{"id":1402529,"date":"2022-03-27T07:45:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T11:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1402529"},"modified":"2022-03-27T07:48:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T11:48:59","slug":"judge-rules-amber-heard-allowed-to-use-public-interest-laws-as-defense-in-johnny-depps-libel-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-rules-amber-heard-allowed-to-use-public-interest-laws-as-defense-in-johnny-depps-libel-suit\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Rules Amber Heard Allowed to Use Public Interest Laws as Defense in Johnny Depp\u2019s Libel Suit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-rules-amber-heard-allowed-to-use-public-interest-laws-as-defense-in-johnny-depps-libel-suit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1402529&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The court overseeing the divorced couple\u2019s legal battle has ruled that Amber Heard may argue to a jury that the infamous op-ed at the center of Johnny Depp\u2019s libel suit against her was written out of concern for the public interest.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154977\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154977\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Aquaman (2018), Warner Bros. Entertainment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"cb-post-title\"><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2021\/08\/04\/new-york-judge-sides-with-johnny-depp-orders-aclu-to-prove-they-received-charitable-donations-promised-by-amber-heard\/\">New York Judge Sides With Johnny Depp, Orders ACLU To Prove They Received Charitable Donations Promised By Amber Heard<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2022\/mar\/25\/johnny-depp-court-ruling-over-amber-heard-libel\">The Guardian<\/a>, on March 24th, Depp\u2019s lawyers approached the Fairfax County Circuit Court of Virginia seeking an order to prevent Heard from invoking the state\u2019s Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) protections \u2013 ratified to safeguard individuals from being silenced on matters of public interest by the use of unnecessarily expensive lawsuits \u2013 in her defense.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154973\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb288dc28.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb288dc28.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb288dc28-300x125.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb288dc28-1340x558-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb288dc28-768x320-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb288dc28-600x250-1.jpg 600w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Headlined \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/D5DD\">I spoke up against sexual violence \u2014 and faced our culture\u2019s wrath. That has to change.<\/a>\u201d, Heard\u2019s 2018 op-ed asserted that \u201ctwo years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse and I felt the full force of our culture\u2019s wrath for women who speak out\u201d \u2014 an assertion which Depp has claimed paints an untrue picture of himself as the implied abuser.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154956\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154956\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154956\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecabc7a3ee.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecabc7a3ee.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecabc7a3ee-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecabc7a3ee-1340x754-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecabc7a3ee-768x432-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154956\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Drive Angry (2011), Millenium Media<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As reported by the British news outlet, Depp\u2019s legal team maintained that Anti-SLAPP laws have no bearing on private disagreements, to which Heard\u2019s lawyers countered that since the Aquaman star\u2019s op-ed for The Washington Post did not mention her ex-husband by name, its discussion of domestic violence warranted these protections.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Judge Penney Azcarate ruled in favor of Heard, granting her the right to argue before a jury that the op-ed was written about the general concept of domestic violence rather than Depp specifically.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154965\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154965\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154965\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.12-boundingintocomics-623ecaf3b2e40.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.12-boundingintocomics-623ecaf3b2e40.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.12-boundingintocomics-623ecaf3b2e40-300x125.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.12-boundingintocomics-623ecaf3b2e40-1340x558-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.12-boundingintocomics-623ecaf3b2e40-768x320-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.12-boundingintocomics-623ecaf3b2e40-600x250-1.jpg 600w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154965\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"cb-post-title\"><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2021\/01\/07\/johnny-depp-loses-bid-to-dismiss-amber-heards-100m-counter-lawsuit\/\">Johnny Depp Loses Bid To Dismiss Amber Heard\u2019s $100M Counter Lawsuit<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Depp himself previously attempted to invoke the same Anti-SLAPP laws in an attempt to have various statements made by he and his lawyers regarding whether or not Heard\u2019s claims were part of an elaborate \u201choax\u201d stricken from the court record.<\/p>\n<p>However, Fairfax County Judge Bruce White, denied Depp\u2019s request on the basis that the statements in question \u201cimply that Ms. Heard lied and perjured herself when she appeared before a court in 2016 to obtain a temporary restraining order against Mr. Depp.