Amber Heard will testify in Johnny Depp's sexual violence case behind closed doors. She has been allowed to do so after lawyers asserted that she should not be forced to present her evidence before the media.
Heard serves as a key witness in a libel case in which Depp is suing the Sun newspaper and its associate editor, Dan Wootton, due to an article that labeled him as a “wife-beater."
According to Depp's lawyers, Amber Heard has been making “salacious” claims to heighten the attention to the case. They questioned her willingness to present parts of her evidence without the media in the room.
“She hasn’t sought anonymity, quite the opposite,” said David Sherborne, representing Depp. He added that Heard’s accusations would emerge as “outright lies” and said they would need to be scrutinised “very carefully”.
Sherborne explained that Heard’s decision to become a prominent supporter of the #MeToo movement and publicly participate in United Nations events about sexual violence meant she could not later ask for privacy when disclosing evidence.
“Is it really the case that she is so distressed that it is necessary for the principle of open justice to be overturned?” asked Sherborne.
“He [Depp] is in the worst of all worlds, where it is said very publicly that he committed acts of sexual violence but the details of them will be heard behind closed doors," the lawyer added.
After hearing the arguments from Depp’s legal team and Adam Wolanski QC for NGN, who raised the case on Heard’s behalf, Mr. Justice Nicol pointed out that matters of the “sexual violence” to be raised by Heard meant she should be allowed to share evidence without journalists in the room.
“The matters which will be dealt with in private are of a different order to what has been made public so far. I am satisfied that there is good reason to treat them differently," said Nicol.
Heard filed a domestic violence restraining order against Depp in 2016, shortly after she filed for divorce.
In a separate case, Depp is suing Heard for libel in the U.S. over an opinion article she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018. Heard talked about being a public survivor of abuse, though the article did not specifically mention Depp.
The British libel trial would begin by the end of March and may feature a string of celebrity witnesses. However, it was adjourned two weeks ago because the judge found it not safe for witnesses to travel from around the world due to the coronavirus outbreak.
A critical part of the issue surrounds the circumstances in which Depp lost the tip of one of his fingers while filming the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film.
A spokesperson for Heard welcomed the ruling: “We welcome Mr Justice Nicol’s decision to allow evidence relating to ‘sexual violence’ to be heard in closed court. There is simply no reason for such sensitive evidence to be exposed to the world’s press.
“We are pleased that the court made this order despite Depp’s troubling argument that Amber should not benefit from the right to privacy in relation to sexual violence, because of her public association with the #MeToo movement and her advocacy for victims of sexual violence at the United Nations.”
The trial is scheduled to happen in July.
