Amber Heard’s close friend was reportedly kicked out of the courtroom during Johnny Depp’s libel trial.
The actor launched a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018.
While Johnny’s name was excluded from the piece, his legal team have argued that the op-ed implied that he “perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
The former couple are currently squaring off at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.
According to Page Six, one of Amber’s pals was dramatically thrown out of the courtroom by Judge Penney S. Azcarate last week for texting and tweeting during the trial.
According to court transcripts obtained by the outlet, the judge said: “She was tweeting live from my courtroom … and I know the deputies took her out because she was texting. That’s against the court order. [She] is not coming back into the courtroom during this trial.”
Amber and Johnny started dating after meeting on the set of The Rum Diary in 2011, and tied the knot in February 2015.
In May 2016, the actress obtained a restraining order against Johnny and accused him of abuse, which he vehemently denied. The pair settled their divorce out of court in 2017.
Johnny’s libel trial against Amber is scheduled to take place over six weeks, and both stars are expected to testify in court.
Taking to Instagram ahead of the trial, Amber wrote: “I’m going to go offline for the next several weeks. As you may know, I’ll be in Virginia, where I face my ex-husband Johnny Depp in court.”
“Johnny is suing me for an op-ed I wrote in The Washington Post, in which I recounted my experience of violence and domestic abuse.”
“I never named him, rather I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power. I continue to pay that price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny.”
Amber continued: “I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”
“At this time, I recognize the ongoing support I’ve been fortunate to receive throughout these years, and in these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever.”
“With love always, A,” she signed off.
