On Monday, seven years after Amber Heard first accused Johnny Depp of assaulting her, Heard, 35, and Depp, 58, will come face-to-face with each other in a Virginia courtroom over allegations that Heard defamed Depp; he is┬аsuing her for $50 million┬аover a┬а2018 Washington┬аPost┬аop-ed┬аshe wrote titled тАЬOpinion: Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence тАФ and faced our cultureтАЩs wrath. That has to change.тАЭ In response, Heard filed a $100 million defamation counterclaim against Depp. The defamation trial, which will feature other famous actors called to testify,┬аwill air on Court TV. HereтАЩs how we got here and what to expect once the trial kicks off on April 11, 2022.
What do we know about Johnny Depp and Amber HeardтАЩs relationship?
Johnny Depp and Amber HeardтАЩs romantic relationship was brief compared to their protracted legal battles. The two met and began a relationship on the set of DeppтАЩs movie┬аThe Rum Diary┬аin 2009 when Heard was 23 and Depp was 46. They subsequently married in 2015, legally in California, and then again┬аceremoniously on DeppтАЩs private island in the Bahamas.
Depp vehemently denied he ever struck Heard, and the police who initially investigated HeardтАЩs claims said they found no evidence of a crime. Instead, Depp accused Heard in his court papers of тАЬattempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.тАЭ
HeardтАЩs initial request for a temporary restraining order against Depp was granted, but on the eve of their civil trial over extending the restraining order, Heard and Depp announced they had settled their differences. They released a joint statement that said, тАЬOur relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.тАЭ
As part of the divorce settlement, Depp gave Heard $7 million, as the couple had no prenup. Heard subsequently announced that she would be┬аdonating the money to the ACLU┬аand to ChildrenтАЩs Hospital in Los Angeles, saying at the time it was to help others тАЬless able to defend themselves.тАЭ
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Why is Johnny Depp suing Amber Heard?\
Despite the fact that he wasnтАЩt personally named in the op-ed, Depp filed a┬а$50 million defamation lawsuit┬аagainst Heard in Virginia over her characterizations in those three sentences. His team alleged that the тАЬop-ed depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her.тАЭ
тАЬMr. Depp brings this defamation action to clear his name,тАЭ according to┬аDeppтАЩs complaint.
DeppтАЩs legal team said that he never abused Heard and that her allegations against him were part of an тАЬelaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career,тАЭ according to his court papers. DeppтАЩs legal team stated in┬аhis court papers┬аthat тАЬthe false allegations against Mr. Depp have been conclusively refuted by two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses, and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera video.тАЭ
тАЬMs. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator,тАЭ DeppтАЩs legal team stated in his complaint against Heard, claiming it was an тАЬelaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career.тАЭ
Depp said that the accusations against him have damaged his film career and his reputation as a public figure. He blamed Heard for his losing out on roles; four days after the op-ed was first published, Disney announced it was dropping Depp from his leading role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the lucrative┬аPirates of the Caribbean┬аfranchise.
Heard, however, still maintains that тАЬevery sentence in that op-ed is literally trueтАЭ and that she тАЬresolved to fight for the victims of domestic violence, and to do everything in her power to fight back against the silencing of abuse victims.тАЭ
Why is this trial taking place in Virginia?
Despite the fact that both Depp and Heard have residences in Los Angeles, DeppтАЩs legal team successfully argued that because the Washington┬аPost┬аis physically published in Virginia, maintains two offices in the state, and has its online edition routed through servers in the state, a Virginia court and jury was the right jurisdiction to hear his defamation case. Virginia law regarding defamation and libel claims looks to where the statement was тАЬpublished,тАЭ according to┬аDeppтАЩs complaint. HeardтАЩs attorneys argued to have the case moved to California because the events of this case, the witnesses, and the premises were all located in Los Angeles. They also said that Heard was never in direct contact with a Washington┬аPost┬аemployee or in an office in Virginia to warrant the case being heard in the state.
