Formerly married movie stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are squaring off in suburban courtroom near Washington, D.C. The issue is libel. Depp is suing his ex-wife for $50 million after Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in support of the Violence Against Women Act that drew on her own experiences as a survivor of sexual assault and domestic abuse.
"Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age," Heard wrote. "But I kept quiet — I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn't see myself as a victim. Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out."
Heard's essay does not name specific perpetrators, but it echoes claims against Depp the actress raised during their 2016 divorce. Those issues were never resolved; the dissolution of their year-long marriage was settled out of court. Amid the white-hot scrutiny of entertainment media, Depp and Heard jointly issued a statement reading in part: "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future."
Now Depp, 58, is claiming that Heard, 35, defamed him in her essay because, his lawyers say, it refers to allegations she's made elsewhere. The libel trial began in Fairfax, Va., on Monday with seven jurors and four alternates (who, as part of the...
A front-page article with the byline of veteran New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof is the latest poisonous example of what I call the NGO “halo effect.” Headlined “The Silence That Mee...