Johnny Depp trial: Amber Heard loses bid to dismiss defamation suit

metro.co.uk:

Amber Heard lost her bid to have Johnny Depp’s $50million (£39m) defamation lawsuit dismissed.The Aquaman actress’ team made a motion to dismiss the case earlier today, something that Depp’s lawyers disputed in a lengthy speech.Judge Penney Azcarate is presiding over the case, held at the Fairfax County Court in Virgina, and ruled that sufficient evidence had been presented to continue the case.‘If there is a scintilla of evidence that a reasonable juror could weigh, then the matter survives a motion to strike,’ she noted via Deadline.She also explained that there was ‘evidence that jurors could weigh that the statements were about the plaintiff, that the statements were published and that the statement was false, and that the defendant made the statement knowing it to be false or that the defendant made it so recklessly as to amount to willful disregard for the truth.‘The weight of that evidence is up to the fact finders.’After a lunch break, the trial continued with Heard’s lawyers calling their first witness, with Dr Dawn Hughes, a clinical and forensic psychologist, taking the stand.Follow the liveblog from the trial here.Heard was due to be the opening witness in the defense but will reportedly be second on the stand as her team ‘shifts tactics’.Depp launched a lawsuit against his ex-wife over her 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post, in which she wrote about her experience of suffering domestic abuse.While she didn’t name the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, his lawyers argued that this falsely implies that he sexually and physically abused her – something he has fiercely denied.Olivia Wilde compared to Chris Rock as video shows moment she's served custody papersRihanna blown away over Met Gala’s pregnancy tribute with.