Johnny Depp’s libel case against The Sun kicked off at the Royal Courts of Justice in London this week with the first highlight being the allegation by his legal representatives that ex-wife Amber Heard had fabricated allegations of abuse.
The actor is suing the publisher of The Sun – News Group Newspapers (NGN) – and executive editor Dan Wootton, over an April 2018 article that referred to him as a “wife beater”. The trial, which is spread over five courts, is expected to last three weeks.
Depp’s barrister, David Sherborne, got the ball rolling in what looks set to be a bruising and messy battle between the divorced couple, accusing Heard of initiating the violent confrontations between them.
Depp has said that he decided to quit the marriage after she defecated on their matrimonial bed, contrary to The Sun newspaper’s claim that he had been a “violent monster”.
The case, Sherborne explained, concerned allegations that Johnny Depp “seriously physically assaulted his former wife, the actress, Amber Heard. Not just once but on at least 14 different occasions it is now said, causing her such serious injuries and being so violent that it led Ms Heard to fear for her very life.”
Heard had appeared at a Los Angeles courthouse with bruises on her face, which Sherborne said “were no doubt designed to be a visual demonstration of her primary incident of alleged violence”.
Heard, Sherborne said, had manufactured, the abuse allegations against Depp.
“There is a substantial body of evidence (including from these and other witnesses) which clearly demonstrates that this was a lie manufactured by Ms Heard and her friends.
“The alleged incidents have expanded and become embellished, and even changed character, quite dramatically over the years since then… Ms Heard has invented these stories of serious violence. He is not and never has been a wife-beater,” Sherborne said.
Heard on her part is accusing Depp of drug abuse and destructive behaviour when intoxicated.
The Sun’s original article related to allegations made by the actress, who was married to the Pirates of the Caribbean star from 2015 to 2017.
Witnesses including Mr Depp’s former partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder are expected to give evidence via video link. Daily Mast
