Elon Musk And James Franco Won't Testify At Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Trial

Neither James Franco nor Elon Musk will take to the stand during Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation trial.

Musk, the world's current richest man, and 127 Hours actor Franco were expected to testify at Fairfax County courtroom, in Virginia, after they both appeared on Heard's witness list.

However, it has since been confirmed that neither will take to the stand, despite Franco's link to Depp's libel suit in 2020 against The Sun and Musk's past relationship with Heard.

Alamy

In the 2020 libel case, which saw Depp sue UK tabloid The Sun for labelling him a 'wife beater', Heard testified that Franco had seen evidence of Depp having physically assaulted her.

According to Heard, on 22 May, 2016, Franco came to her and Depp's house and asked 'what the f**k' had happened to her face.

"We were talking. He was saying to me, ‘Oh my God, what happened to you'," Heard said.

Heard accused Depp of throwing a phone at her.

Alamy

Musk's ties to the case lie in his year-long relationship with Heard after her marriage to Depp ended.

Musk used to visit Heard at her and Depp's Los Angeles residence when 'Depp was not at home', 'a few times a week' in 2015, according to the building's doorman, Alejandro Romero.

However, both Musk and Heard claimed their relationship only began once the Aquaman actress had filed for divorce from Depp.

A text message conversation read out during the trial revealed that Heard admitted to never really loving Musk when they were going out and was just 'filling space'.

In response to claims the Tesla CEO had a threesome with model Cara Delevingne and Heard, Musk denied anything of the sort had taken place.

On Wednesday, 27 April, Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, confirmed the new Twitter owner would not be taking to the stand, the New York Post reports.

Alamy

A source with knowledge of the trial confirmed Franco would not be testifying either.

While Musk and Franco are not expected to take to the stand during the $50 million defamation lawsuit launched by Depp – since countered with a $100 million suit by Heard – a psychologist, friends, a doctor, a marriage counsellor and a former assistant are among many who have testified.

A recent figure to take to the stand was Dr Shannon Curry, a forensic psychologist, who testified that Heard does not have post-traumatic stress disorder, and instead diagnosed the actress with two personality disorders.

A police officer also testified that they 'did not identify her [Heard] as a victim of domestic violence'.