тАЬJohnny Depp regularly abused Amber Heard тАФ both physically and emotionally тАФ throughout much of their relationship,тАЭ HeardтАЩs legal team argued in┬аher court papers. тАЬThe vast majority of these violent incidents occurred when Mr. Depp was drunk or high or both in their Los Angeles, California home or while the couple was traveling abroad.тАЭ
Her team argued that DeppтАЩs team pushed for this case to be heard in Virginia strategically to prevent her from using the tough anti-SLAPP protection available under California law.
Legal experts agreed that moving the lawsuit to California would have changed everything in this case and allowing Heard to take advantage of the stateтАЩs protective anti-SLAPP law would have in effect put an immediate hold on the case from the start.
тАЬIn my opinion, if this case were brought in California, I think it would have been almost dead on arrival,тАЭ said Ryan Baker, a Los Angeles litigator who has represented celebrities and entertainment companies in cases ranging from defamation to general business disputes.
What is Anti-SLAPP law?
Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws allow individuals faced with a defamation lawsuit тАФ where it is alleged the purpose of the lawsuit is to intimidate and silence free speech that is in the public interest тАФ to petition the court for protection. The statute effectively shifts the burden of proof, if the speech is defined as protected, to the party┬аbringing the lawsuit to prove to a judge that their lawsuit has merit and that it would result in a favorable verdict for them. Both┬аCalifornia┬аand┬аVirginia┬аhave┬аanti-SLAPP statutes, but VirginiaтАЩs law does not allow defendants to invoke the protection in the early stages of the proceedings, while California permits defendants to file for the protection immediately and for the judge to hear the motion within 30 days.
Baker said that holding this defamation case in California would have afforded Heard the protection of the stateтАЩs strict anti-SLAPP law, which would have likely effectively frozen the case from the start.
тАЬThe idea is that if you are a victim and someone is suing you to shut you up and it concerns a matter of public concern, you can immediately shut them down and the judge has to consider whether the case can even go forward,тАЭ Ryan Baker said. тАЬI think in California, this gets shot down right out the gate. In Virginia, you donтАЩt have this early procedural opportunity to shut the case down and freeze it.тАЭ
He added that the extensive litigation in this case has backfired on Depp by bringing to light extremely personal details of the successful actorтАЩs life.
тАЬI think this is the poster case for, frankly, the perils of overaggressively trying to defend whatever adverse vision you have of your reputation,тАЭ said Ryan Baker. тАЬAll Johnny Depp has done through this is just make himself the really overaggressive villain.тАЭ
How is this lawsuit different from DeppтАЩs 2018 defamation lawsuit against┬аThe Sun?
The Virginia case isnтАЩt DeppтАЩs first defamation lawsuit over the abuse allegations regarding his marriage to Heard.
In 2018, prior to the publication of HeardтАЩs column,┬аDepp sued News Group Newspapers LTD, publishers of┬аThe Sun,┬аfor libel after it published an article with the initial title тАЬGone Potty: How Can JK Rowling Be тАШGenuinely HappyтАЩ Casting Wife Beater Johnny Depp in the New┬аFantastic Beasts┬аFilm,тАЭ according to DeppтАЩs court papers. Depp alleged that the article gave a тАЬone-sided and unfair accountтАЭ and failed to include any denials of HeardтАЩs claim, or mention the police report that concluded no crime had been committed or that HeardтАЩs application for a temporary restraining order had been dismissed with prejudice.
Unlike defamation law in the United States,┬аThe Sun┬аneeded to show that the statements against Depp were тАЬsubstantially true.тАЭ After extensive testimony submitted from both sides, Justice Andrew Nicol issued a┬а130-page opinion┬аdetermining that тАЬthe great majority of the alleged assault of Ms. Heard and Mr. Depp has been proved to the civil standardтАЭ and that┬аThe Sun┬аhad shown what it published to be┬аsubstantially true.
тАЬThe U.K. case involved a different legal system, and clearly a different standard of law was being applied,тАЭ said attorney Emily D. Baker, a former Los Angeles district attorney. тАЬThe determination that the judge was trying to make there was whether the allegations Heard made were substantially true enough that the publication,┬аThe Sun, was not defamatory in stating in their headline that Johnny Depp was a тАШwife beater.тАЩтАЭ
On November 2, 2020, the┬аU.K. judge dismissed DeppтАЩs libel claim. DeppтАЩs┬аappeal request┬аwas also later denied.
