Good analysis of the defamation claims in the Hollywood Reporter:
..."the allegedly defamatory statements in Heard’s Washington Post column are: 1. “I spoke up against sexual violence—and faced our culture’s wrath.”; 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.”
Judge Penney S. Azcarate... ruled that the statements were enough to imply to readers that Depp abused Heard in light of the couple’s highly publicized divorce....
But the vagueness of the disputed statements, which don’t specify how or when she was abused, may make it difficult for Depp to vindicate himself.
“If I’m on the jury, all she’s implying is that at some point in the past, there was some form of physical or maybe emotional abuse by him to her,” Berlik says. “She doesn’t really get into it or say exactly what happened. If that’s the case, then all she really needs is any evidence that, at some point in the past, he hit her, pushed her, or screamed in her face or did something that can be regarded as abusive. I think Depp will have a tough time.”
The case is now set to go to trial on April 11 in Fairfax County, Virginia. Both sides have at least partially staked their careers and reputations on 12 jurors who'll assess their credibility.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
nypost.com
