In a new filing in Johnny Depp’s libel lawsuit against The Sun, the actor tries to make the case that Amber was the abusive one in their relationship. A lawyer for Amber has already strongly denied this. The specifics revolve around coverage of an alleged altercation between the two after Amber’s birthday party in April 2016. In court documents (via The Mirror), Johnny’s lawyers say the actor’s late arrival to the party sparked Amber into a rage. “[She] began criticizing the claimant for being late,” the papers claim, adding that Johnny was “not drunk or high on drugs” but rather in bed when he encountered Amber that evening. “Ms. Heard, who had been drinking, became aggressive and violent … punching him twice in the face,” the papers allege. “[He] defended himself by grabbing Ms. Heard’s arms to stop her punching again and told her to stop. … He pushed her away on to the bed and told her he was leaving and that she should not follow him,” according to the documents. The filing also implies Amber’s allegation that Johnny “violently attacked” her by hitting her with a cellphone in their apartment doesn’t match up with what police found when they arrived on the scene, citing two depositions from cops who said they did not see evidence of the attack Amber had described in her request for a restraining order. In a statement to the Mirror, an attorney for Amber said: “These allegations are totally false. One needs only read the recent Rolling Stone article about Mr Depp and the lawsuit filed against him by a location manager, among many other recent news stories and lawsuits, to understand his state of mind.” Amber filed for divorce from Johnny in May 2016; it was finalized the following January.
