Johnny Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, who accused Depp of domestic abuse

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The actor Johnny Depp has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, according to multiple media outlets, including Deadline, People, and The Blast.
Heard previously accused Depp of domestic abuse, which the lawsuit alleged is a false accusation that damaged Depp’s career.
The lawsuit specifically calls attention to a Washington Post op-ed Heard wrote in December, in which she refers to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."
"This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp’s repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard," Heard’s lawyers said in a statement to Business Insider.

The actor Johnny Depp has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, according to multiple media outlets, including Deadline and People. The Blast first reported the filing of the lawsuit on Friday.

Heard, an actress, previously accused Depp of domestic abuse, which the lawsuit alleged is a false accusation that has damaged Depp’s career.

"This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp’s repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard," Heard’s lawyers said in a statement to Business Insider. "She will not be silenced. Mr. Depp’s actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behavior. 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."

Heard described herself as a domestic-abuse victim in a Washington Post op-ed in December, in which she spoke out against sexual violence. In 2016, Heard’s lawyers said she "suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse" by Depp. The statement was in response to a guest column for The Wrap written by a friend of Depp’s, Doug Stanhope, who accused Heard of blackmailing Depp.

"I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out," Heard wrote for The Post.

Depp’s lawsuit specifically calls attention to the above line from the op-ed. While Heard never refers to Depp by name in the piece, the lawsuit said "the op-ed’s clear implication that Mr. Depp is a domestic abuser is categorically and demonstrably false."

Heard filed for divorce from Depp in May 2016, and the divorce was finalized in January 2017. Heard filed for divorce after an incident at Depp’s home in Los Angeles, in which police responded to a call about an alleged domestic dispute (police found no evidence of an assault). Less than a week later, Heard was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp.

The lawsuit said the 2016 allegations are "false" and "an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career."

Depp alleged in the lawsuit that the accusations damaged his career and that he was dropped from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise after the op-ed was published.

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