Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's Contentious Divorce Will Be Explored in New Discovery+ Docuseries

A new discovery+ documentary is focusing on the turbulent marriage and legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Johnny Depp Amber Heard
Johnny Depp (L); Amber Heard. Photo: Marc Piasecki/WireImage; Phillip Faraone/Getty

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's troubled marriage and contentious divorce is the subject of a new two-episode documentary series by discovery+.

On Friday, Discovery UK announced it had commissioned Johnny vs Amber that tells the story of the breakdown of the marriage between Depp, 58, and Heard, 35, as well as their ensuing legal battle.

The documentary will show the different perspectives between Depp and Heard with one episode focusing on The Pirates of the Caribbean actor's perspective, while the other episode will focus on the Aquaman actress's side of the story.

Johnny vs Amber will feature testimony from lawyers for both stars, as well as those close to the pair. It'll also examine extensive footage and audio recordings filmed by the former couple themselves.

The documentary series is executive produced by Nick Hornby and Fran Baker for Optomen.

"Through the tapes, home videos and text messages shown in court, these films give viewers a rare and important insight into a marriage that went tragically wrong, and to better understand the hugely important issue of domestic violence," Hornby said.

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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016 and later accused him of domestic violence. Depp denied all the allegations. A judge finalized their divorce in January 2017 with Heard being granted a $7 million settlement.

Their legal battles continued when Depp sued Heard for defamation after the actress wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in 2018 about surviving domestic violence. (Heard never named Depp in the op-ed.) The case is ongoing.

At the time, Depp's lawyers said in the lawsuit, "Mr. Depp never abused Ms. Heard. Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016. They were part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career."

In response to the lawsuit, Heard's rep told PEOPLE in a statement at the time, "This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp's repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced. Mr. Depp's actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behavior. But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self-destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr. Depp and his legal team."

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Depp also sued the British tabloid The Sun for libel after it called him a "wife-beater." He lost the case in November 2020. After losing the case, Depp agreed to exit the role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter spinoff series, Fantastic Beasts.

Johnny vs Amber will be available to watch on discovery+ later this year.

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