Unlike the majority of us, celebrities have every detail of their personal lives splashed across the front of tabloids. This must be very difficult when the situation you are experiencing is a messy divorce or a contentious custody battle. But in the case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the allegations are far more serious.
Actor Johnny Depp and model Amber Heard met in 2012 on the set of “Rum Diaries” and were married in 2015. But it appears that the honeymoon phase wore off quickly for this couple. Heard has already filed for divorce. What makes this situation different from the average celebrity divorce is the allegations of domestic violence that go with it.
After claiming to have suffered verbal and physical abuse, Heard has filed a restraining order against Depp. The restraining order is similar to Michigan’s Personal Protection Order. The pair was scheduled to appear in court just yesterday for a hearing on the Personal Protection Order (PPO), but a judge has postponed the hearing. Until the hearing takes place, however, the restraining order has been extended.
The incident began when Heard released photos of her face. They showed bruising around the eyes along with her statements that she had been battered by Depp. The incident, she says, happened when he threw her iPhone at her during an argument. Two days later she filed for divorce.
Heard also recently filed for temporary spousal support of $50,000 per month, but shortly thereafter, removed her request. Her reason for changing her mind about the spousal support was that the motion was used against her “to distract and divert the public away from the very serious real issue of domestic violence.”
“In light of the coordinated false and negative media campaign falsely depicting my attempts to attain a CLETS Domestic Violence Restraining Order as being financially motivated, I am hereby withdrawing the request … for spousal support,” she said in the motion.
Because of the celebrity nature of this situation, people have been quite vocal in taking a side. Some people have spoken out for Depp, calling Heard a “gold-digger” and saying that her false allegations of domestic violence and abuse are intended to ensure a large divorce settlement. Others have taken Heard’s side, saying that this is a classic case of an abusive marriage and being famous should not mean that Depp doesn’t suffer the consequences of his violent actions.
Until there is more evidence beyond the he-said-she-said of this case, our family law attorneys would like to remind our readers that it makes more sense to reserve judgement until you have all of the information. We do not know what the truth is in this situation, and will not be speculating until more details are made public. Suffice to say that our divorce attorneys regularly hear complaints about domestic violence and also about child abuse as soon as divorce cases get filed. In Michigan, as in most other states, these accusations are extremely serious and we caution clients and victims to treat them seriously.
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