Johnny Depp Avoids Fans As He Arrives At Fairfax County Courthouse For Defamation Trial

FAIRFAX, VA — Fans who stood outside the main entrance of the Fairfax County Courthouse with the hopes of glimpsing actor Johnny Depp as he appeared for the first day of his defamation trial were disappointed. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star skipped the crowds and entered the courthouse through another door.

"I support Johnny Depp," said Tiffany Lunn of St. Mary's County, Maryland, who'd been waiting since 5:45 a.m. to see the Hollywood star. "What he's going through is just unfair for him, and I want the truth to come out."

Depp, who has appeared in many blockbuster films, filed a defamation lawsuit in 2019 against ex-wife Amber Heard, who is also an actor, over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote that included comments on domestic violence. Heard's op-ed did not mention Depp by name, but the actor contends that what Heard wrote in the op-ed damaged his career.

Depp decided to file the defamation lawsuit against Heard in Virginia because the Washington Post's online editions are published through computer servers in Fairfax County.

Depp's lawyers also chose to file the case in Virginia because the state's anti-SLAPP law — or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation — is more relaxed than the one in California, InsideNoVa reported. Anti-SLAPP laws prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of lawsuits, to intimidate others from exercising their First Amendment rights

Related: Johnny Depp's Defamation Trial Coming To Fairfax County Courthouse

On Monday, all of the parties involved in the case were supposed to be in their seats in by 9:45 a.m., so jury selection could begin promptly at 10 a.m. Shortly after that time, word began to circulate through the crowd outside the courthouse that Depp had entered the building through another door.

Lunn said she would be showing up at the courthouse through Wednesday and coming back for the end of the trial.

"I'm glad that so much time has gone by since the last one, because so much more information has come out against Amber, so I think he has a very good chance."

A Bluefield woman brought a bouquet of flowers with her to the courthouse, where she had been waiting since 5:30 a.m.

"I believe in Johnny Depp," she said. "I believe in his innocence. I'm here to support him."

Kristina Gibbons, who flew all the way from Minnesota with her four children to be at the trial, was handing out small pirate flags to fellow Depp supporters.

"On Twitter, every time something great happens, we say, 'Hoist the colors,' and everyone posts the pirate flag," she said, explaining the flags symbolized Jack Sparrow, Depp's character from "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Not all of the fans were there to support Depp.

Christina Taft, a Los Angeles data scientist and social media for good activist, showed a poster she had created to the reporters waiting outside the courthouse. She claimed Heard was a victim of an organized social media campaign meant to undermine the actress's story.

Judge Penney Azcarate issued a separate order on March 29 that stated the trial will be held in a courtroom on the fifth floor of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The courtroom will have a limited number of seats available for the litigants, their lawyers and members of the media and public, the order said.

A pool camera system will be used for the trial, the judge said, and all media requesting access must coordinate with the designated pool camera representative. The trial is expected to last at least a month. CourtTV will be livestreaming the trial.