Johnny Depp has been permitted by the court to access his ex-wife Amber Heard’s phone records to prove that Heard forged the photos of the alleged abuse.

Johnny Depp is suing over an article Heard wrote for the Washington Post in which she described being a victim of domestic violence, though she never mentioned Depp’s by name.

Heard has previously claimed that she suffered two black eyes, a broken nose, and a broken lip at the hands of Depp.

Depp who is waging a $50 million libel suit against Heard, claims she doctored photos alleging to show her with two black eyes, which she says she suffered in 2015 at the hands of the actor.

Benjamin Chew, Depp’s lawyer, alleged to the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, VA, in a court filing that: “Ms. Heard’s counsel has repeatedly used these phony photographs at deposition.”

Chew claims that when the LAPD responded to the alleged beating, “they found no injury upon Ms. Heard and no disruption to the penthouses.” He added that the LAPD “disavowed the photographs” and “said they did not depict what they saw.”

Chew alleged in his filing that: “Ms. Heard and her friends then fabricated photos that she used to obtain an ex parte TRO (temporary restraining order) and a $7 million divorce settlement which Ms. Heard falsely testified in London she gave to the ACLU and, more scandalously, to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles; sick children with cancer.”

This is one of many chapters in the controversial case that has led many to believe Depp is innocent. Following initial reporting and headlines such as The Sun’s, the Hollywood actor has been stripped of multiple roles and found it more difficult to find work.

In November 2020, Depp lost his libel case against the UK’s The Sun newspaper over an article that called him a “wife-beater.” In March, Depp was refused permission to appeal against the ruling.

The Virginia court ruled Wednesday that Depp’s team can now examine Heard’s phone records with the help of an expert as they look for any signs of tampering, incriminating messages, or indication of doctored photos.

Chew had argued that earlier images given to Depp’s legal team came without any metadata, so their expert, Brian Neumeister, could not verify the details.

Mr. Chew said: “Mr. Neumeister’s preliminary investigation shows that a number of the photographs have been run through a photo editing application called Photo 3 that can easily manipulate images such as showing bruises where none actually existed.”

Elaine Bredehoft, Heard’s attorney, told Page Six that the actress “welcomes the opportunity to present her evidence in a trial by jury, in a court of law” in 2022.

“This is a dirty strategy (after having been found to have committed multiple significant acts of domestic violence against Amber Heard) by Mr. Depp’s legal team, to present false claims while avoiding accusations of defamation because of judicial immunity,” Bredehoft added.

In the most recent development in the case, Depp has successfully won a divorce settlement pledge, as well as the right to sue Heard for defamation.

Depp and Heard began dating after the end of the actor’s relationship with Vanessa Paradis. They were married in a civil ceremony in February 2015.

Heard filed for divorce in May 2016 and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, alleging in her court declaration that he had been verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship, usually while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

A settlement was reached in August 2016, and the divorce was finalized in January 2017. Heard dismissed the restraining order, and they issued a joint statement saying that their “relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love.”