Hollywood star Johnny Depp has denied physically abusing ex-wife Amber Heard, arguing that it was she who abused him during their relationship.
According to BBC, in newly filed court documents as part of his $50m defamation case against her, Depp accused the ‘Aquaman’ actress of having “painted-on bruises”.
“I have denied Ms Heard’s allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016,” he said.
Depp who is popularly known as Captain Jack Sparrow from the ‘Pirates of the Carribean Sea’ series, launched the defamation case against Heard after the actress described herself as the victim of domestic abuse in a piece in the Washington Post in December.
The 33-year-old Heard asked a judge in Virginia to dismiss the lawsuit, prompting the new declaration from Depp.
“She was the perpetrator, and I was the victim. While mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol, Ms Heard committed innumerable acts of domestic violence against me, often in the presence of a third-party witness, which in some instances caused me serious bodily harm.”
Depp aged 55 added: “I never abused Ms Heard or any other woman.
In a statement to People magazine, Heard’s lawyer Eric George said: “The evidence, in this case, is clear: Johnny Depp repeatedly beat Amber Heard.
A spokesperson for Depp on the other hand, in a statement given to the BBC, accused Heard of an “infamous hoax” which he said had been “obliterated”, adding: “Amber Heard’s lawyer says ‘the evidence, in this case, is clear,’ and then presents none.”
Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp after accusing him of abuse in May 2016, which he denied. The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2016 and both actors signed non-disclosure agreements barring them from discussing their relationship publicly.
In a joint statement issued at the time, they said their relationship was “intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love”. They added: “Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.”
The Hollywood stars Depp and Heard started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 comedy ‘The Rum Diary’. They married in Los Angeles in February 2015.
