LOS ANGELES – Actress Amber Heard filed a police statement Tuesday accusing her estranged husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, saying she had endured “years of physical and psychological” abuse.
Heard’s attorneys said in a statement that the actress had refused to file a police report after a May 21 argument with Depp that left a bruise on her face out of concern for his career and to protect her privacy.
“Johnny’s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts, as she cannot continue to leave herself open to the vicious false and malicious allegations that have infected the media,” the statement by attorneys Samantha Spector and Joseph Koenig said.
“Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny,” they added.
“Amber can no longer endure the relentless attacks and outright lies launched against her character in the court of public opinion since the tragic events of May 21.”
Depp’s representatives could not be immediately reached for comment and a spokesman at the Los Angeles police department declined comment, saying that an investigation was underway.
Heard, 30, filed for divorce from Depp, 52, last week and subsequently obtained a restraining order that requires the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star to stay away from her.
She appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday with a black eye that she said was the result of Depp hurling a cell phone at her face during the May 21 incident.
Heard and Depp met on the set of the 2011 film “The Rum Diary,” when the actor was still in a relationship with French actress Vanessa Paradis, mother of his son Jack and daughter Lily-Rose.
They married in February last year.
Depp’s former partner Paradis and their daughter Lily-Rose rushed to his defence over the weekend, describing him as a gentle person.
“My dad is the sweetest most loving person I know, he’s been nothing but a wonderful father to my little brother and I, and everyone who knows him would say the same,” the 17-year-old said in a message posted on Instagram.
Paradis for her part described her former partner as “a sensitive, loving and loved person,” in a letter posted by the celebrity website TMZ.
A representative for Depp told the media last week that he would not respond “to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life. Hopefully, the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.”
Reuters, AFP
