Amber Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's trial date is fast approaching.

There’s clearly no end in sight for the ongoing legal saga, as the teams representing both Heard and Depp aren’t backing down. They also claimed that the story was a “public matter” as it aimed to bring light to issues about domestic violence. But her team will be able to argue using the aforementioned point about domestic violence being a public issue. According to The Guardian, the judge ultimately sided with Heard on this matter. The legal battle between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp has gone from the U.K. to stateside, and both actors have their own suit against the other. Depp just hit a setback in his lawsuit against Heard as the trial date approaches, so buckle up.

A judge ruled that Heard can argue that an article she wrote about domestic abuse was in the public interest.

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. In 2020, Depp lost a similar lawsuit in the UK against The Sun over an article that claimed the actor was a “wife beater”. The judge ruled that Depp assaulted Heard and put her in fear for her life on numerous occasions. A judge ruled that Heard can argue that an article she wrote about domestic abuse was in the public interest

Johnny Depp might have just been dealt a pretty major blow in his lawsuit against Amber Heard which is set to go to trial next month.

Though Johnny Depp is never mentioned by name in the piece, he is claiming that the article all but alluded that he was the person referenced as the abuser in their brief relationship. This could have the ball in her court when it comes to the trial itself and make it particularly difficult for Depp to win. As the case ramps up towards a trial, a judge ruled that Amber Heard can use the state of Virginia’s anti-SLAPP statute as part of her case.

Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany suggested in text messages 'drowning' Amber Heard before they 'burn her' to determine if she was 'a witch' per court docs.

The shocking conversation is just one item listed on the 1,530-item Exhibit List. Among the other items listed are “numerous correspondences” with various celebrities from both Johnny and Amber, including text messages with both Jason Momoa, 42, and Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, 56. Less than one week after the piece was published, Johnny was let go from a sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, a series of films that he starred in as Caption Jack Sparrow. Johnny lost the lawsuit after the court determined that the claims made in the piece were “substantially true”. Johnny Depp, 58, is getting ready to face off in court against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, 35 — who he’s suing for $50 million in a defamation lawsuit that claims that Amber “destroyed” his career by penning an article in The Washington Post in 2018 about being a survivor of “sexual violence.” In court documents obtained by HollywoodLife, the jilted exes listed in their Exhibit List a text message conversation from 2013 between Johnny and his friend, actor Paul Bettany, 50. Let’s be certain before we pronounce her a witch.” As previously reported, the text conversation between the two actors was used in Johnny’s 2020 lawsuit against the U.K. outlet, The Sun. In the previous suit, Johnny sued the outlet for calling him a “wife beater” in an article published in 2018. Thoughts? You have a swimming pool,” Paul texted to Johnny in 2013, referring to Amber. Johnny wrote, “Let’s drown her before we burn her,” to which Paul responded, “My thoughts entirely.

Actor Johnny Depp and his legal team have suffered a major setback in their case against Depp's ex-wife, Hollywood actress, and DC Expanded Universe star, Amber ...

It also saw the actor cast out from The Walt Disney Company’s billion-dollar Pirates of the Caribbean franchise where he carved out his most commercial and beloved role of Captain Jack Sparrow. The judge ruled against Depp, who had sought to bar Heard’s lawyers from claiming immunity. In a turn of events, the defamation suit — which Heard counteracted with her own — has been favorable to Depp over the last few months. While the Aquaman (2018) actress never named Depp in the piece, dots were connected, leaving Depp to sue his ex-wife for defamation in a $50 million lawsuit over the alleged abuse. For Heard, the actress will next appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) from director James Wan. She will reprise her role as Mera alongside Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the next installment of the Aquaman DCEU franchise of films. Since their marriage and subsequent divorce, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have had one of the most prolific relationships in Hollywood history.