Amber Heard Goes ‘Offline’ as Johnny Depp Libel Trial to Boast Who's-Who of Hollywood Witness List
09:12 GMT 10.04.2022 (Updated: 09:26 GMT 10.04.2022)
© AP Photo / Frank Augstein
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In another spiral of the post-divorce bitter acrimony between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the two actors are set to face off in a libel trial reportedly worth at least $50 million starting Monday in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington, DC.
Ahead of the libel trial standoff between bitter divorcees Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which starts Monday in Fairfax County, Virginia, the Aquaman actress announced in an Instagram post that she was going “offline”.
"I’m going to go offline for the next several weeks. As you may know, I’ll be in Virginia where I face my ex-husband Johnny Depp in court. Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in the Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse," wrote Heard.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star is suing his former wife for $50 million, alleging she defamed him in an opinion column she published in The Washington Post (printed in Fairfax County) in December 2018. In the publication, coming in the wake of the 2017 MeToo movement, she claimed to have been a victim of domestic abuse, while never directly naming Depp.
The actress made a reference to the “price women pay for speaking against powerful men” in her op-ed. However, Amber Heard had raised similar claims before, during divorce proceeding in 2016 in Los Angeles.
The actress who had been cast as Mera, Aquaman's Atlantean queen, in the superhero film Justice League, noted in her Instagram post that she continues to “pay that price”, adding:
"… hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world."
She concluded that she recognized “the ongoing support I've been fortunate to receive through these years, and in these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever."
20 March 2022, 09:33 GMT
Amber Heard never proved she was the victim of domestic abuse. The divorce between the celebrity couple, who tied the knot in February 2015, was settled out of court. The settlement statement said, in part:
"Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future."
After the op-ed in The Washington Post, Depp and his former lawyer denounced Heard's claims and filed a suit in March 2019, which stated:
“Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator.”
Amber Heard proceeded to countersue Johnny Depp for $100 million, alleging she was defamed by her former husband’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, who called the actress’s statement “fake” and a “sexual violence hoax”.
Heard, 35, also argued that her ex-husband had retaliated by deploying social media bots against her and masterminding an attempt to tarnish her career.
Actor Johnny Depp poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald', at a central London cinema, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018.
© AP Photo / Joel C Ryan
Depp, 58, has deplored the fact that the controversies and legal cases resulted in him being blackballed from the film industry. Thus, he was dropped from his 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise recasting. The Secrets of Dumbledore recast Johnny Depp's Gellert Grindelwald dark wizard character with Mads Mikkelsen.
Both these lawsuits will be the subject of the trial before Chief Judge Penney Azcarate of the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Actress Amber Heard poses for photographers upon arrival at the world premiere of the film 'Aquaman', in London, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018
© AP Photo / Vianney Le Caer
The judge has allowed a video camera in the courtroom, with the trial, boasting a witness list of celebrities such as UK film star Paul Bettany (for Depp) and American actor James Franco and mega-billionaire Elon Musk (for Heard) to be televised via Court TV and Court TV's online website, after a jury has been selected.
