The upcoming defamation trial between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard begins on Monday, and ahead of the start of court proceedings, Heard has taken to social media to thank her supporters. On Saturday, Heard posted to Instagram that she would be offline for the next several weeks as she faces Depp in court. In the post, Heard wrote about the support that she’s received from her fans and others and how she will be relying on it in the coming weeks.
“I’m going to go offline for the next several weeks. As you may know, I’ll be in Virginia, where I face my ex-husband Johnny Depp in court,” Heard wrote. “Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in the Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse. I never named him, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world. At this time, I recognize the ongoing support I’ve been fortunate to receive throughout these years, and in these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever. With love always, A.”
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Depp and Heard have been locked in legal battles for several years after Heard divorced Depp and then obtained a temporary restraining order against him in May 2016. In 2018, Heard wrote the previously mentioned op-ed in The Washington Post and the relationship between Depp and Heard came under even more scrutiny after Depp filed a libel lawsuit against British tabloid The Sun after the publication referred to Depp as a “wife-beater” in a 2018 article. Depp lost both the initial lawsuit as well as the appeal. He later resigned from his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise just a few days later and was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen.
As for the upcoming libel lawsuit, proceedings are set to begin on Monday, April 11th in Virginia with Depp suint Heard for libel over the op-ed. He is reportedly seeking $50 million in damages and the court proceedings will be broadcast on Court TV.
“Court cases that are as high-profile as this one often create a lot of noise, and it can be difficult for viewers to break through these distractions to have a clear picture of the facts, but that’s where we come in,” Ethan Nelson, Acting Head of Court TV, said in a statement. “Between the camera feed directly from the courtroom and our first-class lineup of talent, Court TV will be the true source of an unbiased, down-the-middle perspective of the trial as it unfolds.”
