Johnny Depp slaps USD 50 million defamation lawsuit on Amber Heard

Los Angeles: Hollywood star Johnny Depp has filed a USD 50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife and actor Amber Heard for accusing him of domestic violence in an article.

According to The Blast, the 55-year-old actor's lawsuit is his response to Heard's Washington Post op-ed that she wrote last year, in which she claimed to be a victim of abuse. "Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator," says the suit, while calling the allegations against Depp as "hoax". Heard "purported to write from the perspective of 'a public figure representing domestic abuse' and claimed that she 'felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out' when she 'spoke up against sexual violence'," Depp's lawyers stated in the lawsuit. 

In the op-ed, Heard, 32, had revealed that she lost out on a number of film roles as a result of the "full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out". She had also claimed that she received death threats after she accused Depp of domestic violence. In the lawsuit, Depp's lawyers insisted that he "never abused Ms Heard" and alleged that she used the claims in order to further her career in Hollywood. Depp also claimed he was dropped from a "Pirates of the Caribbean" film after the op-ed was published, causing him financial damage. He is seeking USD 50 million in damages. 

In response to the lawsuit, Heard's representative said, "This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp's repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced. Mr. Depp's actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behaviour. "But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr. Depp and his legal team," the rep added. The couple's divorce was finalised in 2017, after two years of marriage. They had started dating after meeting on the sets of 2011 film "The Rum Diary".