Amber Heard sues after comedian accuses her of blackmailing Johnny Depp

Amber Heard filed a defamation lawsuit in Arizona Friday against comedian Doug Stanhope, a friend of her estranged husband Johnny Depp, after Stanhope wrote a guest column for The Wrap accusing the model and actress of blackmailing Depp.

Heard's legal complaint, filed with Arizona's Superior Court and demanding a jury trial, claims Stanhope and others who haven't been identified yet, plotted an article "to divert public attention away from the true facts regarding Depp which caused their marriage to fail."

The article was published May 29 after Heard filed for divorce after 15 months of marriage and her allegations of domestic abuse against Depp became public.

• Johnny Depp accused of domestic abuse, ordered to stay away from Amber Heard

In the guest column, entitled Johnny Depp Is Being Blackmailed by Amber Heard – Here's How I Know, Stanhope accused Heard of threatening to lie in public in order to ensure Depp would agree to her divorce terms.

He wrote: "Blackmail is what I would imagine other people might put it, including the manner in which he is now being vilified."

Heard was granted a restraining order after alleging the Alice Through the Looking Glass actor repeatedly hit her and threw a phone at her face during a fight. She appeared at a Los Angeles court May 27 with a bruise on her cheek.

Heard's lawsuit also gives more details about her alleged abuse, saying in one instance Depp "nearly suffocated her to the point where she feared for her life."

"His drug and alcohol abuse has increased dramatically in recent years, as has his violent behaviour," the documents said.

The suit claims Heard's lawyer asked The Wrap to remove the article from its website and print a retraction, which was refused. Read the column cited in the lawsuit here.

"Defendants are engaged in a classic case of 'attacking the victim', in an effort to discredit Heard, destroy her good name and reputation and severely harm her hard-earned entertainment career, on top of the campaign of violence that Depp has inflicted upon her for years," the complaint reads.

Heard is suing for "maximum possible damages", although an amount is not specified, and according to the document, will donate the proceeds to a "battered women's shelter in Arizona."