A judge in charge of the case between the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor and his ex-wife Amber Heard has ruled that the trial should be conducted in the state since Heard's op-ed for Washington Post was published there.

• Jul 26, 2019

AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp has won a court location battle with his actress ex and will fight his defamation against her in Virginia.

Amber Heard challenged his bid to try his case in the state and requested it was moved to California, but a judge has sided with the movie star and agreed to start the trial in Virginia.

He ruled that because a Washington Post article, which was written by Heard and is at the heart of the lawsuit, was published in Virginia, the case should remain there, according to The Blast.

Johnny sued Amber for defamation over the op-ed, in which she referred to herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."

In his lawsuit, Depp, who was not named in the piece, claims the entire article "depends on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her."

He claims that Heard's abuse allegations have been refuted by "two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses, and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera videos."

Depp is suing for defamation and asking for damages in excess of $50 million (£40.1 million).