Elon Musk to James Franco – who could testify at Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial?

The bitter legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has come back around again, with celebrity witnesses taking part in the trial.

Some of Hollywood’s most famous actors and a world-renowned billionaire have been published as part of the witness lists by the legal representatives for Depp and Heard ahead of the trial.

It means that there will be a huge focus on the case, in which Depp is suing his ex-wife for libel, for the equivalent of £38million. The trial is expected to feature allegations of domestic abuse.

Depp lost the previous trial against News Group Newspapers, who owns The Sun, after a British judge ruled that the “great majority” of Heard’s accusations of abuse could be proven to the the civil standard. This means the abuse was more likely to have occurred than not and Depp was denied an appeal.

Heard is suing Depp back for around £76mil and the trial will be broadcast live, with opening arguments on Tuesday, April 12.

So which celebrities could be called as witnesses?

Which celebrities could testify at the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial?

The potential witnesses for the trial include around 120 people, featuring Hollywood actors like James Franco and Paul Bettany.

Paul Bettany

Marvel’s Avengers, A Very British Scandal and The Da Vinci Code actor Paul Bettany is on the list of potential witnesses to be called upon and will be expected to appear via live video link.

Heard’s team has requested some of the alleged past texts between Depp and himself, including one conversation in which Depp allegedly wrote “Let’s burn Amber!!!” to Bettany. This was heard in court during a preliminary hearing ahead of the Depp vs News Group trial in February 2020.

Bettany is said to have replied: “Having thought it through I don’t think we should burn Amber – she’s delightful company and easy on the eye, plus I’m not sure she’s a witch. We could of course try the English course of action in these predicaments – we do a drowning test. Thoughts?”

Depp is then alleged to have responded: “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f*** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”

Bettany later told The Times: “We live in a world without context.

“I didn’t know Johnny when he was married to Amber. I knew him before. But we hadn’t spoken for years. During the marriage I didn’t know them. So I wasn’t around for any of that.”

He added: “I’m not sure there’s anybody who has one of these devices [a mobile phone] that would feel comfortable having a team of lawyers scour their private text messages.”

Elon Musk

Billionaire boffin and now major Twitter shareholder Elon Musk is on Amber Heard’s list of potential witnesses.

Musk and Heard were romantically lined between 2016 and 2018 and Depp has accused them of having an affair during his and Amber’s marriage.

Heard has denied the two ever had an affair and texts allege Musk once offered her “24/7 security”.

Another text is alleged to have read: “The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again… anyway, sorry for being an idiot. The radio silence hurts a lot. It only matters because I really like you.”

James Franco

Another of Heard’s potential witnesses, James Franco, is expected to appear via a video link.

The 127 Hours and The Disaster Artist actor, 43, could be questioned about his past communications with Heard.

Her friend Joshua Drew previously told the court that the mention of Franco’s name would “cause fights” between Amber and Johnny and that it became a “particular issue”.

Why is there another trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard?

The first trial was actually between Johnny Depp and The Sun, though it is often confused for a trial between Depp and Amber Heard.

Depp lost his legal battle against The Sun after he sued the newspaper for an article that claimed he was a “wife-beater”. The trial was very public and looked like a war between Heard and Depp, rather than Depp vs The Sun.

The new trial relates to an opinion piece in which Amber wrote in the Washington Post that she was a survivor of domestic abuse.

The piece, written in 2018 after her divorce from Depp in 2016, did not mention the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor by name.

It said: “I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.

“I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real-time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”

For this trial, held in Virginia, Depp is suing Heard for the equivalent of £38m.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk