Elon Musk broke his silence about Amber Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp with words of praise for both actors after their lawyers gave closing arguments in their defamation trial.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who dated the actress for several months after the acting couple's split, was originally named as a potential witness in the case but ultimately did not testify in the case. The jury began deliberations on a verdict May 27 and is due back in court May 31 after Memorial Day weekend.
"I hope they both move on," Musk tweeted May 27, hours after the hearing ended. "At their best, they are each incredible."
Musk made his comments in response to MIT research scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, who tweeted, "My takeaways from Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial: 1. Fame is one hell of a drug (for some). 2. Psychiatrists & 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 is suing Heard for $50 million for allegedly defaming him in a Washington Post op-ed, in which she wrote, "I became a public figure representing domestic abuse," without naming the actor. Heard is countersuing Depp for $100 million. Both accuse each other of domestic violence during their one year of marriage, with each denying abuse themselves.
During the trial, Christian Carino, a Creative Artists Agency talent agent who once represented both Depp and Heard, said in a pre-taped deposition in March that after the actress filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against the actor in May 2016, she asked him to arrange a meeting between the former couple. Carino said he did, believing she wanted to reconcile with her ex. The agent said that "not long" afterwards, he learned that the actress and Musk had "spent time together."
In his defamation lawsuit, Depp accused Heard of having an intra-marital affair with the billionaire. "Unbeknownst to Mr. Depp, no later than one month after his marriage to Ms. Heard, she was spending time in a new relationship with Tesla and Space X founder, Elon Musk," the filing states. However, a rep for Musk told 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."
Heard and Musk sparked romance rumors around July 2016. They stepped out publicly together for the first time and also became Instagram official in April 2017. The following August, multiple reports said the two had broken up.
During his deposition, Carino was asked about an August 2017 text exchange with Heard, who wrote to him, "dealing with breakup. I hate when things go public. C, I'm so sad." The agent told the court, "I believe she's referring to breaking up with Elon." He confirmed that he texted Heard back with the writing, "You weren't in love with him, and you told me a thousand times you were just filling space."
He also confirmed that she texted back, "I know, but I wanted time to grieve and recover in my own time." Carino told the court, "I don't know whether she's referring to Johnny or to Elon in that line."
In another text exchange, Heard wrote to Carino, "I hate it that yet again a man lets me fall on the spikes by myself." Carino responded, "You could stop that if you stop dating uber-famous people. You can be with a big man who isn't famous."
Earlier this week, in the final days of the trial, Heard's lawyer read in court a text message Depp allegedly sent to Carino in August 2016, in which the actor said his ex was "begging for total global humiliation" and also referenced her relationship with Musk, dubbing the billionaire "Mollusk."