Amber Heard says she has “always maintained a love” for her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, even with the multimillion-dollar lawsuits the former spouses have launched against each other. The Aquaman star posted a statement on Instagram, the day before the defamation trial is set to commence in Virginia on April 11.
She wrote:
I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.
As previously reported, Depp is suing Heard for defamation of character over an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post. Heard described incidents Depp is saying imply that he threatened, intimidated and was violent towards his ex-wife. She specifically referenced warnings that she would be blacklisted in the film industry, that she was dropped from a film and as a brand ambassador for a fashion label. She also said that speaking out about her experiences of sexual violence nearly cost her the part of Mera in Justice League and Aquaman.
Depp’s legal team is making the case that Heard’s op-ed is a breach of the non-disclosure agreement the pair signed as part of their divorce settlement. He is arguing that the op-ed cost him the roles of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean and Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts. Furthermore, his lawyers allege that Heard was the aggressor in the marriage, not Depp. His attorney Adam Waldman has repeatedly called Heard’s allegations of Depp’s violence a “hoax”. Heard’s lawyers responded by countersuing Depp for $100 million, a case that will go to trial later this year.
The ex-spouses met in court in 2020 when Depp sued The Sun for describing him as a “wife-beater” and Heard was called to testify. The British High Court ruled that 12 of the 14 incidents of violence Depp was alleged to have perpetrated against Heard were “substantially true.”
Whether or not the outcome of the libel case will influence Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Heard remains to be seen.
