During a court appearance in Fairfax, Virginia, Johnny Depp revealed that part of his motivation for suing ex-wife Amber Heard has to do with his children, Lily-Rose and Jack. The 58-year-old actor explained why he made the legal maneuver after Amber accused him of domestic violence.
Amber wrote about her accusations in an op-ed in 2018
The Aquaman actress penned a piece for The Washington Post titled "Amber Heard: I Spoke Up Against Sexual Violence — and Faced Our Culture's Wrath. That Has to Change." While the essay never specifically named Johnny as the person behind Amber's accusations, Johnny said his life and career have suffered significantly because of it.
The father of two maintained his innocence on Tuesday
While under oath, Johnny continued to vehemently deny Amber's allegations of abuse and explained that his kids motivated him to take his ex to court, according to People. "Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," he said.
"Since I knew there was no truth to it whatsoever, I felt it my responsibility to stand up not only for myself in that instance but to stand up for my children, who at the time were 14 and 16."
Johnny claims Amber's allegations have cost him his Hollywood career
"It's been six years of trying times," Johnny told the courtroom. "It's pretty strange when one day you're Cinderella, so to speak, then in 0.6 seconds you're Quasimodo. I didn't deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who have believed in me for all these years. I didn't want any of those people to believe that I had done them wrong or lied to them or that I was a fraud. I pride myself on honesty."
But Amber stands by her accusations
The single mother continues to maintain that she was the victim of physical, emotional, verbal, psychological, and sexual abuse. "Amber did suffer sexual violence at the hands of Depp," her attorney said in court. "You will hear in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered. You'll hear that straight from her. She will get on the stand and she will tell you that. It happened."
We hope Johnny's kids aren't following the case too closely
Given the nature of what Amber is expected to talk about, it's probably better for Johnny's children — now 20 and 22 — if they don't keep too close an eye on the legal battle playing out in Virginia. We're sure that Amber's testimony is going to make headlines again, and that's likely to be very painful for Lily-Rose and Jack.
