Johnny Depp was finally ready to talk. As estranged wife Amber Heard continued to accuse him of domestic abuse, the actor took to YouTube June 3 to speak directly to his fans . . . about his final European performance with his band, Hollywood Vampires.
But while Depp, 52, has remained silent about the abuse allegations, Heard has begun to build her case. Though the 30-year-old actress — who requested a restraining order May 27 — has yet to pursue criminal charges, her camp continued to release damning information about her marriage to the father of Lily-Rose, 17 and Jack, 14.
“Amber is trying to put Johnny on trial through the media,” a source close to the Alice Through the Looking Glass actor snipes in the new issue of Us Weekly.
Photos of her bruised face went viral, and on June 1 a series of texts allegedly from Depp’s assistant were leaked. (In one, Stephen Deuters, supposedly apologizing for his boss’ alleged bad behavior, wrote, “When I told him he kicked you, he cried.” Deuters has since told TMZ that the text messages were heavily doctored.) Then, on June 3, Heard filed a defamation lawsuit against a Depp pal, comic Doug Stanhope, who claimed in a column published on the Wrap she was blackmailing the Oscar nominee.
Those close to Depp insist Heard, who wed the actor in February 2015, is after his reported $400 million fortune. But a Heard source counters she just wants to set the record straight: “This isn’t about money. All Amber did was try to get out of a marriage because she was suffering from abuse.”
Meanwhile, the Pirates of the Caribbean star is “waiting for his day in court,” an insider tells Us.
The estranged couple have a hearing on June 17 to determine whether to exited the temporary restraining order.
For more about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s contentious divorce, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
