“This case demonstrates how devastating words can be when they are false and spoken in public,” said the actor’s attorney, benjamin chewat the opening of the process.
“Amber Heard forever changed Depp’s life and reputation and you will hear him recount the terrible impact this had on his life,” he said, addressing the jury.
According to Benjamin Chew, Amber Heard accused her husband of violence in 2016 to get back at him for deciding to divorce.
And two years later, in the wake of the “MeeToo movement” that denounced sexual violence and “just before the premiere of the movie Aquaman”, in which she participated, Amber Heard “chose to remind the world of these poisonous accusations in a newspaper world famous,” he said.
In her opinion piece, the 35-year-old actress does not name Johnny Depp, 58, whom she met in 2009 and married in 2015. A year later he applied for a restraining order, stating that the actor had hit him. But he resigned from these charges as part of his divorce, which was finalized in 2017.
Following the publication of the column in the newspaper, Depp, who denies hitting him, filed a defamation lawsuit against Amber Heardand claimed 50 million dollars in damages.
The actress, in turn, filed a defamation lawsuit in which she asks for 100 million dollars, for the continuation of the “abuse” and “harassment” that Johnny Depp imposed on her during the marriage.
The actor filed the lawsuit in the state of Virginia, where the Washington Post is printed and where the legal framework is more favorable to defamation complaints than in California, where the two actors reside.
This case is mainly about “the First Amendment” of the Constitution that authorizes Amber Heard “the right to say the words she said,” replied the actress’s lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, and asked the jury to “confirm and protect” this 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 are going to see the real Johnny Depp, beyond the red carpets, the fame and the money of the pirate costumes“added the lawyer, who describes him as a man who became violent due to alcohol and drug abuse, addictions that destroyed his career.
The two ex-spouses attend the trial, broadcast live on television and which will last for weeks. The witness list is worthy of Hollywood movies, with the billionaire Elon Musk, actors James Franco and Paul Bettany, and actress Ellen Barkin.
This trial is reminiscent of the one held in 2020 in London, when the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor sued the publisher of The Sun newspaper for an article that presented him as a violent husband.
Called as a witness, his ex-wife had recounted a dozen attacks committed, according to her, by a husband transformed into a “monster” by drug use.
Johnny Depp admits to having used too many drugs and alcohol, but insists that he never hit a woman. His ex-partners support him Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder.
The British court ruled in favor of The Sun, considering that “the vast majority of the alleged attacks had been proven.”
After this setback, the actor’s career sank and he was kicked out of several projects, including the sixth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
