A bitter defamation lawsuit is now brewing between Johnny Depp and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after new documents revealed the non-profit's staff penned the explosive domestic violence op-ed at the center of the actor's $50million libel suit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
A trove of emails seen by DailyMail.com suggest Heard, 35, had minimal input in the December 2018 article which was written by an ACLU strategist then submitted to her for approval.
When it appeared in the Washington Post, Depp sued instead for libel, arguing the 1,000-word essay - entitled: 'I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture's wrath' - was a clear reference to their failed marriage and falsely labeled him an abuser.
Three years on, the ACLU's involvement is threatening to drag the nonprofit deeper into the toxic lawsuit. Depp's lawyers hint it could even see them added as a defendant.
'This new trove of emails finally proves one of the things the ACLU has fought for years to hide: they wrote Amber Heard's false op-ed for her and were co-conspirators with Ms Heard from the start,' Depp's attorney Adam Waldman.
'Those who scheme, write and publish defamation, even purported free speech advocates, are not immune from the consequences.'
The ACLU is already facing a May 28 deadline to respond to a barrage of subpoenas from Depp's legal team who want to know if Heard ever honored a public 2016 pledge to donate half her divorce money - some $3.5million - to the vaunted civil rights group.
Now, previously unseen correspondence obtained by DailyMail.com reveals ACLU staff came up with the idea for the op-ed when they appointed Heard an ambassador on women's rights in late 2018.
Her lawyer Eric George sounded a note of caution, however, striking out obvious references to Depp and warning that any mention of their disastrous 18-month marriage would land Heard in court.
'Any reference at all to marriage or divorce - even to say either the word marriage or divorce and then to elaborate that you're not in fact talking about it - is a technical violation,' he wrote.
'Would a reasonable ex - or his lawyer - object? Of course not. Will the opposing side that we're dealing with? Likely yes.'
Heard and Shulman were keen to mention how the Aquaman actress sought a restraining order after her breakup but that was similarly nixed.
The op-ed was published on the Washington Post website six days later and appeared in print the next day.
Three months later Depp filed for defamation in Fairfax County, Virginia, where the Post is printed, saying the article wrecked his reputation and got him booted from the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.