Johnny Depp Expected to Take Stand In Person Tuesday for Defamation Trial Against Amber Heard

Amber Heard's attorney said last week that the actress will take the stand later in the trial and speak "in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered"

Johnny Depp is expected to take the stand on Tuesday at his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.

The actor, 58, will testify under oath on Tuesday in person in Fairfax, Virginia, a source close to Depp tells PEOPLE, adding that cross examination by Heard's legal team will likely happen Wednesday.

Depp and Heard, 35, have appeared in person for the hearings since last week, listening to the proceedings from either sides of the courtroom. The trial — which has already seen testimonies from Depp's witnesses like their former marriage counselor, his older sister, his personal doctor, and more — is being televised live via various outlets, including Court TV.

Depp is suing Heard, 35, for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post about surviving domestic violence, though she never mentioned Depp by name in the article. The actor originally filed the $50 million lawsuit in March 2019 and has argued that being painted as an abuser has tarnished his Hollywood career.

During opening statements last week, Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn said evidence will show she suffered domestic abuse by Depp that "took many forms," including physical, emotional, verbal and psychological, as well as "sexual violence at the hands of Depp." (A spokesperson for Depp denies the allegation as "fictitious.")

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Rottenborn added that the Aquaman actress will testify eventually as well: "You will hear in the most graphic and horrifying terms about the violence that she suffered. You'll hear that straight from her. She will get on the stand and she will tell you that. It happened."

Heard and Depp, who met while making the 2011 movie The Rum Diary and wed in 2015, broke up in May 2016, when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and the former couple settled their divorce out of court in August 2016.

Johnny Depp (L); Amber Heard. Marc Piasecki/WireImage; Phillip Faraone/Getty

Back in November 2020, Depp lost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled.