Johnny Depp & Amber Heard Restraining Order Hearing Takes Dramatic Turn

Reports of what might happen when Amber Heard appeared in court for her restraining order hearing against Johnny Depp were swirling. And then suddenly, with less than a day to go prior to that highly publicized hearing, E News revealed that it has been postponed by a judge.

Amid the rumors about the court hearing, there was speculation that Amber wanted to avoid providing a deposition to Depp’s attorneys. However, an insider told E News that those claims are not true and that Heard wanted to have her day in court.

The problem, according to that insider, is that on two occasions, Johnny’s lawyers wanted to get the depositions from Amber but failed to obey the “appropriate court protocol.” As to precisely why the domestic violence restraining order hearing was delayed, the source pointed to Laura Wasser, who is the lawyer for Depp.

“[Wasser requested] to continue the domestic violence restraining order hearing. Wasser gets one request for a continuance and she requested it so therefore the hearing will be continued postponed. The Temporary Restraining Order has been reissued and will remain in place,” explained the insider.

That means the next court hearing could result in changes with regard to the temporary restraining order. Up next are two mid-August court dates in addition to a conference.

Although Heard initially requested temporary spousal support, she has retracted that request. Moreover, a judge refused the request of $50,000 monthly when Amber filed for divorce. That denial of support came following the temporary restraining order against Johnny.

However, Heard contends that the request for support was based only on her assumption that it was the typical protocol in divorces. She also believes that the topic of spousal support has been manipulated to take attention away from her accusations of domestic violence by Depp.

“[The request is being] used against me to distract and divert the public away from the very serious real issue of domestic violence. In light of the coordinated false and negative media campaign falsely depicting my attempts to attain a CLETS Domestic Violence Restraining Order as being financially motivated, I am hereby withdrawing the request…for spousal support.”

However, despite that withdrawal of the request, Amber can ask for spousal support again during the case.

Initially set for Friday, June 17, the restraining order hearing involving Depp and Heard has been delayed, the Los Angeles County Court’s public information officer officially confirmed to Us Weekly.

The legal team representing Amber did not request the continuance, which came from Johnny’s side. The dates for the hearing are August 2, 15, and 16. Until the announcement of the postponement, Heard has been preparing to testify that Depp abused her physically.

She and Johnny were married for 15 months. Depp and Heard are staying apart as the details of their split are worked out. Both spousal support and property are involved.

In a signed declaration, Amber agreed to testify if she is asked to serve as a witness. Also signing a document confirming that she agrees to testify is her pal Raquel Rose Pennington. Heard’s friend described herself as being able to provide “firsthand personal knowledge of the facts.”

However, neither Pennington nor Amber could be present at a June 10 deposition. Raquel had an engagement party on June 11, with Heard planning to attend as one of the guests. In addition to that reason for not being in attendance at the deposition, Amber revealed she required a minimum of two weeks to compile the papers to provide to the court.

The lawyer for Johnny submitted a request that Heard not be allowed to testify against Depp if she did not appear for the deposition. As for the whereabouts of Johnny as the drama continues, he has been visiting his house in the Bahamas and also toured with his Hollywood Vampires band.

When Amber filed for divorce from Depp, she first asked for spousal support, then retracted it. She subsequently requested the restraining order along with allegations that she was abused by Johnny. As part of the evidence, Heard showed photos of her face with bruises that she claimed were the result of abuse by Depp.

Although the attorney representing Johnny contradicted the abuse claims and charged that Amber was trying to get part of the fortune owned by Depp, an insider who is close to Heard denied that it was all about money, telling Us that the motivation for divorce from Johnny is to free herself from abuse.

“This isn’t about money. All Amber did was try to get out of a marriage because she was suffering from abuse.”

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]