Johnny Depp Trial – Live: Jury Picked As Amber Heard And Actor Face Off In $50m Defamation Case – The Independent

Opening statements to begin on Tuesday

The multi-million dollar trial involving Jophnny Depp and Amber Heard will get fully underway on Tuesday in Fairfax, Virginia, following the selection of jurors.

The 58-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star was pictured outside the court house on Monday for the selection of the jury in his case against his 35-year-old ex-wife, Hearf.

The case centres on allegations of defamation following a 2018 article in The Washington Post in which she desctribed herself as a victim of domestic violence, but did not name her ex-husband, Depp.

On Tuesday, both sides will begin to set out their opening statements in the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The trial is expected to last for several weeks.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.

Gino Spocchia12 April 2022 11:05

‘No one is safe from cancel culture’: Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp claimed “no one is safe from cancel culture” while accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival in September last year.

At the time, Depp was responding to a question about Disney removing him from his career-defining franchise The Pirates of the Caribbean movies after allegations of abuse were leveled against him by ex-wife Amber Heard in 2018.

Four days after Heard’s The Washington Post op-ed, in which she alluded to physical and sexual abuse by the 58-year-old actor, Disney announced Depp would not be reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Depp has sued Heard for a sum of “not more than $50m” claiming that the “categorically and demonstrably false” accusations of abuse in the opinion piece have impacted his Hollywood career adversely.

Maanya Sachdeva12 April 2022 08:00

Johnny Depp pictured outside Fairfax County Courthouse before trial

The actor, 58, was photographed outside Virginia’s Fairfax County Courthouse before trial for his defamation case against Amber Heard began on Monday (11 April).

Depp and Heard, who were married from 2015 to 2017, are facing off against each other in court after the Pirates of the Caribbean actor sued Heard for defamation over an op-ed she authored in 2018.

In The Washington Post article, Heard recounts her experiences as an abuse survivor – but doesn’t name Depp directly.

In 2020, the Aquaman star’s younger sister told the high court in London she began noticing “signs of physical abuse, like bruises or cuts or burns on [Heard’s] arm – and this was early on”.

Depp is suing Heard for a sum “not more than $50m” for alleged damages to his career, according to court documents.

Maanya Sachdeva12 April 2022 07:15

Elon Musk for Heard, Paul Bettany for Depp: Expected testimonies during trial

Elon Musk, who dated Amber Heard between 2016 and 2018, is expected to testify on the Aquaman actor’s behalf during the $50m defamation lawsuit which began on Monday (11 April).

The Tesla CEO allegedly offered Heard round-the-clock security to safeguard her from Depp.Actor James Franco’s testimony is also believed to be part of Heard’s legal strategy. Franco reportedly had knowledge about bruises Heard sustained during an alleged fight with Depp.

Meanwhile actor Paul Bettany is listed as a witness for Depp, and expected to appear in court via video link. The actors allegedly exchanged text messages about “burning Amber” and “drowning her” in 2013.

When asked about the text messages in an interview last year, Bettany told The Independent: “Can you imagine what it would be like, honestly, to have a bunch of lawyers go through every one of your emails and texts for 10 years? All I can tell you was that it was an unpleasant feeling.”

Maanya Sachdeva12 April 2022 06:30

Jury selected to hear evidence in Depp v Heard defamation case

A jury of eleven people, including four alternates, has been selected to hear Johnny Depp’s defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Oliver O’Connell12 April 2022 05:45

Revisiting Amber Heard’s op-ed which spawned $50m defamation suit

In 2018, Amber Heard authored an opinion piece for The Washington Post titled, “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”

The actor, who is currently being sued by former partner and actor Johnny Depp for defamation over the op-ed, wrote about having suffered physical and sexual abuse in the article.

“I was exposed to abuse at a very young age,” the 35-year-old actor revealed, adding, “But I kept quiet – I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim.

“Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.”

Without naming Depp directly, Heard recounted the consequences of “speaking out” including being dropped by production houses and fashion brands alike, receiving death threats, and near-constant paparazzi surveillance.

Maanya Sachdeva12 April 2022 04:47

Oliver O’Connell12 April 2022 04:45

As it happened: Jury selection

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon reported from the courthouse:

Jury selection is underway for the defamation trial opposing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax.

Proceedings began around 10am ET with jury selection. Depp and Heard are both present, each sitting on one side of the courthouse with their legal team.

Prospective jurors were first asked whether they’d face any hardship if they were asked to participate in a trial expected to last six weeks. Some were excused on that basis.

Then, the judge and each party’s lawyers asked prospective jurors whether they had read or heard anything about the case, and if so, whether they’d still be able to make an objective determination in this case.

Some jurors have acknowledged previous knowledge of the case, but have generally said they’d be able to keep an open mind if they’re part of the final jury.

Seven jurors and four alternates will be chosen in total.

Oliver O’Connell12 April 2022 03:45

Depp and Heard: A timeline of their relationship

From meeting on the set of a 2011 film to filing for divorce in 2016, the history between Depp and Heard will likely be heard again when the trial in Fairfax, Virgina, begins.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon has a timeline, here:

Oliver O’Connell12 April 2022 02:45

Heard said she wanted to be ‘left alone’ at 2020 defamation trial in London

Appearing as a witness during Depp’s trial against British newspaper The Sun in 2020, Heard said she wanted to be “left alone” and wanted her former husband to end lawsuits over domestic abuse claims to “save him the embarrassment.”

“I didn’t want to do this, I did not want to expose this totality of what really happened to me,” Heard told London’s Royal Courts of Justice. “I didn’t want to talk about everything that happened in our marriage and happened in our relationship.”

While Depp denies the claims, Heard told the court of 14 allegations of “violence” by Depp between 2013 and 2016, in locations such as a rented house in Australia, his private island in the Bahamas and a private jet, as The Associated Press reported two years ago.

The judge ruled against Depp, who accused the publisher of The Sun of defaming him with a headline including the words “wife beater”. His lawyers afterwards called the judge’s decision “perverse”.

Oliver O’Connell12 April 2022 01:45