As part of his attempt to clear his name after media outlets peddled actress Amber Heard’s claims of domestic abuse, Johnny Depp sued The Sun newspaper for calling him a “wife-beater.” The trial for his civil suit has now been delayed due to coronavirus restrictions.
The Guardian reported that the presiding judge announced on Friday that he had “reached the reluctant conclusion that the trial does have to be adjourned.” The trial was set to begin on Monday, with Depp, Heard, and other witnesses expected to give testimony or the following two weeks.
Depp is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes The Sun, along with the paper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an article calling the actor a “wife-beater.”
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The judge said two of Depp’s legal representatives had already had to self-isolate, adding: “No one can predict whether others involved in the case, and I do not exclude myself, will either become infected or need to self-isolate because … they have come into contact with someone who has or may have the virus.”
He said travel restrictions between the UK and France, where Depp is currently, and the US, where Heard lives, were a further factor in his decision.
The judge also said it would be more difficult to assess key witnesses over video link and that having evidence heard in different ways would be “most undesirable”.
There would also be problems with witnesses in California giving evidence “in the middle of the night”, given the time difference, he told the court.
“I recognise that I am not conducting a criminal trial, but the large number of lawyers involved, as well as the public and press who wish to attend, mean that the numbers involved would be no different,” the judge said.
An attorney for NGN suggested Depp wanted the trial pushed back “not because of the coronavirus, but because he cannot face the prospect of his lies about his relationship being exposed because he’s a coward and because he knows he’s going to lose.”
Depp is also suing Heard, his ex-wife, for defamation, claiming that she was the abuser in their relationship. As The Daily Wire previously reported, Depp’s lawsuit against heard contained “87 newly discovered surveillance videos, 17 sworn eyewitness statements, audio tape, photographs, and other evidence” to prove he was the real victim. The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo reported in February on an audio recording where Heard admitted to hitting Depp. In the audio, Heard admits she hit Depp but said it wasn’t that hard and that he was “such a baby” who needed to “grow the f**k up.”
Last week, multiple actresses – including two women who had been in previously relationships with Depp – came to his defense, saying he had never been violent with them or anyone in all the years they’ve known him. One of the women, actress Vanessa Paradis, had a 14-year relationship with Depp and is the mother of his two children. She called Heard’s allegations “false facts.”
“I have seen that these outrageous statements have been really distressing, and also caused damage to his career because unfortunately, people have gone on believing these false facts,” she wrote in defense of Depp. “This is so upsetting as he has helped so many persons in his personal and professional life, with kindness and generosity.”