As the Pirates of the Caribbean star faces an ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with celebrity news, you’ll be aware of the ongoing legal battle between former husband and wife Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Depp is suing Heard for defamation, asking for $50million (£38.7million) in damages after she claimed in a Washington Post article that she was a domestic violence victim. She is counter-suing him for $100 million.

This comes after Depp lost a libel lawsuit in the UK two years ago when The Sun branded him a “wifebeater”, based on claims from Heard that he had abused her.

Last week in Virginia, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor faced questions about his personal life, hobbies, habits and relationships as the trial continues.

He has spoken in-depth about his own childhood trauma, sharing that his mother was both verbally and physically abusive.

But despite the ongoing dispute, a source close to the actor shares that Depp has “already won.”

Why? Because the trial has given Depp the opportunity to fight for “truth, the integrity of his name and to honour his family,” the source shares.

They continued: “Some may question if he’ll score a big win but he already has. If he’d taken the silent route, he may have had an easier life – but then what? He can only carry on knowing that he has been true to himself.”

“Johnny’s value system is all about principle and honesty. The fact that people question why he has brought about the current legal action – why he has staked so much on it – simply reflects the fact that most people do not understand or share those core values.”

It is believed the source is a close friend of the actor.

When asked last week why he has pushed for this second trial, Depp replied: “I felt it my responsibility to stand up, not only for myself but for my children”.

“I wanted to clear my children of this horrid thing they were having to read about their father, which was untrue.”

Depp has two children – daughter Lily-Rose, 22, and son Jack, 20, both of whom he shares with ex-wife Vanessa Paradis.

Several legal experts have said that if the trial does not err in Depp’s favour, he may face problems with his career. Alex Wade, a legal partner at Wiggin LLP, said that this trial is Depp’s “last throw of the dice” when it comes to his career.

Following the end of the first week of the second trial, Mr Wade said: “If he loses this it’s impossible to see him making a comeback, I think, as an actor.”

“Hollywood likes a bad boy, absolutely, but in the wake of the Me Too movement, the way in which we view these things in today’s world is that you can’t just be a bit of a bad boy anymore.”

However, the source said that Depp “won’t stop” until he has cleared his name and is set to “prioritise principle over all else”.

They went on: “Johnny has had all the fame and wealth and adoration in the world. He has seen it come and go, he knows it is shallow in comparison with things that endure – principle and virtue.

“People need to understand he is motivated by principle above all else, and that is a potent driving force.”

During the trial last week, Depp touched on how his career has been affected by the ongoing claims. “It’s very strange when one day you’re Cinderella so to speak, then 0.6 seconds later you’re Quasimodo.”

“I didn’t deserve that nor did my children nor did the people who believed in me all these years. I didn’t want any of those people to believe I had done them wrong or that I was a fraud.”

More as we have it.

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