Details of Johnny Depp‘s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard have come to light, with the actor accusing his ex-wife of numerous incidents of domestic abuse.

Depp filed a $50 million lawsuit against Heard on March 1, with the Pirates of the Caribbean star taking action in response to an op-ed Heard penned in 2018 for The Washington Post. Although she didn’t specifically mention Depp by name, the piece refers to the allegations of domestic abuse that Heard first made against the actor in 2016.

The couple divorced in 2017 after settling both their divorce and Heard’s domestic abuse case against Depp the previous year.


Depp’s lawsuit has now been made available to view online, with the papers claiming that Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse are nothing more than an “elaborate hoax”.

“The op-ed depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her,” the complaint reads, adding that the piece’s implication that Depp was a domestic abuser are “categorically and demonstrably false.”

“Ms. Heard’s false allegations against Mr. Depp have been conclusively refuted by two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses, and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera videos.”

The suit, which accuses Heard of being a “perpetrator” of domestic abuse, also alleges that Heard attacked Depp numerous times, including an incident where Heard “violently” threw a bottle of vodka at Depp which “severed [his] middle finger on his right hand and shattered the bones,” causing him to require surgery. Heard is also accused of punching Depp while he was in bed, kicking him on numerous occasions and staging attacks.

“Unaware that members of Mr. Depp’s security team were mere feet away, Ms. Heard falsely began yelling, ‘Stop hitting me, Johnny,'” the documents describe one alleged incident in May 2016. “The interaction culminated with Ms. Heard making false allegations that Mr. Depp struck her with a cell phone, hit her and destroyed the penthouse. There were multiple eyewitnesses to this hoax.”


In response to the lawsuit earlier this month, Heard’s attorney Eric M. George told Deadline: “This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp’s repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced.

“Mr. 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 Mr. Depp and his legal team.”