Amber Heard shares public message about Johnny Depp ahead of ‘facing ex-husband in court’

Amber Heard has shared a public message ahead of “facing” ex-husband Johnny Depp in court.

The defamation case is scheduled to begin on Monday (11 April) in Fairfax, Virginia, and Heard has expressed hope that, once it concludes, the pair can “move on”.

This latest trial stems from a complaint filed in 2019 by Depp, who alleges Heard defamed him in an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018.

In the op-ed, she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. He has asked for $50m (£38.4m) in damages.

Heard filed a counterclaim, accusing Depp of allegedly orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his own lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment.” She has asked for $100m (£76.8m) in damages, and for immunity from Depp’s claims.

Ahead of the trial, Heard told her fans: “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.”

She continued: “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 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 word,” Heard said.

“At this time, I recognise 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.”

In November 2020, Depp lost a libel lawsuit in London against The Sun’s publisher after a 2018 headline labelled him a “wife beater” in relation to his Heard.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star also lost a bid to overturn the High Court ruling in March 2021.

However, Depp did, score a rare legal victory after seeking to discover whether Heard carried out her pledge to donate the proceeds of her $7m (£5m) divorce settlement to charity.

The following year, Depp suggested he was being boycotted by Hollywood. At the time of his comments, the US was the only territory not to have released his latest film, Minamata. He was also replaced as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise by Mads Mikkelsen.