James Franco and Elon Musk are among the high-profile celebrities to testify at Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial due to begin on 11th April.
Also joining Musk and Franco is Paul Bettany as well as representatives for Warner Bros and the Walt Disney company.
According to Deadline, Franco and Musk have been pulled into the case because Depp accused them of having affairs with his ex-wife.
In a statement to The Blast, Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, said:
“we are interested in james franco and elon musk as fact witnesses because we have evidence they are men who saw amber heard’s face in the days and nights between when she claimed mr. depp smahed her in the face on may 21 and when she went to court with painted on ‘bruises’ to obtain a temporary restraining order on may 27.”
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor launched a defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2019, after the Aquaman star described herself as a victim of domestic abuse in a 2018 article she penned in The Washington Post.
Both Depp and Heard will give testimony in person, according to documents collected by Bloomberg. However, Musk and Franco will give their testimonies virtually.
After failing to get the matter either moved to California or dismissed, Heard countersued Depp for $100 million in September 2020.
The pair were married between 2015 and 2017. In November 2021, Depp lost a libel case against News Group Newspapers after The Sun labelled him a “wife beater”.
The trial is set to take place on 11th April at the Fairfax County courthouse in Virginia and is expected to last for around 12 days.
