Are Amber Heard, Johnny Depp Settling Out Of Court? Restraining Order Hearing Postponed

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp won’t be facing off in court on Friday after all. The estranged mates were scheduled to give their testimonies in a hearing to determine whether the “Magic Mike XXL” star would be granted a restraining order against her movie star husband.

New reports suggest that Heard and Depp may scrap the hearing all together, instead settling out of court. They were scheduled to appear in Los Angeles County Court on Friday, at which time Heard, 30, could voice her claims that she was abused physically throughout their relationship. A public information officer at the court told Us Weekly that the hearing has been pushed back, but did not provide a new date.

As previously reported, Heard withdrew her request for spousal support from Depp on Tuesday. According to TMZ, she only requested it because she believed it was common practice in divorces. She feared that not withdrawing her request for $50,000 in support, at least temporarily, would provide Depp’s legal team with ammunition to make false claims about her character. In documents filed with the court, Heard claimed that Depp, 53, was trying to “distract and divert the public” from his alleged crimes.

Heard has not completely scrapped the spousal support request. As TMZ reported, the Texas native claims her estranged husband was paid $30 million in 2015. As such, she assumed the court would recommend that he pay her $1 million per month in temporary support. Heard maintained that this was a key factor in her decision to request payment from him in the first place. She may revisit the idea after their restraining order is sorted out.

Heard’s legal team is fairly confident that they should have no problem getting a judge to agree to award her a restraining order against Depp. On Monday, TMZ reported that her lawyers had their doubts that the “Alice Through the Looking Glass” star would deny Heard’s abuse claims in a sworn deposition. The publication went on to explain that doing so, even with sufficient evidence to prove his innocence, could potentially incriminate him. Sources added that should Depp decide to stay tight-lipped on the matter, fans should not immediately assume he is guilty. It is apparently common in such cases for the accused party to refuse to testify.

Despite their confidence, early reports suggested that Heard and Depp were toying with the idea of settling outside of court. On June 10, it was reported that Depp and Heard had come close to reaching an agreement in their restraining order case with help from their attorneys. Both legal teams were thought to have come together to discuss the terms of their civil settlement, noting that the actors would have to steer clear of one another. It was also believed at the time that Heard was still seeking spousal support. TMZ’s sources were unclear how the estranged couple planned to deal with that.