Amber Heard Accused Of Using The Release Of "Aquaman" Film To Expose Her Domestic Violence Case

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arriving at London Court. (ANTARA/REUTERS/Toby Melville/am)

JAKARTA - The general counsel for the ACLU or the American Civil Liberties Union testified on Thursday, April 28, that Amber Heard's Washington Post opinion on domestic violence was timely to take advantage of her release "Aquaman". , although Depp was not named. Depp is now suing Heard for libel, claiming that the writing ruined his career and cost him the role for the sixth installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean". The ACLU was involved in planning, drafting and setting opinion, using Heard's experience to address issues including Violence. Against Women Act and sexual assault on campuses. During the trial Thursday (28/4), Depp's attorney played a video of the deposition of Terence Dougherty, ACLU's attorney. Dougherty was asked about a December 11, 2018, email from Jessica Weitz, ACLU's director of artist engagement, in which she wrote about the timing of the creation of the work. reported by Variety on Friday April 29, "Aquaman" in which Heard played Mera was released on December 21, 2018. Dougherty explained that a publicity campaign for the film would help get more attention for opinion writing. Heard also agrees that timing matters. "From the ACLU's point of view, Amber will receive a lot of press and be in the public eye. So what better time than now to get this opinion out, thereby generating a significant readership on our issue," said Dougherty. Depp alleged that Heard fabricated the harassment allegations and used them to advance his own career at his expense. Heard denies this, and his lawyers argue that the #MeToo accusations generally do not help the accusers' careers.Depp and Heard have issued a joint statement after finalizing their divorce in 2016, in which each denied making false accusations for financial gain. They also agreed not to issue a further public statement. Depp has testified that he wanted to challenge Heard's claims at the time, but reluctantly accepted advice from his lawyers to settle the case.

Dougherty's testimony includes internal ACLU emails about opinion-forming in earlier drafts including explicit references to Heard's restraining order – in which he alleges domestic violence – but those references were taken on the advice of his lawyers. In one email, Weitz wrote that Heard would have been delighted to see the part bolded is reinserted. In the final draft, Heard described himself as a public figure representing domestic violence but did not go into further detail about his relationship with Depp. Heard's lawyers have emphasized that he followed his attorney's advice in drafting the opinion. At the time of their divorce, Depp agreed to pay Heard 7 million dollars, which he pledged to donate to the ACLU and Los Angeles Children's Hospital, with 3.5 million dollars to each charity. Dougherty testified that the ACLU actually received 1.3 million from the agreement including $350,000 directly from Heard, $500,000 from funds linked to Elon Musk (whom Heard dated briefly), $350,000 from other funds and $100,000 from Depp.