Amber Heard's lawyers, in libel trial, say Johnny Depp physically & sexually assaulted her

One of the popular star couples at one point, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard split and their rift has gone beyond their divorce which was finalised in 2017. The duo is currently embroiled in a legal suit over the latter allegedly accusing the Pirates of the Caribbean actor of abuse in a newspaper op-ed.

The trial in Depp's libel suit against Heard began at the Fairfax County courthouse in Virginia earlier this week. The $50 million suit's opening arguments witnessed Depp's attorneys calling Heard's allegations a lie, and said that her accusations were for career advancement. Heard's lawyers narrated allegations of physical and sexual abuse by Depp and called him a 'monster.' 

Amber Heard's lawyers accuse Johnny Depp of physical, sexual abuse

Amber Heard's attorneys, as per a report on Deadline, termed Depp as an “obsessed ex-husband hellbent on revenge' in front of the 11-person jury. They said they were showing who the 'real Johnny Depp' was, and claimed that the latter came out as a 'monster' after drinking and taking drugs.

The actress has alleged that her ex-husband punched her, kicked her, pushed her against the wall and choked her. Heard's attorney also alleged, in a statement that came out for the first time, that Depp allegedly sexually assault with a liquor bottle. 

Depp's team, as per a statement by Variety, has denied the sexual assault claim. The spokesperson was quoted as saying that this particular claim was not a part of the allegations of abuse that Heard had put on Depp during their divorce in 2016.  

The attorneys also said that Heard's article did not affect Depp's career in Hollywood, as the abuse allegations were public for two years and that Disney, which allegedly decided not to cast Johnny Depp, had a dossier of other reasons behind their decision.

Johnny Depp's libel suit against Amber Heard

Depp sued Heard for $50 million over her op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 where she described herself as an abuse survivor. The actor also alleged that the article had led to Disney's decision to not cast him in their projects. Heard countersued her ex-husband for $100 million after failing to transfer the suit to California. 

In the opening argument of the libel suit, Depp's lawyers stated that the abuse allegations were a lie and a false accusations. They stated that the article was published for publicity of her film Aquaman.