Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.Photo: Todd Williamson/Getty; John Shearer/Getty
Amber Heardis speaking out after ex-husbandJohnny Deppalleges that she lied about being a domestic abuse victim.
“This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp’s repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard,” her attorney Eric M. George told PEOPLE in a statement. “She will not be silenced.”
Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman responded in a statement:
“We hardly intend to silence Ms. Heard — to the contrary, we intend to subpoena and compel evidence from her, her three hoax-assisting friends, and Elon Musk. We look forward to holding the overwhelming video, photographic and eyewitness evidence we finally possess up against Amber Heard’s (so far silent) attempts to explain the inexplicable.”
In his lawsuit, Depp alleged that Heard, 32, began aromantic relationshipwithTesla founder Musk“no later than one month after” she and Depp married in 2015.
Depp, 55, and Heard, 32, met on the set of 2011’sThe Rum Diaryand were married from February 2015 to May 2016.
A rep for Musk maintains that “Elon and Amber didn’t start seeing each other until May 2016, and even then it was infrequent. Their relationship didn’t become romantic until some time later.”
The actress filed for adomestic violence restraining orderagainst Depp in May 2016 after she accused him ofabusing her. Depp denied the claims, and the former couple settled their divorce out of court in August 2016 for $7 million, which she donated to charity. Both actors signed NDAs barring them from discussing their relationship publicly.
On Friday, Depp’s lawyers filed the $50 million defamation suit against Heard over her Dec. 18, 2018 op-ed inTheWashington Posttitled,“I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
Heard “purported to write from the perspective of ‘a public figure representing domestic abuse’ and claimed that she ‘felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out’ when she ‘spoke up against sexual violence,’ ” Depp’s lawyers state in the lawsuit.
Gregorio Binuya/Everett Collection
“The op-ed depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her,” his legal team continued.
“Mr. Depp never abused Ms. Heard. Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016. They were part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career,” Depp’s lawyers say in the lawsuit.
His legal team also says that the op-ed negatively affected Depp’s career, claiming that it cost him the role of Jack Sparrow in the ongoingPirates of the Caribbeanfranchise. They say it was written to boost Heard’s profile before the premiere ofAquamanthree days later.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in 2015.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
In the lawsuit, Depp claims Heard received “late night” visits from the billionaire businessman Musk at the L.A. penthouse Depp and Heard shared while Depp was out of the country.
The actor goes on to claim Musk was granted access to his home the same night Heard “presented her battered face to the public.”
Reps for Musk did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Media-Mode/Splash News
Heard and Musk werefirst linked together in 2016. The two firstbroke up in August 2017due to their busy schedules but rekindled their romance in January 2018 only tosplit for a second time a month later.
While he remains CEO of the car company, Musk was fined $20 million.
source: people.com
