Amber Heard: New photos of actress's facial bruises revealed

The newly released images show eye bruising and a cut lip

The release of the photos comes a week after Heard filed for a divorce from Depp, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking spousal support (Getty Images)

New photos of Amber Heard have been released which show the actress with bruising around her eye and a bloody lip.

People Magazine placed the images on the front cover of their June issue today. The photos show Heard, 30, with bruising in her eye area and a cut lip following an alleged instance of domestic violence inflicted by her estranged husband Johnny Depp, 52.

According to the magazine, the images are from an alleged incident which took place in December 2015. In her court filing accusing Depp of domestic violence, Heard states: “There was one severe incident in December 2015 when I truly feared for my life.”

The release of the photos comes a week after Heard filed for a divorce from Depp, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking spousal support. On Friday, she was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp after alleging he had been violent towards her on multiple occasions during their 15-month marriage.

Heard appeared in court, with a visible bruise on her face, alleging that Depp threw an iPhone at her face last Saturday and a month before “grabbed [her] by the hair and violently shoved [her] to the floor”.

Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, has claimed Heard applied for a restraining order in response to the negative media coverage she has been subject to and in an attempt to “secure a premature financial resolution”.

On Tuesday, Heard issued a long statement responding to the events of the past week via her lawyers. In it, she explained she had not previously chosen to release a statement to the Los Angeles Police Department in order to protect her privacy and Depp’s acting career, explaining that she had now released a full statement to the LAPD about the alleged domestic violence she has experienced.

“She cannot continue to leave herself open to the vicious false and malicious allegations that have infected the media,” Heard’s lead attorney Samantha F. Spector and her co-counsel Joseph P. Koenig claimed in a statement given to the Independent.

“Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny,” they continued. “In domestic violence cases, it is not unusual for the perpetrator's playbook to include miscasting the victim as the villain.”

“In reality, Amber acted no differently than many victims of domestic violence, who think first of the harm that might come to the abuser, rather than the abuse they have already suffered.”

Depp has not released a statement since the restraining order was granted but he did issue a comment in response to the news that Heard was seeking spousal support and there was no prenuptial agreement.

“Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the malicious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life,“ the statement read. ”Hopefully, the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.“

Representatives for Depp and Heard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.