Johnny Depp Suing Ex-Wife Amber Heard In $50 Million Defamation Suit

Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard for $50 million in alleged damages caused by an op-ed Heard published in The Washington Post last year. The defamation suit was filed in Fairfax County, Virginia on Friday.

The op-ed in question was written by Heard last December, and details sexual abuse and harassment Heard had experienced and the challenges of speaking up. She met Depp in 2009 while they were filming The Rum Diary together and married in 2015. In 2016, Heard was granted a restraining order against Depp following accusations of domestic violence, and by 2017 they were divorced.

Although Heard's op-ed never explicitly mentioned Depp by name, the lawsuit alleges that it was about him and states the allegations are false and have damaged his career.

Heard's attorneys responded to the lawsuit in a statement:

"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 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."