Researched by: Sara Varghese, Prafula Grace Busi & Elisha Benny 

Depp & Heard: An introduction

Johnny Depp: Until his personal life became fodder for front-page headlines, the 58-year old actor was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Depp’s love life has been colourful—and includes ex-wife Lori Anne Allison, actor Winona Ryder and model Kate Moss. His longest relationship was with girlfriend Vanessa Paradis—with whom he was with for 14 years and has two kids. All of whom have staunchly been on Team Depp through this entire saga. 

Point to note: Before Heard’s allegations, Depp had been upfront about his struggles with alcohol in the past—saying in 2005: “I spent years poisoning myself. I was very, very good at it.” But he never admitted to either violence or taking drugs. But in 2018, he was sued by a location manager on the set of ‘City of Lies’ who accused Depp of punching him twice in a drunken tirade—which suggests his alcohol problems were not exactly history. And this 2018 Rolling Stone profile—based on the author’s visit to his home—is peppered with references to copious amounts of wine and hash.

Amber Heard: The 35-year old actor was an up-and-coming star when she met Depp on the set of ‘The Rum Diary’ in 2009. At the time, she was best known for winning Breakthrough of the Year at the Young Hollywood Awards for the movie ‘Pineapple Express’. Her latest project is ‘Aquaman 2’—which was targeted by Depp fans who wanted her fired. 

A #MeToo hero: After her breakup with Depp, Heard also became a prominent figure in the #MeToo movement—and her relationship with him was often subtext in her speeches: 

“I’m somebody who has obviously suffered the full force of the wrath of our culture when a woman or survivor speaks up against a more powerful force. I have seen that firsthand—from death threats, harassment, bullying, invasion of my privacy, threats to my career and my safety, and yet, I’m still here. I refuse to accept those be the terms that other people, who are in positions of power, who seek to maintain the status quo, have set for me. I refuse to stand in line.”

Point to note: Heard was briefly arrested by the Seattle police in 2009 for domestic violence for hitting her then-girlfriend Tasya Van Ree—who insists she was “wrongfully accused.”

The marriage/divorce: Depp and Heard announced their splits with their respective partners in 2012—Vanessa Paradis and Tasya Van Ree, respectively. They became officially engaged in 2014, and married in 2015. According to Vulture, “almost as quickly as the marriage started, it was over.” By May 2016—just 15 months after their wedding—the couple filed for divorce “citing irreconcilable differences.”

Depp vs Heard: A legal hate story

The ugly aftermath of that divorce is intimately tied to the messy legal history of agreements, settlements and lawsuits.

The restraining order: When Heard sued for divorce in 2016, she also accused him of physical violence—and obtained a temporary restraining order. She claimed Depp had “violently” attacked her and thrown a mobile phone at her face with “extreme force.” There were other alleged instances of harassment as well—“excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse… angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults.”

The investigation: The cops were called after the phone incident but a police investigation did not reveal a crime. Heard later claimed she declined to give a statement to the officers because she feared an “international media incident.” But the photos of her bruised face were splashed on the cover of People magazine:

Bizarre point to note: Years later in a UK court, Depp testified the marriage ended when cleaners found faeces in the couple’s shared bed—which Heard blamed on the dogs, but Depp disagreed saying: “It was not left by a 3- or 4-pound dog. I was convinced that it was either Ms Heard herself or one of her cohorts involved in leaving human faeces on the bed.”

The settlement: Heard later withdrew her request for restraining order and reached a settlement of $7 million—which she claims to have given to charity—a claim contested by Depp’s lawyers. More notably, after the settlement, the couple released this joint statement:

“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.”

Key point to note: The 2017 divorce settlement contained a non-disparagement clause that bound both parties to not say anything negative about each other in public.

The Washington Post op-ed: Things were relatively quiet until 2018, when Heard wrote a Washington Post op-ed—as part of her new position as a #MeToo activist and ambassador on women’s rights at the American Civil Liberties Union. This is the bit that has now triggered years of legal warfare: 

“Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out. Friends and advisers told me I would never again work as an actress—that I would be blacklisted… I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”

The fallout: She never mentioned Depp by name but everyone in the media knew she was referring to him. And within four days, Depp was dropped from the next instalment of the wildly successful ‘Pirates of Caribbean’ franchise—a move he later blamed on Heard’s op-ed. And ever since, Depp has been on a legal rampage—trying to prove he has been defamed.

