Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: Examining the Accusations

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It's hard to believe that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were once madly in love, especially given how rancorous their legal drama has become. Certainly, too, there's no shortage of accusations on both sides — but the most salient accusations from both Depp and Heard's respective camps are physical and mental abuse.

According to Heard, Depp abused her — and this accusation reportedly cost him his beloved Pirates of the Caribbean role as Capt. Jack Sparrow. Depp, of course, fired back and said that it was Heard who abused him, not the other way around.

So the question remains: who do you believe?

Gettyimages | Stephane Cardinale - Corbis

Just 15 months after she married Depp — whom she met on the set of The Rum Diaries — Amber Heard filed for divorce from the beloved actor. In her divorce filing, she alleged that Depp subjected her to both physical and mental abuse. Heard also claimed that Depp attacked her so violently that she "lived in fear" that he would return and attack her again. In response, the courts ordered that Depp stay at least 100 yards away from Heard.

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Johnny Depp didn't take the accusations against him lying down. He responded to Heard's claims of physical and mental abuse by filing a $50 million defamation suit against the Aquaman actress. Depp's case, which is currently pending, alleges that it was Heard who was physically and emotionally abusive, not Depp. What's more, Depp alleges that Heard is engaging in "an all-too-transparent ploy to stanch the ongoing damage to his reputation as a Hollywood star." The case, as of this writing, is still pending.

In a taped phone call obtained by the Daily Mail on February 5, 2020, Depp claimed that Heard was "killing him." The shocking phone call features a tearful Depp telling Heard that the children in his son's school are accusing him of being a "wife-beater," and that Heard was "f**king killing him."

Heard's response: "Tell the world, Johnny, tell them... I Johnny Depp, a man, I'm a victim too of domestic violence... and see how many people believe or side with you."

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In addition to suing Heard, Johnny Depp — through his team of lawyers — is now suing News Group Newspapers, the parent company of The Sun and other tabloids, for publishing a "wife-beater" comment.

The case, which is going to trial in March, is also holding The Sun's executive editor Dan Wooton liable for the claims which Depp insists are false and misleading. The Sun, which published the article back in 2018, has not released a comment about the allegations.

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Gettyimages | Lawrence Busacca

Needless to say, Heard is not taking the allegations lying down, either. According to Page Six, Heard's legal team has just released texts, allegedly between Depp and his friend — the actor Paul Bettany — in which Depp suggests that they "burn" Heard.

Bettany, in response, suggests that the actors "drown" Heard before they burn her.

Regardless of which side of the story you believe, there's no question that this case has become extremely volatile, and will certainly reveal more and more shocking things in the coming weeks before it reaches its resolution.