Johnny Depp Defamation Case Opens With Claims of Drug Use, Blackouts and ‘Old Fat Man’ Insults
thewrap.comJohnny Depp’s defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard opened Tuesday in Fairfax, Virginia with explosive allegations of “excessive” drug and alcohol use, and claims of physical and psychological abuse in the couple’s marriage.Depp’s attorneys Benjamin Chew and co-council Camille Vasquez painted Heard as the aggressor telling the jury that the actress and model concocted stories of abuse because Depp “wanted out” and told his wife it was time to divorceDepp is suing his ex-wife for $50 million claiming she libeled him in a 2018 op-ed piece in the Washington Post, costing him a lucrative role in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
Although Heard didn’t name Depp in the article, she said she was a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”Depp’s lawyers laid out their case to the seven jurors and four alternates Tuesday.
Attorney Chew said for decades the actor’s name was associated with “success at the box office. Today, his name is associated with a lie, a false statement uttered by his former wife.” Chew insisted no one ever accused Depp of being violent before Heard, and this is “a case about how devastating words can be when they are false and uttered publicly.”Depp attorney Vasquez added that the actor’s family and friends saw “red flags” early in the relationship.
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