Johnny Depp Scores Legal Win As Judge Finds 3 Out Of 4 Amber Heard Statements *Could* Be Defamatory!

After weeks of gaining ground in the court of public opinion, Johnny Depp has scored a victory in the court of law as well.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star will be allowed to move forward with his $50 million defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard over statements she made in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed accusing him of domestic abuse.

Amber attempted to get the suit dismissed entirely, but on Friday, Fairfax County Chief Judge Bruce White ruled in Johnny’s favor, or at least 75% in his favor.

Video: Watch Amber Respond To Audio In Which She Admits To Hitting Johnny

See, there were 4 separate statements in the essay — which never mentions Johnny by name — that the suit claims constitute a “clear implication that Mr. Depp is a domestic abuser”:

1. I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.
2. Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.
3. I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.
4. I write this as a woman who had to change my phone number weekly because I was getting death threats. For months, I rarely left my apartment, and when I did, I was pursued by camera drones and photographers on foot, on motorcycles and in cars. Tabloid outlets that posted pictures of me spun them in a negative light. I felt as though I was on trial in the court of public opinion — and my life and livelihood depended on myriad judgments far beyond my control.

In an opinion obtained by Deadline on Friday, Judge White ruled:

“Plaintiff has pleaded circumstances that would reasonably cause three of the four statements at issue to convey the alleged defamatory meaning that Mr. Depp abused Ms. Heard, and this alleged meaning is in fact defamatory.”

The only statement which was determined not to be actionable was the 4th. The rest were ruled to imply Amber was talking about claims Johnny was abusive, even if she didn’t name him.

Related: Johnny Subpoenaed Elon Musk’s Records Amid Claims Of An Extramarital Affair

Amber’s attorney Roberta Kaplan responded to the outcome by telling the outlet:

“Today’s decision leaves it to a jury to decide the meaning of Ms. Heard’s op-ed and the truth of what she said. As we have said all along, the courts have strong mechanisms in place for determining the truth. Here, we remain confident that Ms. Heard will prevail at trial when the jury is presented with evidence on the question that the Court identified — namely, whether ‘Ms. Heard was abused by Mr. Depp.'”

Johnny’s attorney, Adam Waldman, responded with this statement:

“Today’s Court ruling speaks for itself. Roberta Kaplan’s suggestion that losing their own motion to dismiss was what they had planned all along also speaks for itself. As for Amber Heard’s mythical ‘evidence’ that Ms. Kaplan confidently cites, we and reality both look forward to seeing it.”

Do YOU agree with the judge’s ruling? Is Amber’s lawyer right — will this trial REALLY be all about whether people believe Johnny was abusive??

[Image via WENN/Instar/Avalon.]