The details that came to light during what was described as the “test of the century” would undoubtedly be very damaging to Depp’s career, even if he had won. As it turned out, he lost. The judge undoubtedly died when he concluded that a Sun newspaper headline calling the actor a “wife hitter” was “essentially true”. However, he does it all over again, determined to clear his name. The star has always categorically denied abuse and says he has boycotted Hollywood over the allegations. Image: Depp fans met him every day during the trial in the United Kingdom in 2020 In the United Kingdom, he sued the post. In America, he is suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard herself, for a column she wrote in the Washington Post in December 2018. While the actress did not name him in the article, she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic violence “. Depp filed a $ 50 million (38 38.2 million) lawsuit against Herd in 2019, claiming that her article falsely suggested that she had been abused during their relationship. Herd has backed the case out of court and has also filed a defamation count against Depp, accusing him of a defamation campaign. Following delays during the pandemic, the trial is set to begin Monday in Fairfax County, Virginia – with the two stars facing off once again. How to follow the case The trial in the US will be long and will take place in seven weeks with a break of one week in May. It starts with the selection of the jury, with the opening statements expected to start on Tuesday. Image: Heard, pictured outside the Royal Court during the UK trial, filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband While those who attended the hearing in the UK in 2020 had to rely on media reports for information, the cameras are allowed in court in America – and the judge has allowed the recording to be made. That means you can watch as Depp and Herd give evidence – and Sky News will cover the case live here on the internet. Depp, Herd and other stars to give proof Both Depp and Herd will appear in person to testify during the hearing. Image: SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is among the top people called to testify Those who remember the trial in the UK will know that the names of many other high-profile stars also appeared in court as evidence was given, and the same is true this time around. James Franco and Elon Musk, for Heard, and Paul Bettany, for Depp, appear in the US Witness Disney case list, along with representatives of the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. and the Los Angeles Police Department ( LAPD). According to court documents filed in March, Bettany, Franco and Musk will give their evidence virtually. Family members, security guards, aides and others who worked around the former couple are also on the witness lists. Why is this happening in Virginia? Fairfax County Court, it is fair to say, is probably not as common in high-profile trials as this. Picture: Herd and Depp, pictured when they were together, divorced just over a year after their wedding in 2015 Depp is suing Virginia because the online versions of the Post are published on servers located in Fairfax County. Herd’s lawyers had requested that the case be transferred to California, where both actors live. In March, Depp’s lawyers sought a ruling that Herd could not invoke as part of her defense of a Virginia law – known as the SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) – designed to protect people from harassment lawsuits when they speak openly about matters of public interest. However, Herd’s lawyers argued that her article was about a serious public concern – the prevention of domestic violence – and the judge ruled in her favor. The ruling does not give Heard immunity for what she wrote, but does mean that she is allowed to put that argument to a juror as part of her defense. Depp and Heard: The background The former couple started dating The Rum Diary in 2011 and got married in Los Angeles in February 2015 – although information provided during the trial in the UK revealed that they had problems long before the wedding. Herd received a restraining order against Depp in May 2016 after accusing him of abuse, which he denied. The couple settled their divorce out of court in 2017, with Herd saying that he had donated her settlement to charity (,5 5.5 million) (Depp later accused her of lying about it). Image: Depp has attended film festivals and other events since his trial in the UK, but says his career has suffered: AP Photo / Petr David Josek Lasting three weeks, Depp’s defamation case against the Sun publisher took place in the Royal Courts of Justice in London in the summer of 2020. In November 2020, the judge ruled that the newspaper article was “essentially true”. After losing the case, the actor said that he was forced to give up the spin-off of Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts 3, with Mads Mikkelsen later replacing him as Gellert Grindelwald. Read more: Amber Heard – “Nothing could have prepared me for 2020” Read more: Johnny Depp v Amber Heard – who said what during the UK trial Depp asked the Court of Appeal to grant him permission to challenge the decision, with the aim of overturning its findings and ordering a retrial, but the appeal was rejected in March 2021. Since then, he has appeared at film industry events and won a Lifetime Achievement Award from a major film festival in Spain – and most recently a Medal of Honor for his contribution to art in Serbia. He also promotes his work as an artist. Image: Heard, photographed at a L’Oreal fashion show in Paris in October 2021, will star in Aquaman 2 in 2023. Photo: Vianney Le Caer / Invision / AP However, film roles seem to have dried up for the former Pirates Of The Caribbean star, with his latest film Minamata, starring war photographer Eugene Smith, released in 2020. In July 2021, Herd announced that she had a baby girl earlier in the year, according to information from a surrogate mother. He starred in Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021 and is set to appear in Aquaman 2 in 2023. It is fair to say that the last trial did not do any favors to any of the actors, with the details of the relationship that would otherwise have been kept behind closed doors for the public to read. This time, with the case on camera, those watching will be able to hear for themselves exactly what Depp and Herd have to say.
