Amber Heard hits back at blackmail claims
Amber Heard’s lawyer has blasted claims that she is blackmailing Johnny Depp as "outrageous and defamatory".
The 30-year-old actress hit back after Johnny’s friend Doug Stanhope wrote a guest column for The Wrap in which he slammed Amber’s recent allegations of domestic abuse against Johnny, 52, as untrue and claimed she had "threatened to lie about him publicly in any and every possible duplicitous way if he didn’t agree to her [divorce] terms".
He added: "Blackmail is what I would imagine other people might put it, including the manner in which he is now being vilified."
However, Amber’s lawyer Peter Sample said the "allegations against Ms. Heard are absolutely and unequivocally false".
He added: "[The blackmail claim] has no basis in reality and is nothing but the typical celebrity muckraking for profit."
Amber filed for divorce last week, three days after Johnny’s mother Betty Sue Palmer passed away and she claimed in court that her decision to file for divorce was prompted by Johnny physically attacking her with an iPhone, leaving her with a bruised eye.
In court documents, Amber alleged that, "during the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me. I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him".
Amber has been praised her for her "courage", with one source saying: "She tried to hide what was really happening in the marriage from most of her friends because she wanted to believe that it would get better. That things would change. But ultimately they didn’t and so she had to do what she did to stop it. What she has done has taken a lot of courage."
However, Johnny’s friends have rushed to defend him, with actor Paul Bettany tweeting: "known Johnny Depp for years and through several relationships. He’s the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man that I’ve ever known. just saying.
"All I’m saying – Domestic violence is a serious allegation. Trial by twitter is unhelpful. Let the facts come out before rushing to judgement (sic)."
