Who Is Ellen Barkin And Why Is She Testifying In The Johnny Depp Vs Amber Heard Trial?

Ellen Barkin is set to testify on behalf of Amber Heard's defence against Johnny Depp.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star's $50 million (£38 million) defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, centred on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which Heard claimed she had become 'a public figure representing domestic abuse', has paused until Monday, 16 May, in Virginia.

Depp's attorneys have accused Heard of orchestrating an elaborate 'hoax' with the 'clear implication' he was an abuser, coming after he lost his libel case against The Sun because the judge ruled claims he was a 'wife-beater' to be 'substantially true'.

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While Heard's testimony is set to continue next week, as well as the Aquaman 2 star facing cross-examination by Depp's team, Barkin is also expected to testify.

Barkin is an actor who made her debut in the 1982 film Diner, later starring in the likes of Tender Mercies, Eddie and the Cruisers, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, The Big Easy, Johnny Handsome, and Sea of Love. 

After receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Switch, she appeared in Drop Dead Gorgeous, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, Palindromes, Trust the Man, Ocean's Thirteen, Brooklyn's Finest, and The Cobbler. In recent years, she played a leading role in Animal Kingdom.

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Barkin is connected to Depp's trial on account of having earlier dated him during the production of 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

During Depp's libel trial against The Sun, a statement from Barkin accused the actor of once throwing a bottle of wine across a hotel room.

In response, Depp said, as per Reuters: "Untrue. I do not have an anger management problem."

Depp also said: "A sexual element began with Ms. Barkin which lasted for months on and off really because she was making the film I was making at the time, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

"She wanted a proper relationship with me and I did not want that. I didn't feel the same about her as she did me and I suppose from that moment on she became very, very angry and since then I have not spoken to Ms. Barkin."

Heard's sister, Whitney Henriquez, is also set to testify when the trial resumes. She earlier testified in Depp's libel trial.

Closing arguments in the trial are set for Friday, 27 May, although it's unclear when we should expect a verdict.

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