The legal battle between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard over alleged cases of domestic abuse by both parties has been escalated by new pictures obtained by The Blast .
Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016.
At that time, Heard filed for a restraining order from Depp, claiming that Depp had been physically and verbally abusive during their relationship.
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A settlement was reached in August, and the former couple released a joint statement.
The statement read, “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”
The statement continued.
“There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.” Depp also provided Heard with a $7 million pay out, which she donated to a charity to help victims of domestic violence.
The situation escalated in December when Heard wrote an Op-Ed for The Washington Post.
The article was titled “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
In the article, Heard details her experiences with domestic violence.
At that point, Depp sued Heard for $50 million in a defamation case.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast , the lawsuit states that Heard’s “false allegations” against him are “an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity.”
The documents also allege that “Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse; she is a perpetrator.”
Depp claims during one fight Heard threw a bottle at him and missed. He claims he had another drink and Heard then threw the second bottle, which resulted in Depp’s infamous severed finger.
The documents also allege Heard’s documented injuries were staged.
In the documents, Depp says, “I have denied Ms. Heard’s allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016.”
His statement continues.
Depp says that he has denied the allegations since “she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week.”
New evidence in the form of photographs of Depp’s injuries have become available.
Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, tells The Blast , “The overwhelming body of evidence we already amassed unambiguously establishes Amber Heard as a serially violent abuser of both men and women, and obliterates her preposterous abuse hoaxes against Johnny Depp.”
The photograph in question was reportedly taken in an Australian hospital the day of the infamous fight between Depp and Heard.
Depp can be seen lying on what appears to be a hospital bed, with his hand bandaged. Depp has alleged with graphic photo evidence before that Heard had thrown a glass bottle at him, severing his finger tip.
Depp also appears to have a small mark on his face.
Depp is alleging that the mark is a cigarette burn, inflicted on him when Heard reportedly put out a cigarette against his face during the fight.
Heard’s legal team had not yet responded to The Blast’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Depp has been busy in the court system, having just recently settled one of three upcoming lawsuits.
Depp has just settled a case from 2017 where lawyers he had hired for a malpractice suit claimed that he owed them $350k in unpaid legal fees .
Next on the docket will be the case against Heard.
The defamation case is expected to go to trial on February 3rd, 2020, and the judge estimates that the trial will last 12 days.
After that, in May, Depp will be due in for another court case.
Depp will be facing allegations that he punched a crewmember while filming on the set of his upcoming movie, City of Lies.
h/t: The Blast
