Johnny Depp's lawyer says Amber Heard wrote opinion to advance her career
Johnny Depp's lawyers on Tuesday gave a jury an overview of his US defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
According to Reuters, opening statements began in a Virginia courtroom in Depp's trial, 58, against 35-year-old Heard brought in 2018 for $50 million.
Depp alleged that Heard slandered her when she wrote an opinion piece about domestic abuse survivors in the Washington Post in December 2018.
Depp's name was never mentioned in the article, but Depp's attorney, Benjamin Chew, told jurors Tuesday that it was clear Heard was referring to a Hollywood figurehead.
Chew said that jurors Heard published his biggest film of all time, on the eve of the release of "Aquaman", to drum up publicity and advance his career.
"By choosing to lie about her husband for her own personal gain, Amber Heard changed Mr. Depp's life and his reputation forever," Chew said. "You'll hear him tell you about the terrifying effect it has had on his life."
Heard's article in the Washington Post "devastated" Depp's career, Chew said.
"Hollywood studios don't want to deal with the public backlash by hiring someone accused of abuse — even a man with incredible work and records can be proud of Mr. Depp," Chew said.
Hurd's lawyer J. Benjamin Rottenborn said in his opening statement that Depp was trying to mislead the jury with "crazy conspiracy theories."
Rottenborn said that Hurd was telling the truth about the "horrific" abuse, but the case is really about a narrow legal question: whether Hurd's opinion piece was speech protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
"That's the question, and that's what you're being asked to decide," Rottenborn told the jurors.
"Mr. Depp's team is going to try to turn this matter into a soap opera," Rottenborn said. "Why? I'm not really sure, because the evidence isn't pretty for Mr. Depp."
Ellen Breedhoft, one of Heard's lawyers, said that during a 2015 trip to Australia, Depp dragged Heard across the floor, punched him, kicked him, and then "rammed him with a bottle of wine."
Depp shook his head "no" in the courtroom when Breidhoft gave the statement to the jurors.
A state court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, is overseeing the trial, which is expected to last six weeks. The jury was selected on Monday.
Less than two years ago Depp lost a defamation case against The Sun, a British tabloid that dubbed her a "wife beater".
In the US case, both Depp and Heard presented long lists of potential witnesses they could put on the stand.
Heard's list includes her ex-boyfriend and Tesla (TSLA.O) chief executive Elon Musk, with whom she wrote about Depp. Actor James Franco is also on the list of possible witnesses.
The Washington Post is not a defendant in the case. Depp's lawyers have said he filed the case in Fairfax County, outside the District of Columbia, because the newspaper appeared in a facility there. Heard unsuccessfully tried to move the case to Los Angeles, where he and Depp lived.
The United States is a difficult platform for libel plaintiffs, especially public figures like Depp, who face many obstacles in the Virginia case. Depp must prove with clear and convincing evidence that Heard knowingly made false claims.
Depp and Heard met while making the 2011 film "The Rum Diary" and married four years later. Heard accused Depp of domestic abuse after filing for divorce in 2016.
Heard is best known for his roles in "Aquaman" and "Justice League". She filed her defamation claim against Depp, saying he defamed her by calling her a liar.
Heard's counterclaim will be decided as part of the hearing. According to court papers, Heard is seeking $100 million in damages from Depp.
In his evidence at the London High Court, Heard said that Depp would turn into a jealous alter ego, a "monster" after consuming drugs and alcohol and had threatened to kill him.
He details 14 occasions of extreme violence when he said the actor pressed, punched, slapped, hit, strangled and kicked him. The judge of London accepted 12 of these accounts to be true.
Following the November 2020 verdict in the London libel lawsuit, Depp was replaced with Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen in the third film in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, a spin-off from the "Harry Potter" books and films... Reuters