Johnny Depp was unable to stop his ex-wife Amber Heard’s potential contribution to his libel case against the publishers of The Sun. The 57-year-old is suing News Group Newspapers and its exec editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article that described Depp as a “wife beater.”
The article was a reference to Heard’s claims that Depp abused her during their marriage. He denies the allegations. The case will be heard in court on Tuesday. Depp and his legal team tried to ban Heard from testifying, arguing that her evidence would be more reliable if she were not present while Depp was cross-examined.
Justice Nicol however ruled that it would be “unfair” and “inhibit … the conduct of their defense”.
He added: “There is a benefit to the defendants in her being able to do that near instantaneously in the course of Mr Depp’s cross-examination and, in my view, it would be unfair to the defendants to deprive them of that advantage.”
Last week, the court ruled that Depp had breached an order in the case by withholding texts that appeared to show him trying to buy drugs during the time that Heard alleges he beat her while drunk and high. In May, the court also ruled that Heard’s former assistant can provide evidence in the case, after the assistant said she’d never seen any signs of physical violence.
