Johnny Depp Accuses Amber Heard of Blackmail With Drug Photo

Another chapter has begun in the legal battle between Amber Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp. In a very strange development, Depp is now claiming that his ex was employing blackmail to discredit him. The actor argues that Heard was going to use a photo of the star allegedly smoking illegal drugs from a glass pipe. Things continue to escalate during this ongoing case.

Heard's lawyers approached Depp's representation before a courtroom date this week. That's when The Blast reports that the actress' attorney, Roberta Kaplan, produced the photos to Depp's legal team. His legal team confirms the presence of highly sensitive photographs but didn't try to stop her from using the images in court. Now, her lawyers have introduced the images into evidence in her case against her ex-husband.

This all comes after Heard's lawyers were seeking to dismiss a $50 million defamation lawsuit filed by Depp earlier this year. Variety reported that the Aquaman actress' legal team requested that the actor turn over records related to his various arrests and drug treatments. Depp's representation isn't willing to do it because they consider it an invasion of his privacy. On Thursday, Heard filed a motion requesting a judge order her ex-husband to turn over those records.

Kaplan issued a statement after that development explaining the reasoning for the request.

"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," She said.

Heard filed for divorce midway through 2016 after the abuse allegations came to light. Disney proceeded to drop Depp from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and money issues would follow for the star. He has previously featured in every installment to date.

Depp filed the current lawsuit after Heard wrote a column in the Washington Post that detailed the abuse she suffered, but left the star's name out of it. Depp's team thinks that the piece couldn't have referred to anyone else, but Heard's team absolutely denies that allegation. They issued a statement about that as well.

"Mr. Depp reads it as stating sub silentio that he abused her in 2016," the brief states. "That is incorrect. This is an op-ed about what happens to women who report men for domestic abuse and why society should react differently. Given that context, her claim about becoming a 'public figure representing domestic abuse' — and suffering 'the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out' — is a statement about what she believes happened after she accused Mr. Depp of violence. It describes her opinions about the personal consequences, not the underlying merits, of her decision to report Mr. Depp."