Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial: Elon Musk hopes ‘they both move on’, calls them ‘incredible’

As actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard continue their defamation battle, Amber’s ex-boyfriend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has reacted to the high-profile trial. Currently, the jury is to begin deliberations in the defamation case and are expected to deliver the verdict next week. (Also Read | Johnny Depp thanks cops, photographers while leaving courthouse as trial nears end: ‘See you down the road’. Watch)

Responding to a tweet on Johnny and Amber Heard’s trial, Elon wrote on Twitter, “I hope they both move on. At their best, they are each incredible.” He was reacting to a tweet by MIT Research Scientist Lex Fridman. Lex had written, “My takeaways from Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial: 1. Fame is one hell of a drug (for some). 2. Psychiatrists & lawyers come in drastically varying levels of skill. 3. Lying to millions of people is something humans are capable of. 4. Love can be messy. 5. Mega pint of wine.”

Elon Musk and Amber were in a brief relationship, after her split from Johnny. However, they separated in 2017, after a year of dating. The couple got back together in 2018 but again ended things with each other after a few months.

Johnny has sued Amber in Virginia for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in an opinion piece she wrote. Amber countersued for $100 million, saying he smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax.”

A seven-person jury deliberated for more than two hours on Friday and will resume discussions on Tuesday. At the centre of the legal case is the December 2018 opinion piece by Amber in the Washington Post, in which she made the statement about domestic abuse. The article never mentioned Johnny by name, but his lawyer told jurors it was clear that she was referring to him.

The duo met in 2011 while filming The Rum Diary and got married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalised about two years later. Johnny has said Amber’s allegations cost him “everything.” A new Pirates movie was put on hold, and Johnny was replaced in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise.