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From Elon Musk to Lily-Rose Depp.
By Nia Tipton — Written on May 20, 2022
Throughout the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, a slew of celebrities have been mentioned.
Many of these celebrities were either involved with Heard or Depp or were witnesses to alleged abusive incidents between Heard and Depp.
Depp is currently suing Heard for $50 million in damages following Heard's 2018 op-ed, in which she wrote that she was a victim of domestic violence. Depp claimed the essay did irreparable damage to his career.
Heard is countersuing for $100 million and has said that while she was married to Depp, he routinely abused her.
Here are 12 celebrities who have been mentioned in Johnny Depp & Amber Heard's trial and why.
1. James Franco
Heard brought up actor James Franco while testifying in court. She told the court that Depp "hated" Franco because he suspected the two had been having an affair behind his back, according to BuzzFeed News.
"He hated, hated James Franco,” Heard said. “He was accusing me of secretly having a thing with him in the past since we had done Pineapple Express together.”
Franco and Heard were also captured on video surveillance in an elevator heading into her apartment the night before she filed for divorce.
She explained that Franco was just her friend, and lived next door to her.
"And I quite literally exhausted my support network with my usual friends, and I was happy to welcome as much friendship at that time as I could possibly get."
2. Elon Musk
Just weeks after divorcing Depp, Heard started a relationship with Elon Musk. She testified that she and Musk had met at the 2016 Met Gala after Depp had stood her up on the carpet.
"I didn't recognize [Elon] until we started talking and he reminded me we had met once before," Heard said, adding that Musk "was with his mother," Maye Musk, at the event, according to People.
"He seemed like a real gentleman," Heard continued. "He was really nice. He sat at a nearby table and we got to speaking that night and eventually became friends."
3. Ellen Barkin
Actress Ellen Barkin and Depp dated briefly in the 90s. She testified about her relationship with Depp, recording a deposition that was played in court on May 19.
According to US Weekly, Barkin claimed Depp was a "jealous man," adding that he would ask her: “Where are you going? Who are you going with? What did you do last night?”
In one instance, Barkin recalled an incident where Depp "threw a wine bottle across the hotel room” in her direction during a fight between him and his friends.
4. Kate Moss
Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency | Shutterstock
While testifying, Heard briefly mentioned Depp's model ex, Kate Moss, bringing up an unconfirmed rumor that Depp had once pushed Moss down the stairs during an argument.
Heard said it was that incident that caused her to hit Depp for the first time during a fight in 2015.
Heard explained that her sister was there during the argument and "put herself in the line of fire" at the top of a staircase to protect Heard.
"I don't hesitate. I don't wait. I instantly think of Kate Moss and the stairs and I swung at him," Heard said.
5. Paul Bettany
While on the stand, Depp said that Heard was envious of his friendship with actor Paul Bettany, according to People.
"Ms. Heard despised Mr. Bettany, mainly because we had become such close friends, and for her, he was a threat and would take me away from her, with regard to if Paul Bettany were getting the attention from me, that was a show-stopper. It would cause all kinds of unpleasantries," Depp said.
Text messages between Bettany and Depp were also brought up, in which Depp said: "Let's burn Amber!!!" and "Let's drown her before we burn her!!! I will f**k her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she's dead."
6. Winona Ryder
A former friend of Depp and Heard, author iO Tillett Wright, testified that Depp had previously spoken about his relationship with actress Winona Ryder, who he had dated in the early 1990s.
"He experienced great bouts of jealousy in relationships that had also led to a lot of drinking and a lot of rage activities," Wright said, according to The Independent.
"He told me that that happened with Winona. He told me that that happened with Kate. Sorry, with Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He told me that that happened with Vanessa Paradis," he added.
7. Vanessa Paradis
Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis were together for 14 years, and share two children, Lily-Rose and Jack Depp.
Paradis was brought up in court after Depp confirmed that he had sent an email to Elton John about her.
"My kids have fallen head over heels in deep love with Amber, my girl, and that pressure off my shoulders is f--king gone. That is until the French extortionist attempts to brainwash them against her which I'm sure is imminent," Depp said, referring to Paradis, according to E! Online.
8. Marilyn Manson
Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency | Shutterstock
While on the stand, Depp spoke about his friendship with Marilyn Manson, telling the court that he "once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so he would stop talking so much."
Depp had initially brought up Manson after Heard's lawyers asked the actor about his friendship with Manson.
"We drank together, we've had cocaine together, maybe a couple of times," Depp said, according to Insider.
9. Lily-Rose Depp
Photo: Anxionnaz Brice | Shutterstock
Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, had been mentioned periodically throughout the trial by both Heard and Depp.
Heard testified that Depp's behavior while on a family vacation in July 2013 had scared his daughter, saying that she and Lily-Rose had left the vacation early after Depp accused Heard of telling his kids that he had been drinking.
Depp had also brought up his daughter, saying that she hadn't attended his wedding in 2015 because she and Heard were "not on particularly great terms."
10. Eddie Redmayne
Heard had told the court that Depp accused her of cheating on him with men she had worked with on movies in the past, including actor Eddie Redmayne, according to People.
In her testimony, Heard said she denied she was having an affair with Redmayne, whom she worked with on the film 'Danish Girl,' to Depp, but that Depp wouldn't let it go.
"I could do my best to field the accusations and then they would kind of subside and I thought things were okay," she said.
11. iO Tillett Wright
Author iO Tillett Wright, who served as the best man at Heard and Depp's wedding, testified about his former friendship with both Heard and Depp.
Wright spoke of an incident in which Depp allegedly said that he could "punch [Heard] in the face and nobody would do anything about it" after the couple had married, according to Insider.
He also said that he never saw the pair engage in domestic violence disputes, but was present when they would argue.
12. Tom Hopper
While Heard told the court that Depp had accused her of sleeping with men she'd worked with in the past, Depp had also accused her of cheating on him with Tom Hopper, the director of 'Danish Girl.'
During phone calls with Depp, Heard said she got the feeling that he "thought I was sleeping with the director, and then it was the actor I was filming with," referring to Eddie Redmayne, according to Daily Mail.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.