Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's legal battle continues as divorced movie stars face off in a $50 million (or more) defamation lawsuit.
The trial began on April 11 in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, with a panel of seven jurors and four options, according to Court TV, which broadcast the trial.
Depp, 58, has sued Heard, 35, for $50 million, alleging he defamed her in an opinion column published in the Washington Post (which appeared in Fairfax County) in December 2018. In the column, he claimed to be the victim. of domestic abuse, a claim she first raised during her corrosive divorce proceedings in Los Angeles in 2016.
Heard never proved that she was abused as their divorce was settled out of court amid the media uproar. And they said in a jointly issued statement of settlement: "No party has made false allegations for financial gain. There was no intention of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes Johnny all the best in the future."
Ahead of the trial, Heard shared a statement on Instagram informing fans that she would be "offline for the next several weeks" in Virginia.
“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,” she wrote in the Post, shared Saturday. "I never took her name, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case ends." Then I can move on and Johnny too. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it pains me so much to live together the details of my past life in front of the world."
Depp and Heard will eventually take the stand, with testimony from British film star Paul Bettany (for Depp) and American film star James Franco and mega-billionaire Elon Musk (for Heard).
The opening statements for the trial began on April 12 and set the tone for a fruitless fight.
Here's what happened in Depp and Heard's trial (so far).
Amber Heard's lawyer argued for her First Amendment rights
"You're going to see who the real Johnny Depp is—behind the fame, behind the pirate costumes," Heard attorney J.J. Benjamin Rottenborn told the jury during opening statements in the civil trial on April 12. "Because Johnny Depp brought this up, it's all going to come out."
Rottenborn said evidence would show Depp physically and sexually assaulted Heard on multiple occasions. But he told jurors that they didn't need to referee themselves to the couple's troubled marriage if they focused on the basics of libel law.
He argued that Heard was exercising his First Amendment rights as an attorney when he wrote the article, which focused on the broader topic of domestic violence.
The attorney also said the 2018 article did nothing to harm Depp's reputation. He said the abuse allegations were already public two years ago, and added that Depp's spiraling career was the result of his drinking and drug use, which made him an unreliable object for Hollywood studios.
"This man's poor choice has led him to this point," he said. "Stop blaming other people for your own created problems."
However, more than anything, he pointed out that Depp's name is never mentioned in the article in question.
Johnny Depp's lawyer counterattacked in initial statements
Depp's attorney Benjamin Chew said, "Everyone in Hollywood knew what she was talking about. Today, Johnny Depp's name is associated with lies." Depp's team argued that the article was an example of "defamation by implication".
Chew said there is clear reference to a restraining order Heard sought in May 2016—right after Depp told her he wanted a divorce—in which he claimed she was physically abused.
"You're going to learn that (Heard) is a seriously troubled person who molested the people around him just as he molested Mr. Depp," said his co-lawyer, Camille Vasquez.
Chew said the matter is about how destructive words can be when spoken in public. "They can do irreparable damage to someone's reputation, and the damage can be especially devastating when your career depends on your reputation," he said.
Chew said she showed up at the courthouse on May 27 of the same year with a bruise on her face, which was photographed by the paparazzi. But he said the evidence would show Heard hurt himself to ruin Depp's reputation. He said that Depp and Heard hadn't seen each other since May 21: he went on a European tour with his band, Hollywood Vampire.
One of Depp's attorneys, Camille Vasquez, told the jury that Heard refused to admit that he lied and has now gone deeper.
“She can’t back down. She has been living and breathing this lie for years,” Vasquez said. “She’s going to give the performance of a lifetime in this courtroom.”