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154959\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154959\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecacb31271.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecacb31271.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecacb31271-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecacb31271-1340x754-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.11-boundingintocomics-623ecacb31271-768x432-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Drive Angry (2011), Millenium Media<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"cb-post-title\"><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2021\/10\/15\/judge-rejects-amber-heards-latest-attempt-to-have-virginia-supreme-court-dismiss-defamation-lawsuit-filed-against-her-by-johnny-depp\/\">Judge Rejects Amber Heard\u2019s Latest Attempt To Dismiss Defamation Lawsuit Filed Against Her By Johnny Depp<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn light of the #MeToo Movement and today\u2019s social climate,\u201d he argued, \u201cfalsely claiming abuse would surely \u2018injure [Ms. Heard\u2019s] reputation in the common estimation of mankind. Therefore, this Court finds that the statements contain the requisite \u2018sting\u2019 for an actionable defamation claim.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough Mr. Depp\u2019s statements (and those of his attorney) can be understood as their opinion of what occurred, these statements nevertheless imply that Mr. Depp did not abuse Ms. Heard,\u201d Judge White continued. \u201cThese statements must survive demurrer because whether Mr. Depp abused Ms. Heard is a fact that is capable of being proven true or false.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154972\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154972\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb1f2b5fe.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb1f2b5fe.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb1f2b5fe-300x125.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb1f2b5fe-1340x558-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb1f2b5fe-768x320-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.13-boundingintocomics-623ecb1f2b5fe-600x250-1.jpg 600w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Originally filed in 2019 and seeking $50 Million in damages, Depp\u2019s Virginia-based defamation lawsuit against Heard claims the actress \u201cpurported to write from the perspective of a \u2018public figure representing domestic abuse\u2019 and claimed that she \u2018felt the full force of our culture\u2019s wrath for women who speak\u2019 when she \u2018spoke up against sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit adds, \u201cThe op-ed depended on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154980\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154980\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154980\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.27-boundingintocomics-623ece659d91f.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.27-boundingintocomics-623ece659d91f.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.27-boundingintocomics-623ece659d91f-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.27-boundingintocomics-623ece659d91f-1340x754-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.27-boundingintocomics-623ece659d91f-768x432-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154980\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Zack Snyder\u2019s Justice League (2021), Entertainment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"cb-post-title\"><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2021\/11\/07\/johnny-depp-granted-access-to-amber-heards-phone-records-will-seek-to-prove-photos-of-ex-wifes-alleged-injuries-are-phony\/\">Johnny Depp Granted Access To Amber Heard\u2019s Phone Records, Will Seek To Prove Photos Of Ex-Wife\u2019s Alleged Injuries Are \u201cPhony\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Previously, the Fairfax County court ruled that, as part of the lawsuit\u2019s discovery process, Heard must allow her ex-husband access to her phone records \u2013 records Depp claims will prove the photographs of the injuries she claimed to have sustained at his hand during their now-infamous penthouse altercation were completely \u201cphony.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_154978\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-154978\" class=\"size-full wp-image-154978\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.22-boundingintocomics-623ecd47279c5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.22-boundingintocomics-623ecd47279c5.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.22-boundingintocomics-623ecd47279c5-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.22-boundingintocomics-623ecd47279c5-1340x754-1.jpg 1340w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2022.03.26-08.22-boundingintocomics-623ecd47279c5-768x432-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-154978\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Aquaman (2018), Warner Bros. Entertainment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>At current, Depp\u2019s defamation lawsuit against Heard is set to head to trial on April 11th, 2022.<\/p>\n<p>What do you make of this latest ruling in Depp and Heard\u2019s ongoing legal battle? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!<\/p>\n<p class=\"cb-post-title\"><strong>NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2021\/09\/23\/johnny-depp-says-no-one-is-safe-from-cancel-culture-it-takes-one-sentence\/\">Johnny Depp Says \u201cNo One Is Safe\u201d From Cancel Culture: \u201cIt Takes One Sentence\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The court overseeing the divorced couple\u2019s legal battle has ruled that Amber Heard may argue to a jury that the infamous op-ed at the center of Johnny Depp\u2019s libel suit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1402529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1402529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1402529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1402529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1402529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}