Depp vs. Heard
More stories from Maggie Smith
On May 23, Amber Heard filed for divorce against award winning actor Johnny Depp citing spousal abuse. She also filed for and was granted a temporary restraining order. Later, Heard appeared before court with bruises on her face. The Heard/Depp divorce has been a controversial subject for several weeks. So far Heard has not commented on the accusations and the divorce, and Depp’s only official comment is, “Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life, Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.” However Depp’s entourage has plenty to say about the accusations. His bodyguard and other members of his security team have been overheard saying that Depp did not and would not hurt Heard. They, his bodyguard in particular, are adamant that Heard is merely exaggerating, and that Depp never hurt her. Some of Depp’s friends reportedly even claim that Heard was the one abusing Depp, however Heard’s divorce lawyer dismisses this as ridiculous.
Depp’s assistant’s position on the abuse, however, is more complicated. Entertainment Tonight claimed to have found texts between Depp’s assistant Stephen Deuters and Heard from 2014 about another instance of abuse*. In the texts Deuters acknowledges the abuse, and begs Heard to give Depp another chance, saying that Depp was incredibly distraught, crying, and that he knew what he’d done was wrong. In the texts Heard supposedly cites several other instances of abuse in several different countries. However Deuters currently claims that the texts were heavily doctored, and that he never said that Depp attacked Heard, and that he is prepared to testify this in court.
Heard’s friends, however, have something entirely different to say. One of Heard’s friends claims to have been contacted by the actress in December of 2015 after Depp reportedly tried to smother Heard with a pillow. The friend said “I got to her apartment to find her with a cut and bruised lip, a swollen eye and a chunk of hair missing from the top of her head”, and went on to say that Heard confided in her that she was afraid for her life, and that the drunk Depp tried to smother her.
Other sources for this divorce include the LAPD, and Depp’s ex Vanessa Paradis. When the LAPD showed up at the Depp/Heard residence on May 21, they said that Heard did not want to give a statement, and that they saw no evidence of a crime being committed, so they left. Heard rebuked these reports by saying that she didn’t want to report the abuse in order to protect her privacy and Depp’s career. Vanessa Paradis and her 17 year old daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, claim that Johnny Depp is “sweetest, most loving person” who would never hit a woman”. The divorce has become a very controversial topic among the media today, and while there is plenty of evidence against Depp, even the judge still has doubts. Depp himself is currently on tour with his band, The Hollywood Vampires in Europe promoting hearing aides.
*this link has some of the texts supposedly between Deuters and Heard http://www.etonline.com/news/190049_amber_heard_texts_from_2014_detail_alleged_assault_by_johnny_depp_exclusive/
Sources:
http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/06/02/johnny-depp-amber-heard-bodyguard-accuses-lying-physical-abuse/