Johnny Depp accuses ex-wife Amber Heard of 'painting on bruises' in defamation lawsuit

Heard lawyer said the claims were a 'desperate attempt by Mr Depp to revive his career'

(Getty Images)

Johnny Depp has accused Amber Heard of “painting on bruises” and claimed she was physically abusive towards him.

Depp and Heard married in 2015 before divorcing two years later. After Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post concerning domestic violence, Depp filed a $50 million (£38 million) defamation lawsuit against her.

Filing a motion in the Circuit Court of Fairfax, Virginia, earlier this year, Heard once again reiterated allegations that Depp abused her before and during their marriage.

She exhibited photos of her face with bruises as well as images of property allegedly damaged by Depp and screenshots of text messages sent at the time.

Depp has responded to the allegations, saying: ”I have denied Ms Heard’s allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016 when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week.

“I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life.”

Depp added: “I never abused Ms Heard or any other woman.” He then went on to allege Heard was the aggressor in the relationship.

He said: “She was the perpetrator, and I was the victim. While mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol, Ms Heard committed innumerable acts of domestic violence against me, often in the presence of a third-party witness, which in some instances caused me serious bodily harm.”

A lawyer for Heard, Eric George, has denied the allegations and alluded to other legal actions Depp is involved in, with former lawyers and managers.

In a statement, he said: “The evidence in this case is clear: Johnny Depp repeatedly beat Amber Heard.

“The increasingly desperate attempts by Mr Depp and his enablers to revive his career by initiating baseless litigation against so many people once close to him – his former lawyers, former managers, and his former spouse – are not fooling anyone.

“In light of the important work done by the #TimesUp movement highlighting the tactics abusers use to continue to traumatise survivors, neither the creative community nor the public will be gaslit by Mr Depp’s baseless blame-the-victim conspiracy theories.”

Depp and Heard started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 comedy The Rum Diary. They married in Los Angeles in February 2015.

In May 2016, Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp after accusing him of abuse, which he denied.

The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2017, with Heard donating her 7 million US dollar (£5.5 million) settlement to charity.

Both actors signed non-disclosure agreements barring them from discussing their relationship publicly.

In a joint statement, they said their relationship was “intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love”.

They added: “Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”

Last year, Depp – who has been dropped from the forthcoming Invisible Man reboot – settled a $25m (£19m) lawsuit with his former business managers, alleging “gross misconduct” and “fraudulent” self-activity.

Also in 2018, the location manager for film City of Lies filed a lawsuit against Depp alleging he was punched twice in the ribs by the actor.

Additional reporting by agencies.