Did you know that Amber Heard was once accused of assaulting her sister?
What about the allegations that she lied about donating her divorce settlement to charity?
And it turns out she's done some even shadier things as well.
When Amber Heard initially accused Johnny Depp of domestic abuse back in 2016, fans
were left aghast by the allegations.
Depp's hardcore fanbase struggled to fathom that the superstar they worshipped and adored
could be guilty of such acts of violence.
So, when a story resurfaced involving accusations of domestic abuse levied at Heard herself,
several fans of Johnny Depp felt vindicated.
Before she met Depp, Heard dated photographer Tasya van Ree.
In 2009, Heard was arrested for domestic violence at the Seattle International Airport after
allegedly assaulting van Ree.
The case was eventually dropped, since both Heard and van Ree lived in California, some
900-plus miles away from Seattle.
But the judge warned Heard not to get too comfy, since charges could still be brought
against her within the next couple of years.
However, van Ree defended Heard against the allegations, claiming that her former flame
was "wrongfully accused" of domestic violence.
In 2016, Van Ree said in a statement obtained by E!:
""It's disheartening that Amber's integrity and story are being questioned yet again.
Amber is a brilliant, honest and beautiful woman and I have the utmost respect for her.
We shared 5 wonderful years together and remain close to this day."
Back in 2015, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were embroiled in a bizarre canine conspiracy.
Heard was charged with illegally bringing her pet dogs, Pistol and Boo, into Australia,
where Depp was filming a movie.
Smuggling animals into Australia is a particularly perilous crime since it's not only potentially
harmful for the animal, but pets brought in from abroad may harbor dangerous diseases
that pose a risk to biodiversity.
Australian politician Barnaby Joyce condemned the couple for breaking the law, famously
stating,
"It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States."
Joyce also threatened to have the pups put down.
Despite Heard being prosecuted by the state, her conviction was ultimately dropped.
She pleaded guilty to "knowingly producing a false or misleading document," but was let
off the hook for good behavior.
Subsequently, Heard and Depp issued an infamous apology video, in which they emphasized the
dangers of bringing undeclared pets into Australia.
"I am truly sorry that Pistol and Boo were not declared."
Adding insult to injury, Joyce mocked the video, nitpicking the performances of the
famous actors.
To add extra shade to an already gloomy situation, Heard named her new dog after her Aussie nemesis
in late 2021, tweeting,
"Meet the newest member of the Heard family, Barnaby Joyce!"
Regarding the choice of name, Joyce had an equally snide retort, telling The Australian:
"I get a real sense of accomplishment that I'm still in her head long after I've forgotten
about them."
At the 2022 Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, Depp claimed that his daughter, Lily
Rose, didn't attend the couple's 2015 wedding because the two women didn't get along.
He hinted that Heard's alleged wild behavior may have contributed to her feud with the
younger Depp.
For instance, the actor went on to claim that Heard invited what he called a "gang" of pals
to the couple's wedding reception, where they proceeded to take copious amounts of drugs.
According to the Pirates of the Caribbean star, "dinner, dancing and drugs" were on
the agenda for the lavish event.
Depp, meanwhile, claimed that he merely smoked pot, while Heard went a little bit harder.
As noted by the Mirror, Heard previously countered Depp's claims by suggesting that it was in
fact him who spent the majority of their wedding day taking illicit substances.
But according to Heard's former assistant, Kate James, her supposed drug use was out
of control, leading to "manic episodes" and outbursts of violence.
James asserted during her testimony,
"I was just someone to lash out at."
Similarly, when Depp launched a 2020 libel case against British tabloid The Sun, who
had branded the star a "wife beater," various sordid allegations relating to Heard surfaced.
The Daily Mail reported that she was accused of drinking heavily and doing cocaine, thereby
encouraging Depp to take hard drugs and worsening his drug dependency.
Heard branded the claims, quote, "preposterous," though she did admit to taking hallucinogens
at Coachella.
Some of the most damning accusations levied at Amber Heard pertain to her alleged status
as a domestic abuse survivor.
In 2016, Heard photographed what appeared to be bruises and bloody injuries to prove
that Johnny Depp had been violent towards her, but he has claimed the injuries were
staged.
"Amber, did Johnny give you that bruise on your face?"
Doubt was initially cast on the authenticity of her wounds in 2020, during Depp's libel
trial against The Sun.
Heard claimed she had two black eyes when she appeared on The Late Late Show back in
2015.
However, her stylist said she struggled to find a single bruise or cut on her.
Likewise, during Depp's 2022 defamation suit, there were further suggestions that Heard
had not only lied about injuries that Depp supposedly inflicted upon her, but that she
was not a domestic abuse survivor in the first place.
Depp's attorney, Camille Vasquez, claimed,
"She has been living and breathing this lie for years now.
She is preparing to give the performance of a lifetime in this trial."
Heard was accused of faking her injuries by Isaac Baruch, Depp's friend, who alleged in
court that he saw no evidence of Depp having injured Heard when she recounted tales of
domestic violence to him.
Meanwhile, The Cut reports that Heard may have used red nail polish to fake a bloody
nose supposedly inflicted by Depp, as he claimed during the same trial.
During Johnny Depp's 2020 libel trial, there were claims that Amber Heard's alleged history
of violence was not confined to her ex-spouse.
