Elon Musk breaks silence on Johnny Depp and Amber Heard as defamation trial nears end
LOS ANGELES - Billionaire Elon Musk has broken his silence on former girlfriend Amber Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp, wishing both actors well in a tweet.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder, who dated Heard briefly, wrote last Friday (May 27): "I hope they both move on. At their best, they are each incredible."
His remarks came hours after their lawyers gave closing arguments in their defamation trial, which had grabbed headlines and spawned memes on social media. The jury is out for deliberation and will return to court on Tuesday (May 31).
Musk, 50, had commented in response to an earlier tweet by research scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, who wrote: "My takeaways from Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial: 1. Fame is one hell of a drug (for some). 2. Psychiatrists and lawyers come in drastically varying levels of skill. 3. Lying to millions of people is something humans are capable of. 4. Love can be messy. 5. Mega pint of wine."
Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 36, for US$50 million (S$68 million) for allegedly defaming him in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, in which she wrote that she "became a public figure representing domestic abuse" without naming the actor.
Heard countersued Depp for US$100 million. Both parties, who were married from 2015 to 2017, accuse each other of domestic violence during their marriage.
Depp had accused Heard of having an affair with Musk in his defamation suit, which he said took place no later than one month into their marriage.
However, a spokesman for the billionaire told entertainment portal E! News in 2019: "Elon and Amber didn't start seeing each other until May 2016, and even then it was infrequent. Their relationship didn't become romantic until some time later."
Musk and Heard first sparked dating rumours in July 2016 and became Instagram official in April 2017 before breaking up a few months later in August.
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