Johnny Depp’s $50m defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard finally began with arguments and testimonies from both parties on April 11. He has lost one high-profile defamation case involving his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in a London court.
On Monday, the 58-year-old actor launched a sequel in Fairfax, Virginia, as part of an effort to refute career-damaging allegations that he abused Heard during their three-year marriage.
Apart from several shocking allegations, Depp's sister claimed that Heard branded him "old and fat," and the actor's family was "devastated" by his marriage to her.
Christi Dembrowski reportedly presented the charges as the first witness in the defamation trial in Virginia, in which Depp alleges that a 2018 story on domestic violence Amber wrote for The Washington Post indicated he was an abuser.
She informed the court that while she had witnessed Herd being ‘good’ to her brother, she had also seen her ‘be not nice’ and described one such encounter.
Elaborating about the same, Dembrowski went on to recount exactly what was reportedly said by Heard, who was apparently “in disbelief and sort of disgusted” when Depp informed her about Dior wanting to do a campaign with him.
She told the court that while she had seen Heard "be good" to her brother, she had also seen her "be not nice," and described one such encounter. “Dior, why would Dior want to do business with you? They’re about class and style, and you don’t have style,” Dembrowski remarked.
Dembrowski, who assisted Depp with his acting career, allegedly stated that when the former couple went together, she would arrange an extra hotel room for Depp in case they clashed. When asked how she felt about their choice to marry, the worried sibling responded, “was scared, I was devastated actually.” Dembrowski allegedly stated that Heard refused to sign a prenup before the marriage, contradicting Heard's defense attorneys' assertion that Depp was the one who did not want a prenup, reported Meaww.
Dembrowski was also cross-examined by Heard's counsel on Depp's alleged drug usage and text messages.
The counsel said Depp's sister allegedly sent him text messages begging him to "stop drinking, stop coke," and "stop pills." To which, Dembrowski responded saying she couldn't remember the texts and wouldn't confirm if she had asked him to quit using cocaine in a message.
“I understand the words were there I don’t recall the timing,” she reportedly said. “I probably was not joking but maybe I was repeating what something else told me to write.”
Along with Heard, Depp's attorneys had Dembrowski talk about their late mother and how she was allegedly "emotionally and physically abusive." Despite the reported conflicts, Depp's sister said that he never hit her and always left the room.
For the unversed, the defamation trial began on April 11 and is the consequence of Depp suing Heard for $50 million in damages after she published an opinion article for the Washington Post in 2018.
When asked about the article, Dembrowski said: “I believe there is a negative effect on anyone’s career when there are accusations as there have been." “Personally, I know he doesn’t want people to feel … that he could ever be that type of person, which he isn’t." “The part that bothers him the most” is that the abuse allegations “trickle down to his children,” she added.
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