The ugliness around the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp divorce continues to deepen, with the actress suing notably unfiltered stand-up comic—and Depp friend—Doug Stanhope for accusing her of blackmailing her soon-to-be-ex-spouse. Stanhope made his claims in a guest column posted earlier this week on The Wrap, titled “Johnny Depp Is Being Blackmailed by Amber Heard–Here’s How I Know.” In the column, Stanhope says that Depp had told him and several friends that Heard had threatened to fabricate evidence of abuse against her, and calls himself out for not criticizing the relationship sooner, because “he didn’t want to be thrown out of the circle for saying that The Emperor was being Stripped of His Clothes.”
Heard’s lawyer issued a statement with the lawsuit, calling Stanhope’s article a collection of “completely false, highly defamatory and very hurtful statements.” Heard is seeking damages against Stanhope, which she says she intends to donate to women’s shelter in Arizona.
Heard filed for divorce from Depp last month, and received a restraining order from the actor a few days later. She alleges that their relationship descended into a “cycle of substance abuse and violence,” and that he nearly suffocated her during one altercation. The couple had been married for 15 months.