Months after Johnny Depp’s virtual victory in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, around 6000 court documents pertaining to the high-profile case have been unsealed, revealing a ton of information that was not in the public domain till now. And that has meant that things have turned ugly for Johnny as many of the new revelations cast him in unfavourable light. One of the documents shows that Johnny had sworn in a declaration that Amber never caused him any injury, which is contrary to what the actor claimed in court.
Johnny had sued Amber for defamation in a Virginia court after Amber Heard called herself a ‘domestic abuse survivor’ in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Though Amber didn’t name Johnny, his lawyers claimed his name was implied as the abuser. In response to Johnny’s $50 million suit, Amber countersued him for $100 million claiming his statements had defamed her. After a lengthy legal battle, the jury found Amber guilty on all three counts, ordering her to pay Johnny $10.35 million in damages. Johnny was also found guilty but only on one count and ordered to pay Amber $2 million.
The judgment was viewed as victory for Johnny and the actor got a lot of public sympathy and support as well. Many of his fans crowdfunded a campaign to unseal court documents related to the case. As per a Guardian report, it was an effort “to get more dirt on Amber”. However, many of the findings actually painted Johnny in a bad light. A Newsweek report cites one of the unsealed documents that says Johnny swore in a declaration that Amber never hurt him.
Mr. Depp does not allege a specific cause of action for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress; does not assert that Ms. Heard's actions caused him a specific psychiatric injury; and does not claim that Ms. Heard's actions caused him to experience unusually severe emotional distress," the document read. In court, Johnny had alleged that Amber had abused him during their two-year marriage. Many have called these new findings ‘damning’ for Johhny.
Other revelations from the unsealed documents include Johnny’s former assistant saying the actor 'kicked' Amber on a flight, claims that tapes and photos submitted by him were manipulated, and disturbing text messages between Johnny and singer Marilyn Manson, who has been accused of abuse by over a dozen women.
It is unclear how these findings have affected public perception about Johnny but celeb support has certainly been dwindling. Over the last few days, many celebs have unliked Johnny’s Instagram post where he posted his statement after winning the defamation trial in June. These include names like Bella Hadid, Halle Bailey, Joey King and Amanda Knox among others. Johnny or his legal team have not yet responded to the new findings. -Hindustan Times
