Actor Amber Heard arrives at the start of the day during actor Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against her at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, May 26, 2022. Image: Reuters/Michael Reynolds
Amber Heard’s camp has claimed in newly unsealed court documents that the actress’ ex-husband Johnny Depp suffers from erectile dysfunction, saying this could be “relevant” to Heard’s allegations of domestic violence.
A March filing containing pre-trial documents about the former couple’s defamation trial were obtained by Newsweek yesterday, Aug. 1.
The said documents show information that Depp and Heard’s lawyers attempted to submit as evidence but did not get approved or were deemed inadmissible by the judge. One such detail was Heard’s claim that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star had been taking erectile dysfunction medication.
Heard submitted into evidence a list of medications that included nexium, valtrex and cialis, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The lawyers suggested that Depp’s supposed erectile dysfunction “might somehow be a motivation for abuse.”
“Though Mr. Depp would rather not disclose his erectile dysfunction condition, such condition absolutely is relevant to sexual violence, including Mr. Depp’s anger and use of a bottle to rape Amber Heard,” Heard’s team stated, despite Depp having denied allegations of rape or violence.
Heard’s camp went on to say that it is “more probable” that Depp’s supposed condition led him to be “angry or agitated” in encounters with Heard.
However, Depp’s team argued against having the information included in the trial and accused Heard of attempting to submit evidence that could embarrass the actor during the trial.
“[Heard] wants a circus, and clearly intends to take this trial down a number of unnecessarily salacious rabbit holes, including and especially with respect to Mr. Depp’s medical history,” they were quoted as saying.
Back in May, Heard cried in court when she recounted an altercation she had with Depp, in which he allegedly threatened to “carve up” her face with a bottle then inserted it inside her.
Among other information included in the recently unsealed documents were text messages between Depp and Marilyn Manson, who similarly accused Depp of sexual abuse, as per Page Six, also yesterday.
Heard was sued by Depp over an opinion piece that she wrote back in 2018, in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” While Heard never mentioned Depp’s name in the article, his lawyers stated it was clear that Heard was referring to him. Heard countersued, saying she was defamed by Depp’s lawyer who described her abuse claims as a “hoax.”
After a six-week trial, a jury ruled that Heard had defamed Depp and awarded him $15 million (about P831 million) in damages. The jury also ruled in favor of some aspects of Heard’s countersuit and she was awarded $2 million (about P111 million) in damages.
Heard has since appealed the verdict and spoken up about the trial. Back in June, she stated that notes taken by her doctor dating back as far as the beginning of her relationship with Depp would have changed the results of the trial.
Heard then called for a mistrial last month after the wrong person allegedly served on the jury that awarded Depp’s victory. /ra
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