Remember when we thought this summer was going to be full of drama and tragedy from Johnny Depp and Amber Heard? While there was a solid month of drama, by the time their hearing was postponed back on June 17th, the craziness had started to die down. They’re scheduled to appear in court on August 15th to give testimony about the abuse, the restraining order and more. Since mid-June, there’s been relative quiet, which I suspect has been the goal of the lawyers and the court anyway. I’ve been hoping that Depp’s lawyers and Heard’s lawyers have been quietly negotiating some kind of comprehensive settlement. But now I don’t know. Depp’s team has filed new documents aiming to keep Amber and her team silent. Depp’s lawyers are asking the court to put a confidentiality agreement in place so that they can turn over Depp’s financial records without it leaking. Here’s part of the filing:
“Johnny does not dispute that Amber is entitled to the majority of the information sought in her discovery requests and subpoenas. He willing to produce the documents necessary for Amber’s evaluation,” the docs read. “He has asked, however, that a confidentiality agreement be executed prior to the production of documents in order to protect the parties’ privacy. This case has been extraordinarily public since its inception. There have been daily articles in the domestic and foreign press about this proceeding and the parties’ lives. Every detail of this action has been chronicled by the media and it has become one of the most heavily publicized celebrity divorces in recent memory.”
Thus, Depp’s team argues, “Amber’s need for financial information to resolve this case is distinct from the public’s appetite for information about celebrity divorces. Yet Amber has inexplicably refused to sign any agreement to maintain confidentiality in this action. Johnny has proposed two different versions of a confidentially agreement and has expressed his willingness to consider revisions and/or an alternate agreement drafted by Amber’s counsel.”
The documents reveal that Depp—to no avail—asked Heard to sign a confidentiality agreement on May 27, 2016, noting that many media outlets have sited “sources close to Amber” in their coverage of the divorce. In fact, Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, pointed out one TMZ article in which she believes Heard’s attorney, Samantha Spector, leaked information to TMZ
“We agree to your proposal that ‘both sides would do everything in their power to prevent any further publicity and/or media disclosures about this matter, the case and the parties’ without exception,” Wasser states. “On 6/10 TMZ posted a story which contained specific provisions of the verbal settlement offer made to you…Not only did you not comply with your proposed agreement, you violated provisions.”
The documents also indicate that the two teams tried to settle in mid-June into order to “avoid media exposure” and “resolve the matter amicably,” and that Depp was willing to use the mediator Heard proposed. However, they failed to schedule a meeting. Now, as Heard proceeds to request more information, Depp continues to press for confidentiality.
“Johnny is merely trying to protect the documents and information Amber seeks from unwarranted disclosure to the media and other individuals not involved,” the docs read.
Does anyone else think it’s a bit rich for Depp’s lawyer to cry foul about Amber’s team leaking to TMZ? Throughout May and June, Team Depp was leaking to TMZ on a daily basis. TMZ was running pro-Depp stories consistently, full of information that only people deep in Depp’s camp would know. While I don’t doubt that Amber’s team has leaked information to E!, People and TMZ as well, turnabout is fair play.
I also think it’s interesting that Depp wants such a tight rein on his financial information specifically. In the past month, Depp has been making some strange financial moves, like selling his Basquiat paintings and putting his French chateau up for sale. Hm…
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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