Entertainment

Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard Trial: All Your Questions Answered!

• By All That Trending
• 02-05-2022
• 17.59K

The internet is filled with 'Johnny Depp' and 'Amber Heard' searches. Well, one of the most controversial love stories of the decade has swept the internet, and everyone is keeping an eye on what is going to happen after the six-week-long trial ends. However, some of us are also clueless about what's been happening and why the international media is only talking about the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard controversy. Well, we crawled the internet like crazy and have collected all the information to explain to you what's been up with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Without much ado, let's dive right into the pool of controversies! Johnny Depp, as we all know him from one of his best works to date - Pirates of the Caribbean has had a romantic relationship with Winona Ryder, Kate Moss and Vanessa Paradis. However, he struck the chords with actor Amber Heard on 'The Rum Diary' sets, which was released in 2009, starring both Depp and Heard. Media reports suggested that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard started dating in 2012. Cut to 2014; Amber Heard caught headlines as she was spotted wearing an engagement ring. Soon people started gossiping about Depp and Heard's 'secret engagement'. Proving everyone's assumptions true, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard got married in a private ceremony in LA in 2015.

2016 - 'The Turning Point'

The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard news took an ugly turn after Heard filed for divorce from Depp. Divorces are pretty normal but what made headlines was the reason for the divorce. Amber Heard alleged that Depp physically abused her and said that he did all of that under the influence of drugs and alcohol. In no time, an investigation began, but as per police officials, the domestic incident radio call did not report any crime on May 21, the same day that Heard alleged that Depp threw his phone at her and left her with a bruised face. Denying all domestic violence allegations, Johnny Depp said that Heard was 'attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.' Meanwhile, things started to go on a brighter side after a settlement was reached between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Heard withdrew her request for a domestic violence restraining order and received $7 million from the divorce. Releasing a joint statement over the divorce incident, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard wrote: "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain." As per people.com, Heard donated all the money she got to charity. In 2017, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's divorce was finalised. While Heard kept the dogs, Depp retained possession of all properties, including a private island in the Bahamas, as well as all his classic cars and motorcycles collection. A non-disparagement clause was inserted in the divorce settlement, which refrained either party from speaking anything negative about the high-profile divorce.

2018 - 'The Op-Ed In The Washington Post'

For a year, all seemed well for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. However, an op-ed written by Amber Heard for The Washington Post on the topic of domestic violence caused troubles yet again. Heard, in the op-ed, wrote: "I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out." However, Heard did not explicitly mention Johnny Depp in the op-ed article.

2019 - 'The Defamation Case'

In 2019, Johnny Depp filed a defamation case against Amber Heard, saying that Heard 'is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator'. The suit also mentioned that the domestic abuse allegations are being made by the female actor to generate positive publicity. After the matter was dragged to court, Heard said that she still has scars on her arms and feet after an incident where Depp allegedly threw her through a ping pong table, dragging her through broken glass. The defamation case is still ongoing in the US.

2020: 'Heard Admits of Hitting Depp'

All things went south after some phone recordings were released. In the recordings, Heard allegedly admitted to having hit Depp. "I can't promise you I won't get physical again. God, I f---ing sometimes get so mad I lose it." said Heard in the recordings. In the same year, Depp sued News Group Newspapers and The Sun's Executive Editor Dan Wootton for a 2018 article that referred to the actor as a 'wife beater' post his divorce from Amber Heard. Both Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis released statements in Depp's defence during the court trial. The trial lasted for three weeks wherein Depp and Heard both accused each other. While Depp said that his ex-wife punched him and also accused her of having extra-marital affairs with James Franco and Elon Musk. On the other hand, Heard accused Depp of physically abusing her and that he threatened to kill her. Ofcourse, both parties denied each other's allegations. After the trial, Judge Mr Justice Nicole ruled against Johnny Depp and said that The Sun was correcting in reporting that Depp was violent towards his ex-wife. After the decision came against Johnny Depp, the actor announced that he was asked to resign from his role as Grindelwald in the film Fantastic Beasts 3. "I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in 'Fantastic Beasts', and I have respected and agreed to that request." wrote Johnny Depp on November 6. "Finally, I wish to say this. The surreal judgment of the court in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth, and I confirm that I plan to appeal," added Depp. By then, it was quite confirmed that the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard controversy had just begun! https://www.instagram.com/p/CHQXHimJvAC/ The Hollywood Reporter claimed that even though Depp has been dropped off from the film, he will receive total compensation for the same as per his pay-or-play contract with the production house. After the court's ruling, Johnny Depp and his legal team had decided to appeal against Judge Nicol's decision. However, Depp was denied the same. "I do not consider that the proposed grounds of appeal have a reasonable prospect of success," said the Judge. In fact, The Court also ordered Depp to make an initial payment of £630,000 ($841,733) to the News Group Newspapers.

