Amber Heard is branded a ‘relentlessly scheming and belittling opportunist’ by Johnny Depp’s pal
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Johnny Depp’s friend and confidante Doug Stanhope has branded his ex-wife Amber Heard a ‘relentlessly scheming and belittling opportunist’ in explosive claims.
The comedian, 55, has previously spoken out to support Johnny, and in 2016 Amber filed a lawsuit against him, which she later dropped, over comments he made alleging that she had made up her claims of abuse.
Now Doug has shared more accounts of his time with the pair, claiming that Amber seemed to use the actor’s moments of weakness to ‘manipulate’ him.
He recalled the period of time after Johnny’s mother passed away in May 2016, just days before Amber filed to divorce him.
Firm friends: Johnny Depp’s friend and confidante Doug Stanhope (L) has branded his ex-wife Amber Heard a ‘relentlessly scheming and belittling opportunist’ in explosive claims
Writing in his book No Encore for the Donkey, Doug said: ‘His wife, Amber Heard, seemed to be f***ing with his head again, I assume using this opportunity of his weakness to manipulate him even more, and harder.
‘Amber seemed to have played the part of Johnny’s ever-doting placater. The cruel dysfunction in this marriage was nothing that you haven’t seen up close with your own friends, it you haven’t suffered through it yourself.
‘Someone close to you, stuck in an abusive relationship, who will never concede that they are actually being abused or if they do, they will blame it on any other circumstance, or themselves, and keep deeper and for worse.’
He went on to note that it was ‘almost inconceivable to think that Johnny Depp, or anyone that famous, could be trapped in this kind of abyss of the heart.’
Under fire: Doug has shared accounts of his time with the pair, claiming that Amber (pictured in May) seemed to use the actor’s moments of weakness to ‘manipulate’ him
Delivering a final blow to Amber he added: ‘That someone of his stature would have to be tap dancing on the hour to avoid the s**t and vitriol of a relentlessly scheming and belittling opportunist – was at minimum disheartening.’
MailOnline has contacted Amber and Johnny’s representatives for comment.
In May 2016, at an early stage in their divorce process, Amber claimed that Johnny had abused her physically, which he denied.
Doug then penned an op-ed claiming the actress had blackmailed the actor with false domestic abuse claims, prompting Amber to file a lawsuit accusing Doug of defamation.
Yet she dropped the lawsuit three months later, with the star’s representative telling TMZ that ‘Amber is moving on, getting back to work and leading a normal, happy life.’
The dropped suit was linked to a settlement the Black Mass star and Amber had come to terms on, one condition being the elimination of all lawsuits stemming from the accusations of domestic abuse she levied against him in their split.
In an essay published on The Wrap, Doug had recalled seeing Johnny privately flustered by Amber’s intent to part ways, and how the actress was ‘threatening to lie about him publicly in any and every possible duplicitous way if he didn’t agree to her terms.
Turmoil: Doug recalled the period of time after Johnny’s mother passed away in May 2016, just days before Amber filed to divorce him (pictured in February 2016)
‘Blackmail is what I would imagine other people might put it, including the manner in which he is now being vilified.’
Amber quickly shot back with the defamation suit, filed in Arizona, as she said in court docs that Doug’s piece was ‘completely false and defamatory,’ and caused ‘tremendous harm’ in her life.
The comedian has continued in his outspoken defence of Johnny and is currently on a comedy tour around the United Kingdom.
In reference to the legal battle, Doug penned in his book ‘in context, a lawsuit from Amber Heard was a much comedy fodder as drama’, adding, ‘the more I learned about it and contemplated it, the more desperately I wanted the lawsuit to happen!’
Claims: In May 2016, at an early stage in their divorce process, Amber claimed that Johnny had abused her physically, which he denied
Amber and Johnny’s tumultuous romance has been the result of several lawsuits and high profile court battles.
Amber was ordered to pay her ex-husband more than $10 million in damages at the end of an explosive trial in June, when a jury ruled she had defamed Depp in a newspaper opinion piece published in 2018.
At the end of the trial, Johnny was awarded $10million to $15million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages.
The judge later capped the damages at the state’s maximum of $350,000 leaving Johnny with a total of $8.35million.
At war: Amber and Johnny’s tumultuous romance has been the result of several lawsuits and high profile court battles
Meanwhile, Amber won one of her three countersuit claims related to statements made by Johnny’s lawyer suggesting the actress and her friends had trashed their apartment before calling the police.
The actress was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages out of the $100 million she sought.
Two years earlier, Johnny lost a libel suit in Britain against The Sun tabloid, which called him a ‘wife beater.’
A London High Court judge ruled that Johnny had repeatedly assaulted Amber. He was soon dropped from Harry Potter spinoff franchise Fantastic Beasts and largely shunned by Hollywood.