FAIRFAX, United States — After a high-profile libel case in London,
actor
Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard are headed back to court Monday,
this time in the United States, for a blockbuster defamation case revolving
about allegations of spousal abuse.
اضافة اعلان
The case pitting
the 58-year-old Depp against Heard, 35, will be broadcast live. Both are
expected to testify, along with actors James Franco and Paul Bettany — and
billionaire Tesla and SpaceX chief
Elon Musk.
The case centers
on a column written by Heard and printed in The
Washington Post in December
2018 in which she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic
abuse” who was pilloried online after her assault claims.
The column was
entitled: “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath.
That has to change.”
The actress never
names Depp, who she met on the set of the 2011 film “The Rum Diary” and was
married to from 2015 to 2017 — but he sued her for defamation for implying he
was an abuser, seeking $50 million in damages.
“The oped’s clear
implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser is categorically and demonstrably
false. Mr Depp never abused Ms Heard,” the complaint says.
Depp accuses
Heard of seeking to “generate positive publicity for herself” ahead of the
release of the film “Aquaman,” in which she had a starring role.
Heard
countersued, asking for $100 million, saying she suffered “rampant physical
violence and abuse” at his hands.
“The frivolous
lawsuit Mr Depp has filed against Ms Heard continues that abuse and
harassment,” her counterclaim says.
Intimate details
laid bare
After an ardent legal battle at each phase of the
US case, jury
selection begins Monday in a county court in Fairfax, outside Washington.
Depp filed his
case in Virginia as The Washington Post is printed there. The state also has
defamation laws considered to be more favorable to plaintiffs than those in
California, where the two actors live.
The trial,
presided over by Judge Penney Azcarate, is expected to last several weeks. Opening
statements could begin as soon as Tuesday.
Depp and Heard
are expected to testify in person, while other witnesses could be heard via
video link.
More details
about the private lives of the two actors are expected to emerge.
Starting in 2016,
Heard sought a restraining order against Depp amid abuse allegations. Their
divorce was finalized in 2017.
Depp lost the
London case, which he brought against The Sun for branding him a “wife-beater.”
His attempt to appeal was rejected in March last year.
That trial laid
bare details of the couple’s volatile relationship, including Depp’s battle
with drugs and alcohol.
Heard testified
that she loved the sober Depp — but that he became a “monster” after days-long
binges on powerful prescription and other drugs.
Depp’s career has
suffered in the wake of that case.
He left his role
as Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
Depp also has
said he was asked to step down from the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise based
on the book by Harry Potter author
J.K. Rowling. He has been replaced by Mads
Mikkelsen.
In a quirk of timing, the
next movie in that series opens in US theaters on April 15.
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