Johnny Depp has been dealt a blow weeks before the trial in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 58, sued his 35-year-old ex-wife for $50 million after she wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in which she described herself as a victim of domestic violence, though she didn’t name her former spouse, and in return, she countersued for $100 million.
In a hearing on Thursday, Virginia Judge Penney Azcarate ruled against his summary judgement motion, and confirmed the Aquaman actress can use the states anti-SLAPP statute.
Although the decision doesn’t grant her immunity for her 2018 piece, her attorney will be allowed to argue to a jury that she deserves such immunity.
The measure ensures immunity from civil liability when it comes to statements regarding matters of public concern which would be protected under the US constitution’s First Amendment.
Depp’s team had argued the alleged defamation is private in nature and thus not covered by the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation).
However, Azcarate ruled that Heard’s piece for the Post on the subject domestic violence – which doesn’t mention Depp by name – deals with a matter of public concern.
Despite not mentioning him by name, his lawyer argued the timing of their highly publicised breakup made it clear she ‘falsely implied to be physically and sexually abused by Depp during their marriage’.
The trial is set to begin on April 11 at the Fairfax County courthouse, with Depp and Heard scheduled to appear and testify in court, while other big names are listed as potential witnesses including James Franco, Elon Musk and Paul Bettany.
In May 2016, Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp after accusing him of abuse, which he denied.
The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2017, with Heard donating her $7m (£5.5m) settlement to charity.
The pair also met in the Royal Courts Of Justice in London in 2020 after Depp brought a libel against the publisher of The Sun for referring to him as a ‘wife-beater’.
Following a three-week trial, a judge found that the column, written in April 2018, was ‘substantially true’.
The actor asked the Court of Appeal to grant permission for him to challenge the ruling, with the aim of having its findings overturned and a retrial ordered, but the appeal was denied in March last year.
However, in August 2021, a judge ruled that the actor would be allowed to move ahead with his libel trial against Heard.
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