Amber Heard Seeks Info on Johnny Depp’s Arrests and Substance Abuse

By Gene Maddaus

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Amber Heard is asking Johnny Depp to turn over records related to his arrests and drug treatment, as her lawyers defend her from a $50 million defamation suit.

Depp filed suit in March, accusing his ex-wife of tanking his career by writing a Washington Post op/ed alluding to her domestic violence allegations against him. Heard first accused Depp of hitting her during their contentious divorce in 2016.

Depp denies the allegation, and claims that Heard’s opinion piece — in which she spoke of the backlash she received after accusing a prominent man — prompted Disney to drop him from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. Heard’s attorneys have sought to dismiss the case, arguing that the op/ed did not even mention Depp by name, much less defame him.

Heard is now represented by Roberta Kaplan, the co-founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. Kaplan has also argued that Heard can defeat the suit by showing that her allegations are true. To that end, she filed a motion Thursday asking a judge to order Depp to turn over records related to his substance abuse.

Depp has thus far refused to turn over the records, arguing they are irrelevant and would invade his privacy. Kaplan counters that Depp’s substance abuse was a key factor in the alleged domestic violence.

“Ms. Heard has already testified that it was almost always drugs and alcohol that fueled Mr. Depp’s abusive behavior and this is consistent with multiple accounts of his drug-fueled rages over many years,” Kaplan said in a statement.

The two sides have been unable to reach an agreement on a protective order that would prevent information turned over in discovery from being disclosed to other parties.