Amber Heard files defamation suit against comedian

Actress Amber Heard has filed a defamation suit against comedian Doug Stanhope, who accused her of blackmailing her estranged husband Johnny Depp.

Heard filed the suit against Stanhope on Friday in Arizona Superior Court, reports variety.com.

She has filed claims that Stanhope's accusation that she fabricated her domestic abuse allegations against Depp are "completely false and defamatory".

The document also states that Stanhope "orchestrated a plot to write an article" for The Wrap -- titled "Johnny Depp Is Being Blackmailed by Amber Heard - Here's How I Know" -- which falsely accused her of "blackmail and other criminal behaviour" toward her estranged husband.

Heard is seeking the "maximum possibly jury award", which she plans to donate to a domestic violence charity, according to her lawyer, Charles J. Harder.

"The complaint alleges that Stanhope is a close friend of Johnny Depp and, as part of a coordinated effort, wrote a highly defamatory article about Heard, filled with completely false, highly defamatory and very hurtful statements," Harder said in a statement.

"Heard seeks the maximum possible jury award, and will donate 100 per cent of the proceeds from the lawsuit to Chrysalis, a domestic violence shelter in Arizona, in an effort to counter the setback made to women by the defendants' defamatory article and related wrongful acts," he added.

--IANS

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