Warning: This article includes a description of abuse that readers may find distressing.
Shocking accusations have been made by the lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard as the pair's bitter defamation trial began in the US state of Virginia on Tuesday (local time).
Depp's lawyers claimed Heard fabricated claims of domestic violence to destroy his career and advance her own, while Heard's lawyers made a new allegation that Depp had sexually assaulted her while she was black-out drunk near the end of their troubled marriage.
Depp has sued Heard for US$50 million in damages over an article she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018 about his alleged abuse, which he said ruined his career as one of the world's most bankable actors.
On the first day of the trial, the Pirates of the Caribbean star's lawyers claimed the Washington Post op-ed was timed to capitalise on the peak of the #MeToo movement and help the release of Heard's film Aquaman.
"She presented herself as the face of the #MeToo movement - the virtuous representative of innocent women across the country and the world who have truly suffered abuse. The evidence will show that was a lie," one of Depp's lawyers said.
Heard's lawyers made the new sexual assault allegation in their opening argument, claiming it happened in Australia in 2016. They said Depp took between eight and 10 ecstasy tablets before attacking Heard, punching and kicking her, and sexually assaulting her with an object.
"That's the Johnny Depp you're going to hear about in this case," one of Heard's lawyers told jurors.
According to reports, Depp was visibly in disbelief and mouthing the word "no" as the allegation was made in court. His representatives were also quick to deny the new claim, questioning why it hadn't been raised previously.
"These fictitious claims were never made at the onset of Amber's allegations in 2016, and only advantageously surfaced years later once she was sued for defamation after noting in her op-ed that she was a victim of 'sexual violence'. Words are key in a defamation case and conveniently, this allegation only came after that," a spokesperson for Depp told The Independent.
"This follows a pattern of her elaborate, erroneous claims which have continued to change and evolve over time for the purpose of Hollywood shock value of which Amber has mastered and used to exploit a serious social movement."
The trial is expected to last about six weeks with both Depp and Heard calling long lists of potential witnesses they could put on the stand. Heard's list includes her ex-boyfriend and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
