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Several top-tier celebrities are among the list of names set to testify in the upcoming Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial.
The now $100-million lawsuit will feature testimony from actor James Franco, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Marvel WandaVision star Paul Bettany, along with representatives from Disney, Warner Bros and the Los Angeles Police Department.
The upcoming court hearing will be the latest in a very public legal battle of the divorced couple, with both Heard and Depp claiming to be victims of domestic violence.
Franco and Musk were brought into the case when Depp, 58, accused both of having an affair with Heard, 35. Both Franco and Musk are on Heard’s witness list. Bettany, who had several private and disturbing text messages with Depp read in court in 2020, will testify as part of Team Depp.
In some of the messages, which were read aloud during another trial in 2020, Depp and Bettany discuss “burning” and “drowning” Heard to see if she is a witch. In one reply, Depp wrote of his ex-wife: “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f–k her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
The text messages are included among Heard’s 1,530-item exhibit list. Depp’s exhibit list has yet to be released.
This court case, which began in March 2019, is set for a summary judgment motion on March 24.
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The initial court case began when Depp filed a $50-million defamation lawsuit over a Washington Post op-ed penned by Heard in late 2018 about domestic abuse (all dollars U.S.)
Heard attempted to have the suit moved to California and thrown out, but when she couldn’t, the Aquaman actress countersued Depp for $100 million.
Depp previously lost a suit in 2020 against tabloid newspaper the Sun, which wrote the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was a “wife beater.”
The court ruled after three weeks of hearings that Depp had violently assaulted Heard during a tempestuous five-year relationship, putting her in fear of her life. He appealed the decision in 2021, but that was denied.
Depp too has alleged he was the victim of domestic violence, claiming that among other things, Heard physically abused him and defecated in his bed.
Also on the exhibit list for the upcoming trial are texts between Heard and her Aquaman co-star Jason Momoa and director James Wan, communication with Justice League‘s Zack Snyder and email correspondence between Depp and Harry Potter author J.K Rowling.
Depp previously resigned upon request from the Fantastic Beasts movie franchise, where he portrayed the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.
As of this writing, both Depp and Heard are planning to take the stand in person at their new trial.
Franco, Musk and Bettany are scheduled to join via WebEx video link.
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