Ellen Barkin, Johnny Depp's ex, to testify for Amber Heard
Depp and Barkin dated briefy in 1997 but the relationship ended on bad terms
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Amber Heard's team is expected to call actress Ellen Barkin as a defense witness in her ex-husband Johnny Depp's defamation case against Heard, a source close to Heard's camp told Fox News Digital.
Barkin, 68, briefly dated Depp, 58, back in 1997 while they filmed "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Johnny Depp and Ellen Barkin. (Photo by Barry King/WireImage)
It isn't the first time Barkin has spoken out about their relationship which ended badly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During Depp's 2020 UK defamation trial against The Sun newspaper for calling him a wife-beater, Barkin said that Depp threw a wine bottle across a hotel room during an argument he had with his assistants. It did not hit anyone, she said. Depp lost the UK case.
JOHNNY DEPP V. AMBER HEARD DEFAMATION TRIAL: LIVE UPDATES
Barkin, who Depp's camp has dismissed as a disgruntled former lover, is expected to testify via video at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Virginia. She has become friendly with Heard.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Ocean's Thirteen" actress was the fourth wife of billionaire financier Ron Perelman – but the two had a nasty split, with him accusing her of misappropriating funds during their divorce.
Heard's defense case began last week. The 36-year-old took the stand, sobbing as she described alleged physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Depp – including a claim he raped her with a liquor bottle in 2015 in Australia.
A photo combination of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia, where the actor is suing his ex-wife for defamation. (Getty)
The trial went dark this week for a pre-scheduled break with Depp jetting off to England, according to a fan who posted a picture with the actor on Twitter under the caption "Spotted in Newhaven, East Sussex yesterday, #JohnnyDepp."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He’s in Europe relaxing with friends, playing music and taking walks in the countryside," a source close to Depp told Fox News Digital without confirming that the actor is in the seaside town two hours south of London.
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Heard is back in the witness box Monday. Once her testimony wraps up, her lawyers, Elaine Bredehoft and Ben Rottenborn, will call Barkin, Heard's sister Whitney Henriquez and Depp – but not necessarily in that order.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Actress Ellen Barkin arrives for the premiere of the movie "The Monuments Men" in New York February 4, 2014. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)
Although Depp already spent four days testifying, his ex-wife's turn on the stand has opened the door for her team to question him on issues they weren't permitted to broach during his cross-examination, the Heard source said.
Henriquez lived in one of Depp's Los Angeles penthouses and testified in the UK trial that she saw bruising on her sister's face early in the couple's relationship.
The two potential defense witnesses that had garnered the most attention will not be in the courtroom: actors James Franco and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to the Heard source.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Depp has accused both men of having affairs with his then-wife, which they have publicly denied.
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Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post identifying herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star says she ruined his reputation and his career. Heard is countersuing for $100 million, accusing Depp of defaming her by calling her abuse allegations a "hoax."