By Cassidy Worthem
May 5, 2022
The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial has been one of the biggest stories of recent entertainment news. The pair’s allegations against the other are very serious and leave the public taking sides and not knowing what to think about the case. Keep reading to get a better understanding of the couple's history and what's happening right now.
Depp and Heard got married in 2015, but 15 months after marriage Heard filed for divorce. Heard claimed that Depp physically abused her when he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and she got a $7 million settlement in court. A joint statement was released soon after the divorce and it seemed that this was the end to a brief Hollywood marriage. However, in 2018, Heard wrote a piece for the Washington Post about women in domestic abuse cases. Although Heard never mentioned Depp by name, many inferred that he was the person she was talking about.
Depp said that piece cost him a lot of acting opportunities and because of that, he is suing Heard for $50 million. She retaliated with a counter-suit of $100 million. That is where the claims of the case lie, and the defamation case began in Virginia on April 12, 2022. The case has been televised, which allows the world to keep up with the case as it happens. Depp just rested his case against Heard on May 3, 2022. While on the stand, he talked about his past with abuse, his struggles with drugs, and the abuse he claims to have suffered at the hands of Heard. He made many claims about Amber Heard like that she threw a bottle of alcohol at him, escalated arguments to violence, and faked bruises and PTSD symptoms.
The public reception of these claims does not look good for her, so much so that she replaced her public relations team during the trial. Depp has painted himself as a good man who was the victim of Heard’s violence, and even most legal experts think Depp did an excellent job on the stand. It’s now Heard’s turn to testify in the trial, and the whole world is anxious to see the other side of the story.