Amber Heard Logs Off Amid Johnny Depp Trial
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Amber Heard Logs Off Amid Johnny Depp Trial

by Hedy Phillips

Yesterday, Amber Heard published a written statement on Instagram saying she’s going to stay offline as her latest trial with ex-husband, Johnny Depp, progresses. Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard after her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence, and the trial started today in Virginia, according to Deadline.

Heard reiterated on Instagram that she didn’t name Depp in her op-ed, adding, “I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”

She and Depp have been locked in legal battles for years now, stemming from their tumultuous relationship. This suit, in particular, Depp was given the go-ahead to proceed after Heard asked for it to be dismissed, per NME. Depp’s lawyers said at the time, according to Insider, “The op-ed depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her."

Their troubles date back to 2016, when Heard filed for divorce from Depp and filed her first restraining order against him, according to CNN, alleging he physically abused her. It was Heard’s op-ed, though, that snowballed into further allegations and realizations between the former couple, including phone recordings obtained by the Daily Mail in 2020 that reportedly contain both Heard and Depp admitting to being physically violent with each other.

More accusations have been volleyed back and forth since then, all leading to the trial that’s currently taking place. Virginia Judge Penney Azcarate is overseeing the case, and both Depp and Heard are expected to testify.

Photo via Getty/ John Phillips