Amber Heard suing comedian for defamation

Amber Heard is suing the comedian who accused her of lying about the alleged domestic abuse she claims she suffered at the hands of her estranged husband Johnny Depp.

Doug Stanhope jumped to his friend's defence as the actress arrived in court in Los Angeles seeking a protection order against the Pirates of the Caribbean actor on 27 May (16), and then released photos of her bruised face to news outlets.

The funnyman even implied Amber was attempting to blackmail Depp in an article published on website TheWrap.com.

In her papers, Amber claims Stanhope "orchestrated a plot" to write the article, which "falsely accuses plaintiff Amber Heard of 'blackmail' and other criminal behavior towards her husband, Johnny Depp, from whom she is seeking a divorce."

The actress calls Stanhope's accusations "completely false and defamatory", adding they have caused her "tremendous harm". In the papers, Heard also provides more details of alleged abuse by Depp, including an alleged incident in which she claims he "nearly suffocated her".

In a statement to People.com, her lawyer, Charles J. Harder, says that Heard is seeking the "maximum possible jury award" and plans to donate it to a domestic violence charity in Arizona.

"The Complaint alleges that Stanhope is a close friend of Johnny Depp and, as part of a co-ordinated effort, wrote a highly defamatory article about Ms. Heard, filled with completely false, highly defamatory and very hurtful statements," he explains.

Her court filing also details further incidents of alleged abuse by Depp.

"Depp has hit and kicked Heard on numerous occasions, has thrown objects at her, at one point suffocated her to the point where she feared for her life," Harder continues.

She goes on to claim she returned to her husband after each alleged attack, hoping that "the man she married would change his behavior".

Heard also calls Depp "an alcoholic and drug addict" and states that most of the alleged attacks occurred while he "relapsed into a cycle of substance abuse".

Amber was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp last week (27May16), days after filing for divorce following an alleged fight between the couple on 21 May (16).

Meanwhile, her legal team has demanded Stanhope's article be retracted from TheWrap.