Less than a month before the long-delayed trial in Johnny Depp’s multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard began, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star suffered a blow Thursday in his efforts to defend his ex-wife and $100 million hobble counter suit.
In a brief hearing, Virginia Judge Penney Azcarate ruled against Depp’s summary judgment request, saying the Aquaman star could indeed use the state’s anti-SLAPP law on the matter.
While today’s result doesn’t grant Heard immunity for what she wrote in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that sparked this brawl between the former spouses and the Rum Diary co-stars, it means her attorneys can argue, that Heard has earned jury immunity — and that undermines a large part of Depp’s legal strategy going into the trial, which is set to begin on April 11.
Part of the irony is that today’s ruling not only empowers Heard’s defense and her counterclaim alleging defamation by Depp and his representatives, but that the cantankerous Depp Heard and Jeff Bezos’ own post in Virginia over the relatively frivolous anti – SLAPP law. Not least because of the $50 million lawsuit that Depp filed in March 2019, the state has tightened this law. Now Virginia’s anti-SLAPP measure ensures immunity from civil liability for statements about matters of public interest that would be protected under the First Amendment.
The Washington Post has long since been removed as a defendant in this case.
In contrast to a previous attempt by Depp to get out of Heard’s 2020 counterclaim, Azcarate said Thursday that Heard’s Post article on domestic violence will become a topic of public interest. That’s crucial for the actress as it reformulates the litigation.
Depp’s team has pointed out that the defamation is private in nature and therefore not covered by the anti-SLAPP law (SLAPP is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation).
It should be noted that Heard’s comment never actually mentions Depp by name.
Of course, after a 2016 breakup that included restraining orders, a $7 million payout and more, Depp has insisted the article implicates him. The claim “Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic violence, she is a perpetrator.
Both Depp and Heard have weathered ups and downs on the matter.
Heard failed in her efforts to have the lawsuit moved to California and dismissed before countering Depp in September 2020. After losing his UK defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun tabloid in November 2020 after she called him a “wife beater” (an appeal was dismissed in March 2021), Depp also fell short in his desire to Heard’s countersuit in January 2021 to get out of the way with the big money.
Now the real show begins.