The court played a video from an unaired reality TV segment from the mid-2000s, in which Heard's
sister, Whitney Henriquez, was seen with an injury.
When asked if she was okay, Henriquez conceded that she got into an argument with her sister.
Although Henriquez denied that Heard had ever assaulted her, more people would soon come
forward with claims of the pair's toxic relationship.
In 2022, witnesses testified that Heard was allegedly highly abusive toward her sister.
According to Heard's former assistant, Kate James, Heard had a, quote, "kick-the-dog kind
of relationship" with Henriquez.
James also alleged that Heard's supposed abusive behavior extended to her, claiming that the
star, quote, "felt she had the right to spit in my face."
Johnny Depp has long maintained that it was Amber Heard who was the abuser in their relationship,
not him.
His claims have been partly corroborated by audio recordings, in which the Pineapple Express
actress can be heard admitting to assaulting Depp.
In one such recording, Heard said,
"I did not punch you.
I did not [...] deck you.
I [...] was hitting you.
[...] You are such a baby.
Grow [...] up, Johnny.
I did start a physical fight."
Subsequently, Depp said that Heard's allegedly false accusations that he abused her led to
him suffering from extreme mental anguish.
After he lost out on work due to her domestic violence claims, Depp said he sunk into a
pit of despair.
Despite this, he felt the need to hide his emotions from others.
Describing an instance in which he returned to his tour bus after playing a live show,
he said,
"I just sat in the back of the bus and just cried and hid it from people."
Despite his insistence that his ex-wife was the abuser, it seems that Depp may have also
at least said some disturbing things about Heard.
As noted by Deadline, he admittedly sent disturbing messages to his then-wife, which read,
"The only reason we go for the throat is love.
[...] I have other uses for your throat which do not include injury."
He also joked about killing and sexually assaulting Heard in texts sent to fellow actor Paul Bettany.
Of all the horrifying claims to come out of the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard fiasco, there
is perhaps nothing quite as stomach-churning as the former's assertion that his estranged
ex-wife left a nasty surprise in his bed.
During the 2020 trial, Depp claimed that Heard got her revolting revenge on him after he
threatened to break up with her on her 30th birthday.
Depp allegedly looked in his bed to find feces.
He went on to brand his ex "Amber Turd" following the icky prank.
When the supposed incident came up again during the 2022 lawsuit, Depp admitted,
"My initial response to that was, I laughed.
It was so outside, it was so bizarre and so grotesque that I could only laugh."
EW reports that Heard apparently attempted to blame the fecal surprise on the couple's
dogs — claims that Depp dismissed as absurd.
Depp told the court:
"They're teacup Yorkies.
They weigh about 4 pounds each.
[...] I lived with those dogs for many years.
It was not the dogs.
[...] I didn't feel like I deserved that kind of treatment."
When Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorced in 2017, the latter received a $7 million
settlement, which she pledged to donate to two charities of her choice, the American
Civil Liberties Union and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Heard's charitable efforts were used as evidence against Depp in the 2020 libel trial, as the
court argued that Heard couldn't possibly be motivated by avarice when she donated Depp's
money, with the judge ruling,
"Her donation of the $7m to charity is hardly the act one would expect of a gold-digger."
But doubts were later cast on whether Heard ever donated the hefty sum she promised.
Depp's lawyer, Andrew Caldecott, said that he contacted the Los Angeles Children's Hospital,
who said they didn't receive the money from Heard.
Likewise, he added that Heard's lawyers lied about the amount of money that had been donated,
allegedly a scarce $100,000 out of the $7 million she vowed to dish out.
Indeed, Heard's lawyers have admitted that she hadn't donated all the money she promised,
but claimed it was Depp's suit that was hindering her philanthropic pursuits.
Heard's attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, told Deadline,
"Amber has been delayed in that goal because Mr. Depp filed a lawsuit against her, and
consequently, she has been forced to spend millions of dollars defending Mr. Depp's false
accusations against her."
At the 2022 trial, it was revealed that Johnny Depp had been abused by his mom.
Subsequently, Depp said that he had been drawn to women similar to his mother, drawing parallels
between her abuse and his ex-wife's alleged domestic violence.
According to Depp's claims, Amber Heard purposely sought to humiliate him, much like his mother
did.
For instance, the actor highlighted an instance in which Heard took a photo of him as he was
passed out.
He claimed she deliberately put an ice-cream in his hand, which dripped onto his lap, to
demean him.
Depp recounted during the trial:
"Ms. Heard asked me to hold the ice cream as she noticed that I was on the nod — that
means falling asleep — from the 17-hour day that I had worked and also the opiates
that I had ingested."
Additionally, it has been alleged that she exploited the fact that some people were unlikely
to believe that Heard, a svelte, ultra-feminine woman, was the aggressor against a much older
and more physically imposing figure like Depp.
It is believed that approximately 1 out of 10 men are survivors of domestic violence,
yet pervasive stigma often prevents male victims from speaking out.
This, Depp claimed, is something Heard used to her advantage.
Heard did apparently taunted her husband, saying in audio recordings that were played
during the trial,
"Tell the world Johnny, tell them.
[...] I Johnny Depp, a man, I'm a victim too of domestic violence [...] and see how many
people believe or side with you."
At the defamation trial, Johnny Depp did exactly that.
"I said yes – I am."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.