FAIRFAX, Virginia (AP) – A jury is scheduled to hear the final arguments in Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard on Friday.
Each party will have two hours to summarize their case in a trial that has been extended for six weeks. With the cameras broadcast in the courtroom, a celebrity trial that sparked intense interest from the outset has only gained momentum as fans have taken to social media and lined up overnight for a coveted living room seat.
Depp is suing Heard for $ 50 million in the Fairfax County Circuit Court of Virginia for an opinion piece he wrote in December 2018 in The Washington Post describes himself as “a public figure representing the ‘domestic abuse’. His lawyers say he was defamed by the article even though he never mentioned his name.
Heard filed a $ 100 million lawsuit against Depp after his attorney called his allegations a hoax.
Depp says she never beat Heard and that she made up allegations of abuse to gain an edge in divorce proceedings.
Heard testified about more than a dozen episodes of physical and sexual assault that he said Depp inflicted on him.