Lawsuit #1: In June 2018, he first sued the UK tabloid The Sun for an article titled ‘Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?’ The trial began in July 2020—and lasted three ugly weeks as it turned into a battle between Depp and Heard—who offered far greater detail on her domestic abuse allegations. The Sun—supported by Heard’s lawyers and Heard herself—offered 14 incidents of violence in support of the story:

“Citing evidence, including photos, audio recordings and Depp's own text messages, lawyers for the newspaper group argued in court filings that Depp ‘beat his wife Amber Heard, causing her to suffer significant injury, and on occasion leading to her fearing for her life.’"

The fallout: was immensely damaging to Depp. He lost a libel suit in the UK—which has some of the strictest laws in the world. And in her ruling, the judge accepted 12 out of the 14 incidents of violence as “substantially true”—which therefore meant the newspaper was not guilty of defamation when it described him as a “wife beater.” Depp’s repeated attempts to appeal the ruling failed. 

Also this: Four days after the verdict, Depp was dropped from the third instalment of ‘Fantastic Beasts’.

Trigger warning: The section below has one graphic description of sexual violence.

Where we are now: Lawsuit #2

This time around, Depp is directly suing Heard for $50 million in damages over her Washington Post op-ed:

“The op-ed's clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser is categorically and demonstrably false. Her allegations… are part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms Heard and advance her career.”

His lawyers claim that her ‘false’ allegations have damaged his film career and “incalculably” damaged his reputation. FYI: Heard has countersued Depp for $100 million for accusing her of fabricating the charges.

Opening statements: The trial kicked off on April 11 and the opening statements signal weeks of gruesome he/she said testimonies ahead. Heard’s account of the abuse has become more graphic with each trial. This time around, her lawyers offered up this horrific incident: 

“Amber’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft has alleged in court that Johnny ‘penetrated’ the Aquaman actress with ‘a liquor bottle’ during a ‘hostage situation’ over three days in Australia in 2015. She told the jury: ‘He has her jammed up against the bar. He has hurled bottles and bottles at her. He has dragged her across the floor on the broken bottles.’”

Depp’s lawyers in turn will claim Heard “was the physically abusive one”:

“Depp's attorney said that the actor would book an extra hotel room when the couple traveled so he would have somewhere to go when Heard became ‘enraged.’ While the couple was in Australia in December 2015, Heard threw a vodka bottle at Depp and it severed his finger, his attorney said. Heard's attorney said that Depp cut off his own finger.”

They also claim to have CCTV camera footage to prove she’s lying about the abuse.

Adding to the tamasha: A line-up of celebrity witnesses such as Elon Musk, Ellen Barkin, Paul Bettany, James Franco—who will testify for Depp or Heard.

Enter, the anti-SLAPP law: Having lost in the UK, Depp has a tall mountain to climb in the US—where many states have something called an Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law. To protect freedom of speech, it shifts the burden of proof onto the person who claims to be the victim of defamation. So Depp has to prove what Heard said is untrue—not the other way around. But this only applies if the ‘speech’ is in “public interest”—and some experts think she can make that case:

“If someone, like Amber Heard, writes something about domestic violence and spousal abuse—those are clearly matters of public interest. She has some form of immunity for saying those things.”

But, but, but: The lawsuit has been filed in Virginia—where Depp has the opportunity to first present evidence against Heard—unlike California where his suit would likely have been summarily dismissed. However, not many think he has a chance of winning even in Virginia.

The bottomline: Depp’s argument is that Heard has been able to make public accusations of domestic violence without having to prove them. The irony is that it’s his lawsuits that give her the legal opportunity to repeatedly air them—despite their settlement terms—and keep them in the headlines. FYI: MJ Akbar successfully filed a High Court appeal challenging the acquittal of Priya Ramani in the defamation case brought by him. We can expect a sequel in that case, as well.

Reading list

Rolling Stone did a brilliant profile of Depp in 2018—with lots of colour and insightful anecdotes. Vulture has the best overview of the latest lawsuit. Hollywood Reporter sums up the toxic history of Heard and Depp—with all the details that have emerged at various times. Buzzfeed News has the latest from the trial which is now in day #2.