An ongoing defamation trial between actor Johnny Depp and actress Amber Heard has been sparking interest lately. After the pair had started dating almost a decade ago in 2012, Depp had made the choice to sue Heard for $50 million dollars over speaking out as a domestic abuse victim in a Washington Post op-ed published in 2018. 

Once Depp and Heard started dating in 2012 and later got married in 2015, things seemed to flow smoothly between the two. However, the tables started to turn once Heard filed for divorce and claimed that Depp was abusive towards her in the relationship in 2016. Several other statements regarding Depp’s alcohol and drug addiction belonged to Heard following the divorce.

As conditions started to get better, Heard spoke out in a Washington Post op-ed in December of 2018 writing, “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out,” per the Washington Post.

Heard’s allegations brutalized Depp’s career and even led to a libel being published, criticizing Depp for being a “wife-beater”. This eventually drove Depp out of his role as the character Grindelwald in the Warner Brothers “Fantastic Beasts” movie franchise. 

Depp decided that enough was enough, that the number of countless allegations and rumors against him had destroyed his career and reputation. This led him into having no other choice but to take the situation to court.

From mid-April to now, the defamation trial initiated by Depp has been in progress and is expected to last for six weeks. Many witnesses and close friends of Depp have already testified in court and more are predicted to arrive at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.

Depp’s goal for the trial is to expose the truth and credibility of the accusations made against him and to restore the shattered reputation that has been a result of it. The Depp v.  Heard defamation trial should end with a judge’s verdict on

Thursday, May 19.