Johnny Depp files defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million

Hollywood star Johnny Depp has filed a $50 million defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard after she alleged that he had been domestically violent against her.

According to reports, the fiasco had broken loose following Heard’s op-ed in The Washington Post where she termed herself as a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Subsequent to this, Depp’s lawyers slapped a defamation suit on her while terming her allegations a ‘hoax’.

“She 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'”, stated the lawyers.

The op-ed depended on the central premise that Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her. Depp never abused 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 Heard and advance her career,” the actor’s counsel had gone on to say.

On the other hand, following the defamation suit, a representative of Heard revealed a statement saying: “This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp's repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced. Depp's actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behaviour. "But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self-destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Depp and his legal team."