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What famous names are set to appear and testify?
In addition to Depp and Heard, Elon Musk, Ellen Barkin, Paul Bettany, James Franco, Amanda de Cadenet, and iO Tillett are some of the well-known individuals set to testify or provide evidence at the 2022 trial. Around 120 individuals are on the potential witnesses list. While Heard and Depp are expected to testify in person and appear in court each day, Musk, Franco, and some others listed as potential witnesses will┬аlikely testify via video link.
тАЬThis trial is going to become a spectacle,тАЭ said Emily Baker. тАЬItтАЩs unusual that we see a star-studded witness list in a trial. ItтАЩs unlike anything I can really remember when thereтАЩs this much celebrity involved, not just from the people involved, but the witness list. And thereтАЩs also some horrific text messages between Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany that are just appalling to read the things he says in there in anger. So itтАЩs all, itтАЩs, itтАЩs all going to come out and play out very, very publicly.тАЭ
Bettany will likely have to explain the context of his shocking text messages that came to light in the U.K. case. After Depp texted Bettany in 2013 saying, тАЬLetтАЩs burn Amber,тАЭ Bettany responded, тАЬHaving thought it through I donтАЩt think we should burn Amber тАФ sheтАЩs delightful company and easy on the eye, plus IтАЩm not sure sheтАЩs a witch. We could of course try the English course of action in these predicaments тАФ we do a drowning test. Thoughts?тАЭ Depp responded, тАЬLetтАЩs drown her before we burn her!!! I will f- -k her burnt corpse afterward to make sure she is dead.тАЭ
James Franco might be┬аcalled to testify┬аabout his knowledge about Heard and DeppтАЩs relationship. In 2014, Heard was making the film┬аAdderall Diaries┬аwith Franco and was concerned at the time that Depp would be jealous of her having romantic scenes with Franco.
Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, was paying late-night visits to Heard at DeppтАЩs Los Angeles penthouse only one month into the marriage when Depp was out of the country filming, according to┬аDeppтАЩs court papers.┬аDepp has asked┬аMusk to reveal┬аall his communications with Heard about Depp and anything she might have told him about their physical relationship and divorce proceedings.
WhatтАЩs at stake?
Heard maintains that her op-ed was тАЬtrue and accurate,тАЭ did not mention Depp by name, and was only about тАЬwhat happened to her after she came forward. Based on her experiences a woman who had reported a man for violence.тАЭ
Depp has consistently denied the allegations against him. тАЬTo harm someone you love? As some kind of bully? No, it didnтАЩt, it couldnтАЩt even sound like me,тАЭ Depp said in a 2018 article in┬аGQ.┬атАЬTwenty-five feet away from her, how the fuck am I going to hit her? Which, by the way, is the last thing I wouldтАЩve done. I might look stupid, but I ainтАЩt fucking stupid.тАЭ
тАЬAmber is looking forward to getting this behind her,тАЭ a source familiar with Heard recently told Vulture. тАЬJohnny physically abused Amber throughout their marriage, and this lawsuit is just a continuation of it. The U.K. court already ruled against Johnny when it found at least 12 acts of domestic abuse against Amber, and this case will only bring out more evidence of abuse. It will be painful, but hopefully when itтАЩs over, a jury verdict against Johnny will send a message to the millions of women out there who suffer from intimate partner violence that they can move safely on with their lives, and so can Amber.тАЭ
тАЬThis case being brought to trial is proof that the court acknowledges the notable amount of preliminary wins, evidence and witnesses in support of Johnny,тАЭ an unnamed spokesperson close to Depp told Vulture via email. тАЬTo decline the opportunity to clear oneтАЩs name and allow someone taking advantage of the system to walk away with zero repercussions would be┬аcareless and set a dangerous precedent for similar situations in the future.тАЭ
Source-Vulture┬а