Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: all the keys and revelations of the trial facing them

Nearly a month later, the judicial process facing Johnny Depp against his ex -wife, actress Amber Heard, went on and continued on its course. A legal battle that began in mid -2019 and that he is on trial for six weeks in the courts of Fairfax County, Virginia (USA); prolonging this process for longer than the 15 months combined by the couple in marriage.

A process in which Johnny Depp and Amber Heard they sue each other and that they have key witnesses causing many aspects of their intimate and personal lives to manifest, in each attempt to show that one is actually worse in their relationship, marked by violence, alcohol and drugs .

What will happen and what is at stake

The actor filed a lawsuit against his ex -wife in March 2019, alleging that he had committed the crime of defamation then write an opinion piece in 2018 for the newspaper Washington Postwhere he presented himself as victim of sexual violence and “public figures representing domestic abuse.” An opinion that, for the actor, ended his career.

Amber Heard survived, despite not being named Depp in her article, public opinion rose to defend him and condemned his ex-wife, who rescinded him of juicy contracts (Pirates of the Caribbean and the saga amazing animalsjust to name a few).

Therefore, Johnny Depp’s legal team filed a lawsuit against his ex -wife, to whom requests as compensation, at least $ 50 million.

However, things are not that simple. In August 2020, the legal group Amber Heard also filed a counterclaim against his ex-wife in response to the said defamation lawsuit, which accused him of “orchestrating a smear campaign” against her, asserting that he was again a victim of “abuse” and “harassment”.

As a result, the actress requested that she be granted immunity from the accusations of her ex -husband, in addition to compensation of approximately 100 million dollars.

Why the case was tried in Fairfax, Virginia

Johnny Depp sued his ex -wife for the article he published Washington Post in 2018. The trial is taking place in Virginia sincee the digital edition of the newspaper is published through several servers located in Fairfax Countywithin the said state, allowing the actor to present his claim before that court.

However, according to the Associated Press, her ex -husband’s lawyers unsuccessfully tried to move the case to California court.

But why did the actor insist on staying in Virginia? The reason is simple: its anti-SLAPP law (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), or what are the same, specific regulations for people who use the courts or threaten to sue others who are trying to use their right to freedom of expression. that’s what his ex -wife tried.

what was discovered

Today, and despite the passage of years, a stage in the lives of interpreters is being rebuilt, to say the least, storm.

On the part of Depp’s team they passed some witnesses say Johnny Depp is the real victim of domestic violence, even lost a finger after a fit of anger from his ex -wife. The actor presented himself as a real victim of domestic violence, with several testimonies corroborating his statements.

According to a forensic psychologist who witnessed the accusation, the actress may suffer from two severe personality disorders.

Something where another specialist psychologist is different on the part of the defense, which keeps it going actress to suffer post-traumatic syndrome (PTSD) due to domestic violence suffered by Depp and the abuses he received in his childhood.

An abuse already the actor vs. suffered himself as a child, at the hands of his motherwho was “quite violent and cruel” to him and his father and siblings.

Amber Heard, for her part, has already stood up and recounted how she met Johnny Depp, their connection when they filmed The Rum Diaries in 2009. An instant chemistry that would be such a relationship in 2011, with both new . separate from their partner. In 2015, they married, and 15 months later, she filed for divorce.

A relationship marked by excessive violence, alcohol and drugs; with attacks on each other. The actress offered in her testimony a life narrative she led with the actor, giving details of an alleged episode of sexual abuse in which Depp forced her to have sex with a boat; aggression and excessive use of alcohol or drugs.

A shocking testimony in which, among other things, he recalled the first time the actor allegedly attacked him after he laughed at one of his tattoos.

He also recounted his version of what happened when Depp lost part of his finger, making sure he wasn’t even there when it happened, but that was also the night. he sexually abused her using the aforementioned bottle of wine.

In addition, it was also discovered that, despite the fact that the actress did not name the actor in her controversial article against sexual and domestic violence, she did so in her first drafts, and he deleted it at the request of his lawyersas well as references to the restraining order he requested – and broke – to stay away from the actor.

According to evidence and witnesses who testified in today’s trial, the actor would have lost approximately $ 45 million after the controversial article was published, including his removal as the star of the sixth episode of pirates of the Caribbean.

What does Depp need to win the case?

The actor filed a complaint against his ex -wife, to whom accused of three crimes of defamationeach by the medium in which the controversial article of The Washington Postt (print edition, web and social networks, when the actress shared her article through her accounts).

Since Johnny Depp is a public figure, he has an addition: He must prove that his ex -wife acted with “real malice”, or he wrote the article that he knew was wrong. According to experts, this is something that is very difficult to prove, which would explain why the actor is presenting witnesses who show what the couple’s relationship has been like.

What will happen to Amber if she loses her case?

There are seven people who make up the jury and who will decide if Amber Heard has committed a crime and slandered her ex -husband, ruining her professional career and her image in her article.

In addition to determining whether he is guilty or not, the jury will also determine if the actress should pay Depp or if, on the contrary, he is the one who destroys her and has to pay the millionaire compensation he demands.

Whoever wins from this confrontation will leave another in front of another grand jury: the public, who will determine whether they will continue to support him professionally after all that has been experienced.

Source: La Vanguardia/Judith del Río

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