Johnny Depp is reportedly dating a lawyer who represented him in the UK libel case against The Sun, an insider told People.
A source told US Weekly that the pair were dating “but it’s not serious.”
Attorney Joelle Rich was one of the lawyers on the actor’s legal team during the defamation case he lost against the newspaper two years ago.
Depp sued The Sun over an article in which he was named a “wife beater” over allegations that he had assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard.
However, a court upheld the allegations, saying they were “substantially true.” In March the following year, his attempt to appeal the decision was annulled.
This year, Depp sued his ex-wife in another libel case in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor won the case after a jury found that Heard had defamed him in an op-ed on domestic violence she published in the Washington Post in 2018.
While Rich wasn’t on the legal team this time around, she did make several court appearances to support him.
On September 3, both were photographed outside the courthouse. She was then seen hugging Depp’s attorney Camille Vasquez inside the courtroom on May 16.
According to her online biography, Rich has experience in defamation, copyright, and privacy disputes. Her firm, which works to defend clients against false and defamatory accusations, represented Meghan Markle in a case against the Mail on Sunday in 2021.
Speculation about Depp’s romantic life has surfaced since the high-profile case began in Virginia earlier this year.
On social media, fans spread the rumor that the actor was dating Vasquez. However, she denied the claims, saying it was “disappointing” that the media said her interactions with her client were inappropriate or unprofessional.
After the trial, Depp was photographed helping a woman with her bag while both got out of a car.
Fans speculated that it was a new relationship. However, sources close to the Edward Scissorhands star denied the rumors, saying she was a French teacher helping him prepare for his upcoming film Jeanne du Barry.
