Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arrive at court – follow live

Heard will be able to argue during the trial that she is immune from liability because her Washington Post article in 2018 about domestic violence was an important issue in the public interest.

Lawyers for Depp had argued for the court to refuse to allow Heard to use the law, known as an anti-Slapp (strategic lawsuit against public participation) provision, because it was a civil case.

Both will testify during the trial, which will see the Fairfax County district court assess Heard’s counter defamation claim against Depp.

When Heard and Depp filed for divorce in 2016, the actress asked a judge for a restraining order against her then estranged-husband, who she said had been “violent” towards her.

Depp – who denies the claims – was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Heard, who told the court in Los Angeles, California, that he had throne a cellphone at her during a fight, and that she was grabbed and hit,as well as screamed at.

“During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me,” Heard wrote in a filing in 2016. “I live in fear that Johnny will return to (our house) unannounced to terrorise me, physically and emotionally.”

Depp lawyers said in a court filing at the time that Heard was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse”, and the actor rebuked the claims.

Here’s the statement issued by Amber Heard on Saturday on her Twitter and Instagram accounts, in which she tells fans she will be “offline for the next few weeks”.

She also thanked her fans for their support, and said “in these coming weeks I will be leaning on it more than ever”.

Heard also addressed Depp’s claim that she had defamed him in an article in 2018 in The Washington Post, and said she continued “to pay the price” for speaking out on the issue of domestic violence.

Depp denies any wrongdoing.

From meeting on the set of a 2011 film to filing for divorce in 2016, the history between Depp and Heard will likely be heard again when the trial in Fairfax, Virgina, begins.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon has a timeline, here:

The trial will likely last several weeks, according to analysts, with the previous case brought by Depp against The Sun newspaper taking three weeks to conclude.

Proceedings at the court in Fairfax, Virginia, began on Monday with jury selection. At the next stage, both sides will present their arguments – including a number of witnesses.

That could take some time to conclude, with the judge also having to rule on Heard’s counterclaim for defamation against her former husband.

She has accused Depp of smearing her with his defamation action, and will likely plead immunity in reference to her Washington Post article from 2018 about being a domestic violence victim.

The Independent’s Clemence Michallon reports from the courthouse:

Jury selection is underway for the defamation trial opposing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax.

Proceedings began around 10am ET with jury selection. Depp and Heard are both present, each sitting on one side of the courthouse with their legal team.

Prospective jurors were first asked whether they’d face any hardship if they were asked to participate in a trial expected to last six weeks. Some were excused on that basis.

Then, the judge and each party’s lawyers asked prospective jurors whether they had read or heard anything about the case, and if so, whether they’d still be able to make an objective determination in this case.

Some jurors have acknowledged previous knowledge of the case, but have generally said they’d be able to keep an open mind if they’re part of the final jury.

Seven jurors and four alternates will be chosen in total.

In a statement on Saturday, Heard said she was continuing “to pay the price” for being a woman “speaking out against men in power” and that she was dissapointed her and Depp’s life would again play out in front of a court.

“I never named him,” said Heard on Saturday. “Rather, I wrote about the price women pay for speaking out against men in power.”

“I continue to pay the price, but hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny,” she added of her former husband, who she said she has “always maintained a love for”.

Heard’s lawyers will likely argue that she is “immune” from liability during the trial because her opinion article in The Washington Post was a matter of public concern.

The article, which was published in 2018, was titled: I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change. It did not name her ex-husband.

This is not the first time Depp and Heard have appeared in court after he failed to sue the publishers of The Sun newspaper for defamation in 2020.

A judge ruled that the headline of an article written by The Sun’s executive editor Dan Wootton in 2018 was “substantially true”. It described the actor as a “wife beater”, which he denies.

Depp, whose lawyers called the judge’s ruling “perverse”, was not allowed to appeal the decision either.

He also denied the claims made in the article and by Heard, who spoke in court as a witness during the case in London’s Royal Courts of Justice.

While Depp says he was forced to stand down from his role in the film Fantastic Beasts – a Harry Potter spin-off – following the trial, he has attended a number of film events and was awarded by the San Sebastian film festival in Spain for his lifetime achievements. The decision proved highly controversial.

Ahead of the trial due to begin today in Virginia, Depp and Heard have each published a list of witnesses their teams may wish to call upon, writes The Independent’s Clémence Michallon.

They have each filed lists of objections to some of the other side’s witnesses, so the final pool of witnesses will become clearer and may evolve as the proceedings go on.

Some of the people named as potential witnesses so far include Tesla-founder Elon Musk and actor James Franco…