Johnny Depp, Amber Heard continue US legal battle with celebrities testifying

Several high-profile celebrities are set to give testimony in a US courtroom next month during a multi-million dollar lawsuit between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard, RTE reports.

The publication states that James Franco, Paul Bettany and Elon Musk feature on witness lists alongside representatives of the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

Hollywood heavyweight Depp launched a $50 million (€45 million) defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2019, after the Aquaman star wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in December 2018, describing herself as a victim of domestic abuse.

The trial is set to begin on 11 April at the Fairfax County courthouse, in Virginia.

Both Depp and Heard are set to give in person testimony, though Avengers star Bettany, Franco and Tesla founder Musk will do so virtually, according to documents filed on 14 and 15 March.

Depp and Heard started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary. They married in Los Angeles in February 2015.

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 $7 million (€6.3 million) 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”.

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