y Jan Wolfe
WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) – The latest chapter in Hollywood star Johnny Depp’s legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard kicks off on Monday as a U.S. defamation trial begins over allegations Heard made about domestic abuse.
Depp, 58, has sued Heard for $50 million, saying she defamed him when she penned a 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse.
The op-ed never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp’s lawyers have said it was clear Heard was referencing him, and that the piece damaged his film career and reputation.
Depp has denied all allegations of abuse, saying in his lawsuit that Heard’s claims were an “elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career.”
Juror selection is expected to begin Monday in the case.
Depp wants the Fairfax County jury to find that Heard knowingly made false claims.
Heard, for her part, will argue that she is shielded, or “immune,” from liability because her 2018 op-ed on domestic violence dealt with a matter of public concern.
“I never named him. Rather, I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay the price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny,” Heard said in a statement released on Saturday.
The Washington Post is not a defendant in the trial.
The U.S. trial comes less than two years after Depp lost a libel case against The Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled he had repeatedly assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life.
y Jan Wolfe
WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) – The latest chapter in Hollywood star Johnny Depp’s legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard kicks off on Monday as a U.S. defamation trial begins over allegations Heard made about domestic abuse.
Depp, 58, has sued Heard for $50 million, saying she defamed him when she penned a 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic abuse.
The op-ed never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp’s lawyers have said it was clear Heard was referencing him, and that the piece damaged his film career and reputation.
Depp has denied all allegations of abuse, saying in his lawsuit that Heard’s claims were an “elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms. Heard and advance her career.”
Juror selection is expected to begin Monday in the case.
Depp wants the Fairfax County jury to find that Heard knowingly made false claims.
Heard, for her part, will argue that she is shielded, or “immune,” from liability because her 2018 op-ed on domestic violence dealt with a matter of public concern.
“I never named him. Rather, I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay the price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny,” Heard said in a statement released on Saturday.
The Washington Post is not a defendant in the trial.
The U.S. trial comes less than two years after Depp lost a libel case against The Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled he had repeatedly assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life.