2021: 'Where It All Got More Ugly'

At the Court of Appeals in London, Depp and his lawyers submitted an application to obtain permission to appeal against the High Court ruling that the actor physically molested his ex-wife Amber Heard. However, all efforts were in vain as Depp was again not granted permission by the second-highest court in the land. The Court of Appeals said that the decision was 'full and fair' and the trial judge 'gave thorough reasons for his conclusions which have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law.' The evidence that Depp's legal team submitted during the application filing pointed out Heard's lie about donating her full divorce settlement to charity.

2022: 'The Six Weeks Trial Begins'

As things stand right now, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's trial began on April 11 at the Fairfax Country Courthouse in Virginia. The high-profile court trial is being broadcasted live on YouTube. The trial is running from Monday-Thursday from 10 AM to 5 PM (EST). Here are the YouTube channels where you can watch the Depp-Heard trial:

• Sky News
• Law & Crime Network
• Court TV

The court trial is being done for the defamation suit filed by Johnny Depp against Amber Heard in response to an op-ed that the latter wrote in The Washington Post in 2018. In 2021, Heard countersued Depp for $100 million after her request to move the case to California was denied. The trial is scheduled to get over by May 19. However, the date is tentative depending upon new findings in the case.

What's The Trial Story So Far?

Everything came to a standstill in the courtroom after Amber Heard challenged Depp to go public with his claim and said: "Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them I, Johnny Depp – a man – I'm a victim too of domestic violence." To which Depp replied: "Yes, I am." Last week, Depp said: "Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms Heard in any way nor have I ever struck any woman in my life." Depp even claimed that his middle finger was damaged after Heard threw bottles of vodka at him. He added: "She threw the bottle, and it made contact and shattered everywhere. I honestly didn't feel the pain at first, at all. I felt the heat, and I felt something were dripping down my hand, and then I looked down and realised the tip of my finger had been severed, and I was looking at my bone sticking out, and blood was just pouring out," Speaking about how Heard's claims sabotaged Depp's career, he said: "I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms Heard's words, whether they mentioned my name or not." However, Heard's lawyers claimed that Depp was anyway going to get dropped from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or have his role reduced even before the publication of the op-ed article. Meanwhile, Forensic Psychologist Shannon Curry said that Heard showed symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder. The Psychologist also noted that the actor showed exaggerated signs of PTSD, which Heard claimed was due to her problematic relationship with her ex-husband. The doctor added that PTSD was a 'really tough disorder to find out if someone is faking it or not". Johnny Depp, during the trial, also said that Amber Heard has a 'need for violence'. Later, Depp also testified that Heard was responsible for faecal matter found on their bed after a fight in which Depp said that he was going to leave Heard. "She brought up the faecal matter on the bed. She tried to blame it on the dogs. They're teacup Yorkies. They weigh about 4 pounds each. I lived with those dogs. I picked up their funk. It was not the dogs." said Depp. The last few weeks have been quite rough as both Depp and Heard have accused each other of drug abuse and physical flights, amongst others. The trial has seen many weird and shocking confessions from both parties. However, one of the incidents worth mentioning is the one where Johnny Depp actually forgot the name of the movies he has done till now. If you don't know why Johnny Depp forgets films have been trending on social media, here's why - During the 4th day of court proceedings, Depp was asked to name the films he has worked on till now. Answering the question, Depp just mentioned Alice In Wonderland and nothing more. "I'm so pathetic when it comes to knowing what movies I've done. I'm sorry. I just, I don't watch them. I feel better not watching them. What was the question again?" said Depp. The Reel-life Jack Sparrow's light-hearted reply instantly had the whole courtroom laughing. Two of the most influential personalities, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and actor James Franco, are the potential witnesses in Heard's list. Both of them are expected to testify against Johnny Depp in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Christi Dembrowski (Depp's older sister and personal manager), Issac Baruch (Depp's childhood friend), and Tara Roberts (Manager of Depp's Bahamas Islands estate) have already testified against Amber Heard. Actor Paul Bettany is also likely to testify on behalf of Johnny Depp. https://www.instagram.com/p/CZNH9_Asmzr/

How Has The Trial Controversy Affected Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's career?

The high-profile case has affected actor Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's professional careers in quite a gruesome way. Ever since the legal battle has started between The Rum Diary co-stars, Johnny Depp has been removed from many big-budget films, including the 6th instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts 3. On the hand, the courtroom trial has also reportedly affected Heard's career, with her role being reduced to just 10 minutes in Aquaman 2. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcI_qpVP0ZL/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ae64c1cc-b406-4a62-bd5d-af41e0fad9bf

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