Johnny Depp And Amber Heard To Face Off Again As Defamation Trial Kicks Off In America

Johnny Depp is all set to face ex-wife Amber Heard in a defamation trial in the US.

The actor was not able to clear his name in the libel suit that was filed in the UK almost 2 years ago. Now, the Hollywood star will be going directly after his former partner. 

The trial kicks off today (April 11) at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia.

As per insidenova, Depp is suing Heard for $50m after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post that alleged he was emotionally and physically abusive towards her. 

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Depp claimed that the article ruined his image and damaged his career as an actor.

Days after Heard’s article went live, Depp was subsequently dropped from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which went on to earn US $4.5 billion at the box office.

As Depp lost his case against The Sun, Depp also lost his role as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

The case has been described as one of the ‘trials of the century,' as some high-profile celebrities are also expected to testify in court or virtually.

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As per Deadline, James Franco, Paul Bettany, and Elon Musk will provide virtual testimonies, while Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas actress Ellen Barkin is on Heard’s list of potential witnesses, as well as representatives from Disney and Warner Bros. 

It is expected that the trial will run till May and will be presented to 12 jurors who will assess the trial based on each party's credibility. 

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Before the trial, Heard took to Instagram and disclosed she would be ‘off-line’ for the next several weeks as she faces her ex-husband in court.

In the post, the actress defended her op-ed and stated she never ‘named’ Depp and the piece was intended to raise awareness about what happens to women when they speak out against men having excessive ‘power’.

She continued: “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.

“At this time, I recognize the on-going support I’ve been fortunate to receive throughout these years and in these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever.” 

In November 2020, Depp lost a libel case against UK newspaper The Sun, which centred on whether an article that labelled Depp a 'wife beater' was libellous.

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Depp argued that the false claims against him tarnished his career after his name was included alongside that of convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, as well as the fact The Sun retained the article on its website.

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The truth of the matter was decided on the balance of probabilities, a lower standard than required in a criminal case.

Depp vehemently denied all allegations made against him in The Sun.

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