Johnny Depp’s multi-million dollar US defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard is set to begin in a Virginia court.
The former Hollywood power couple is expected to testify in person at the trial, and high-profile figures such as James Franco, Paul Bettany and Elon Musk are slated to testify.
Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post discussing her experience of domestic violence. The actor’s lawyers say the article falsely implied that Heard, 35, was physically and sexually abused by Depp when they were married.
Depp, 58, said the allegations made it difficult for him to get the kind of roles he once had.
The article was headlined: “I spoke out against sexual violence – and faced the wrath of our culture. That has to change.” The article doesn’t mention Depp by name.
Heard’s attorneys are expected to argue that she should be immune from the defamation lawsuit because of a Virginia law known as an anti-slapping provision (a strategic lawsuit against public participation). The provision is designed to protect people from harassment claims when speaking about matters of public interest.
Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, has argued that the article addresses a very serious issue of public interest: domestic violence.
The actor has also filed a counterclaim for defamation against Depp over statements made by his attorney about her.
The case is being brought in Virginia and not in California, where the actors live, because the Washington Post’s online editions are published through servers in Fairfax County.
Depp’s attorneys say one of the reasons they brought the case in Virginia is that the state’s anti-slapping law isn’t as comprehensive as California’s.
The lawsuit, which is taking place in Fairfax County District Court, seeks $50 million (£38.2 million) in damages.
It comes after Depp lost a similar defamation case in the UK he brought against the Sun newspaper’s editor, News Group Newspapers.
A 2018 article written by then-Sun Editor-in-Chief Dan Wootton referred to Depp as a “wife beater” in the headline. After a 16-day trial in July 2021, a judge found the content of the article to be “essentially true.”
Depp was denied permission to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.