UK judge says Amber Heard can be in court for Depp testimony

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 file photo, actor Johnny Depp arrives for the screening of the film Minamata during the 70th International Film Festival Berlin, Berlinale in Berlin, Germany. A British judge on Thursday July 2, 2020, rejected an attempt by tabloid newspaper The Sun to quash a libel suit from Johnny Depp over an article claiming he abused ex-wife Amber Heard. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) (Markus Schreiber, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

LONDON – Johnny Depp's lawyers have failed to stop the American actor's ex-wife, Amber Heard, from attending his libel trial against the British tabloid newspaper The Sun until she is called to give evidence.

In a court order published on Saturday, trial judge Andrew Nicol said that excluding Heard from the London courtroom before she testifies in the case “would inhibit the defendants in the conduct of their defense."

Recommended Videos



Depp, 57, is suing The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, and Executive Editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article claiming the actor was violent and abusive to Heard. He strongly denies the allegations.

Depp's lawyers had asked the judge to keep Heard from attending the trial until the 34-year-old actress and model appears to give evidence, arguing that her testimony would be more reliable if she were not present in court when Depp was being cross-examined.

The judge noted it is News Group and Wootton, and not Heard, that are defending the claim, while conceding they will be relying “heavily” on what Heard says.

The trial, which was postponed from March because of the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to start Tuesday and to last three weeks.

Other witnesses are likely to include Depp’s ex-partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, who have both submitted statements supporting the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star.