The Hollywood star’s lawyers Johnny Depp presented to the jury, this Tuesday (12), an overview of their defamation action against his ex-wife Amber Heardthe latest chapter in a long-running legal dispute between the two movie stars.
The opening statements began in a court in Virginia, in the United States, in a lawsuit brought by Depp, 58, against Heard, 35, in which the actor asks for 50 million dollars.
Depp alleges that Amber Heard defamed him when she wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post in December 2018 about being a survivor of domestic abuse.
The article did not mention Depp by name, but his attorney Benjamin Chew told jurors on Tuesday that it was clear Amber was referring to the Hollywood star.
Chew told jurors that Amber published the text on the eve of the release of “Aquaman,” her biggest film yet, to publicize and jumpstart her career.
“By choosing to lie about her husband for her own personal benefit, Amber Heard forever changed Mr. Depp and his reputation,” Chew said. “You will hear him talk about the terrible impact it had on his life.”
The actress’ writing in the Washington Post “devastated” Depp’s career, Chew said.
“Hollywood studios don’t want to deal with the public backlash by hiring someone accused of abuse – even someone with the incredible work history that Mr. Depp can be proud,” Chew said.
J. Benjamin Rottenborn, Amber Heard’s attorney, said in his opening statement that Depp was trying to fool the jury with “crazy conspiracy theories.”
Rottenborn claimed she was telling the truth about the “horrific” abuse she suffered, but added that the case is actually about a narrow legal issue: whether Heard’s op-ed piece falls under the First Amendment’s free speech. of the US Constitution.
“That’s the question, and that’s what you’re being asked to decide,” Rottenborn told the jurors.
“The team of Mr. Depp will try to turn this case into a soap opera,” Rottenborn said. “Why? I’m not sure, because the evidence isn’t pretty for mr. Depp”.
Another lawyer for Amber, Elaine Bredehoft, said that during a trip to Australia in 2015, Depp dragged Amber Heard across the floor, punched her, kicked her and then “penetrated her with a bottle of liquor”.
Depp shook his head “no” in the courtroom as Bredehoft made the statement to the jurors.
Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel suit against “The Sun”, a British tabloid that branded him a “wife beater”. A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Amber Heard and put her in fear for her life.
In the US case, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard presented long lists of potential witnesses who could testify.
The actress’ list includes her ex-boyfriend and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, whom she texted about Depp. Also on the list is the actor James Franco.
Source: CNN Brasil
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