Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: the latest legal battle explained

Film star Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard over a newspaper article she wrote in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.

The pair have already had their private affairs splashed over front pages after Depp sued News Group Newspapers Ltd, publishers of British newspaper The Sun, for libel over an article that called him a “wife beater”.

Although the dispute was between Depp and The Sun, Heard appeared as a witness for the paper and “the three-week trial in London looked more like a feud between former spouses”, said the BBC.

At the time it was dubbed “the trial of the century”, but the courtroom dramatics seem to be far from over. Having lost his action against The Sun, Depp is now suing Heard for $50m (£38m) over an opinion piece she wrote in The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse. And Heard is suing back, with a $100m counterclaim against Depp. 

The background 

Depp and Heard began a relationship in 2011 after shooting The Rum Diary, said The Hollywood Reporter. They married in 2015, but just 15 months later Heard filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, “accusing him of hitting her”.

Speaking to Associated Press at the time, Heard said that she had “endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse” from her ex-husband, including having a mobile phone thrown at her face with “extreme force”. Depp denied the abuse.

Before the trial over the restraining order could begin, however, the pair issued a joint statement that said: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

Heard won a $7m settlement in the subsequent divorce proceedings, which she pledged to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union. But Depp’s team “now disputes” that the money was ever donated, said the BBC. 

Then, in 2018, Depp sued The Sun newspaper for libel over an article that referred to him as a “wife beater”. He ultimately lost the trial, with a British judge ruling that the “great majority” of Heard’s accusations of abuse could be proven to the civil standard, which means “the abuse was more likely than not to have occurred”, explained the broadcaster. 

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/956409/johnny-depp-vs-amber-heard-the-latest-legal-battle-explained