Actress Amber Heard recounts alleged abuse by ex-husband Johnny Depp and asks judge to dismiss his US$50 million lawsuit

American actress Amber Heard has asked a judge to dismiss a US$50 million defamation lawsuit her ex-husband Johnny Depp filed over an editorial about domestic violence she wrote in The Washington Post, and provided new evidence to support her allegations of abuse.

In the motion filed in the Circuit Court of Fairfax, Virginia, on Thursday, Heard describes in new detail more than a dozen instances before and during their marriage when she says Depp slapped her, shoved her, pulled her hair or choked her. Depp has denied any such abuse. The allegations have appeared in the couple’s divorce and other legal fights.

Heard includes exhibits such as photos of her with bruises on her face and scars on her arms, images of damage she says Depp did to their home, and newly revealed screenshots of text messages describing the incidents at the time, and excerpts of her divorce deposition describing domestic abuse.

“Johnny Depp physically and verbally abused Amber Heard,” her lawyer Eric George said in a statement. “Since their divorce, Mr Depp has continued to publicly harass Ms Heard, and attempted to gaslight the world by denying his abuse. It is long past time for Mr Depp’s despicable conduct to end.”

Depp’s lawyer said, as the original lawsuit did, that Heard’s allegations are false and it was in fact she who was abusive to him.

“The only way for Amber Heard to sustain her hoax is with more lies,” Depp lawyer Adam Waldman said in an email.