Amber Heard sues after comedian accuses her of blackmailing Johnny Depp

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

Heard's legal complaint, filed with Arizona'sSuperior Court and demanding a jury trial, claims Stanhope and others who haven't been identifiedyet, 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 Heardfiled for divorce after 15 months of marriageand herallegations of domestic abuse againstDeppbecamepublic.

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

In the guest column, entitledJohnny Depp Is Being Blackmailed by Amber Heard Here's How I Know, Stanhopeaccused Heard of threatening to lie in publicin order to ensure Deppwould 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 afteralleging the Alice Through the Looking Glass actor repeatedly hither and threwa phone at her face during a fight. She appearedat aLos Angeles court May 27 with a bruise on her cheek.

Heard's lawsuitalso gives more details about heralleged abuse, saying in one instanceDepp"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 lawsuithere.

"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 thatDepphas inflicted upon her for years," the complaintreads.

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."