The first of two legal matters involving actor Johnny Depp that were delayed due to the pandemic are now underway. Depp is accusing the UK paper The Sun of libel following a story in which Depp was called a "wife-beater" and as part of his case, Depp has testified that it was, in fact, his then-wife Amber Heard who allegedly attacked the actor on a night several years ago when Depp says he'd discovered he had lost as much as $750 million and was millions of dollars in debt.
Johnny Depp's multiple legal battles over the last few years seem to have come together. The actor had previously filed lawsuits against his former business managers, who then countersued him. Depp had claimed that his former managers were guilty of both fraud and negligence in regard to how his finances were handled. The business managers claimed that the actor's financial issues were due to overspending on his own part.
In Johnny Depp's testimony in this libel case on Monday, the actor stated that on the night he discovered the alleged financial problems, and he told Amber Heard, she became violent, throwing punches at him which he described as "haymakers" and "wild swinging," according to People.
The incident allegedly took place in April 2016, on Amber Heard's 30th birthday. The actress had claimed previously that on the same night Johnny Depp had become violent with her, but the actor is now saying it was the other way around.
It's unclear if Amber Heard was in the courtroom to hear this testimony. Heard will be giving evidence in the case at some point. Depp's lawyers had tried to argue that Heard should not be allowed in the courtroom unless she was there to testify but the judge ruled against the motion.
Johnny Depp testified that, in the time since the first two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, which were filmed back to back, he had apparently made $650 million, but due to the alleged financial mishandlings, that money was gone, and he owed an additional $100 million in back taxes which he claims should have been paid by the business managers but were not. Depp's lawsuit with his former business managers was settled out of court in July 2018. The settlement was not disclosed.
Johnny Dep's other ongoing legal matter is a defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard herself. Depp's suit claims that an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018 accusing him of abuse has cost him financially, specifically causing Disney to move on from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise without him.
Johnny Depp's libel case now continues, and his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard is set to be heard in August, so we certainly have not heard the last of all this.
