Amber Heard wants Johnny Depp to undergo mental health evaluation in their bitter ongoing legal battle
After being granted access to Johnny Depp’s medical records, including his mental health records, in an emergency motion, actress Amber Heard is going one step further to get evidence on Johnny Depp's mental state.
The 'Aquaman' actress has asked the Virginia court that a mental health professional be allowed to run an Independent Mental Evaluation — or IME — on the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor, according to 'The Blast'. The actress is currently fighting the $50 million defamation lawsuit in Virginia (that began last year) filed against her by Depp for her article in the 'Washington Post'. In the article, while she did not name Depp, Heard spoke about being a victim of domestic violence.
According to the court documents, Heard believes Johnny’s alleged drug, alcohol, and abuse of prescription medicine has led him to delink from reality. "Johnny’s relationship with reality oscillates, depending upon his interaction with alcohol and drugs,” states the legal papers filed by Heard's lawyers. “As Johnny’s paranoia, delusions, and aggression increased throughout our relationship, so has my awareness of his continued substance abuse.”
Depp’s attorney has responded to the IME request saying it makes no sense to run a test at present if the case was about what had happened in the past. "This is a defamation case in which Mr. Depp does not allege that he suffers from any mental disorder or condition,” his lawyer said. “Thus, Mr. Depp’s mental condition is not ‘in controversy’ nor does good cause exist under the rule for an IME of Mr. Depp."
The legal response filed by Depp's lawyer also claimed that: “It is a preposterous notion that an IME now would shed light on Mr. Depp’s mental state at the time of Ms. Heard’s abuse hoax back in 2016. Ms. Heard’s effort treads a well-worn path of victim blaming using the pretext of mental health. By Ms. Heard’s tortured credibility logic, current IME’s would also be warranted for all the dozens of eyewitnesses who have attested to the various facets of the hoaxes they witnessed years ago.”