Amber Heard is describing horrific new details about her alleged abuse by Johnny Depp in a new court filing.
In response to the $50 million lawsuit Depp filed against her earlier this year, Heard filed court documents reiterating and elaborating on her allegations that during their relationship, he repeatedly hit her, ripped out her hair, and threatened to kill her.
In the documents, obtained by Page Six, Heard says that Depp became a “monster” while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and described numerous incidents in which he allegedly attacked her. She also described the instance that he reportedly kicked her on a private plane, adding that he had done so because he was upset that she was filming a romantic movie scene with James Franco.
“He provocatively pushed a chair at me as I walked by, yelled at me, and taunted me by yelling out the name ‘James Franco.'” she said, according to Page Six. “At some point, I stood up, and Johnny kicked me in the back, causing me to fall over. Johnny threw his boot at me while I was on the ground.” (The movie was not named in the filing, however Heard played Franco’s love interest in the 2015 film The Adderall Diaries.)
She also said that a month into their marriage in 2015, Depp, while high on MDMA for three days, “grabbed [her] by the neck and collarbone and slammed [her] against the countertop.”
“I struggled to stand up as he strangled me, but my arms and feet kept slipping and sliding on to the spilled alcohol and were dragged against the broken glass on the countertop and floor, which repeatedly slashed my feet and arms,” the court documents read. “Scared for my life, I told Johnny, ‘You are hurting me and cutting me.’ Johnny ignored me, continuing to hit me with the back of one closed hand, and slamming a hard plastic phone against a wall with his other until it was smashed into smithereens.”
Another time, she said, she told Depp that she couldn’t put up with his behavior any longer, and would be leaving him.
“Johnny reacted by grabbing me by my throat, pushing me down to the ground, and punching me in the back of my head,” she said. “He grabbed me by my hair, slapping me in the face, and screaming at me something like, ’I f— will kill you — I’ll f— kill you, you hear me?’ There were chunks of my hair everywhere and indentations in the carpet where I was dragged.”
Page Six also obtained screenshots of text messages Depp allegedly sent to Heard, apologizing for his behavior. In one, he addressed her as Slim (believed to be his nickname for her), and wrote, “I am truly sorry to have upset you to the degree that I have.”
Heard and Depp were married in 2015. In May 2016, she filed a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied those claims and the couple settled their divorce for $7 million, which she donated to the ACLU and the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, and both actors signed NDAs barring them from discussing their relationship publicly.
Since the divorce, Heard has been an outspoken advocate for domestic violence awareness, and in 2018, she wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, in which she did not describe Depp by name, but recalled her experience as a domestic abuse survivor. In response, he filed a lawsuit calling the allegations a “hoax.” Heard is now asking a judge to dismiss that lawsuit.
“Johnny Depp physically and verbally abused Amber Heard,” her attorney Eric George told the Associated Press in a statement. “Since their divorce, Mr. Depp has continued to publically harass Ms. Heard, and attempted to gaslight the world by denying his abuse. It is long past time for Mr. Depp’s despicable conduct to end.”
InStyle has reached out to Depp’s representatives for comment, and will update this story when we hear back.