Amber Heard Wants Johnny Depp's $50M Defamation Suit Dismissed After 'Wife Beater' Ruling

Johnny Depp's $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard in the U.S. should be thrown out after his "wife-beater" ruling in the U.K., according to the "Aquaman" actress' lawyers.

Last year, Depp lost his highly publicized libel case against the publisher of Britain's The Sun newspaper, which published an article calling him a "wife-beater" in 2018, and also failed to secure an appeal in the verdict against him last month. However, their legal battle continues as the actor filed a defamation suit against his ex-wife over an op-ed published by the Washington Post in 2018, in which she alleged she was a victim of domestic abuse.

Ahead of the 2022 trial for that case, Heard said in a new court filing that Depp's lawsuit should be dismissed, Deadline reported.

"Giving full effect to the UK Judgments necessitates a finding that statements in the op-ed published in the Washington Post are true – Mr. Depp committed domestic violence against Ms. Heard on many occasions, causing her to fear for her life," read a supplemental plea in bar from Heard and Charlson Bredehoft Cohen & Brown, PC and Woods Rogers PC attorneys that was obtained by Deadline.

The document asked the court in Virginia to recognize the ruling in the U.K. court, which sided with The Sun. It also pointed out the court's rejection of Depp's bid to appeal the ruling.

"Therefore, as a matter of law, Depp cannot prevail on any of his claims, and Depp’s Complaint against Ms. Heard should be dismissed in its entirety," continued the document filed on April 13 that recently appeared on the Fairfax County docket.

“Depp cannot relitigate these factual issues, and as a result of their preclusion, he cannot claim that the statements are false and ‘actionable’ under Virginia defamation law, so his claims are barred as a matter of law,” the plea filing added.

Depp’s primary lawyer, Benjamin Chew, has not responded to Deadline's request for comment on Heard’s filing. He also has not made a response filing for his client, the outlet noted.

Depp filed the defamation lawsuit in Virginia in March 2019. Heard is countersuing the "Fantastic Beasts" actor for $100 million, alleging that her ex-husband used trolls and fake social media accounts to launch a "smear campaign" against her, Page Six reported last year, citing court documents.

Meanwhile, the LAPD officers who responded to 911 calls to Heard and Depp's Los Angeles apartment the night they allegedly had a blowout fight in 2016 said in new depositions that there were no signs of disarray when they arrived at the place. Police said Heard also had no injuries and everything was tidy when they arrived, which was opposite of what Heard and an eyewitness previously described.

Heard had filed for divorce from Depp shortly after the alleged incident.