situation”.