James Franco to be questioned over alleged affair

After causing a backlash by admitting to sleeping with his students, Hollywood actor James Franco has been served in the long-running legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

According to Page Six, Franco will be quizzed over whether he had an affair with Heard while she was still married to Depp. Lawyers for Depp also want to ask the actor if he saw the alleged bruises on Heard's face.

Franco will sit early next year for the deposition in the USD 50 million defamation lawsuit that Depp filed against Heard.

Depp has sued Heard in Virginia over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in which she described being a victim of domestic violence. She didn't mention her ex by name, but he says it's clear she was referring to him as her abuser. Depp has denied any abuse.

The 'Transcendence' actor has sent the subpoena to Franco after May 2016 surveillance video showed him getting into an elevator with Heard 24 hours after they had a blowout fight, during which Heard alleged Depp gave her a black eye.

Franco and Heard were seen leaving the elevator together on the penthouse floor, where Depp and Heard had shared an apartment. Depp's legal team wants to question Franco as a "witness" to see if he and Heard discussed the fight or if Franco saw any injuries to Heard's face.

In the suit, Depp said, "I have denied Ms Heard's allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016 ... when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage showed she did not possess each day of the preceding week. I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life. I never abused Ms Heard or any other woman."

Depp said he filed the lawsuit "not only to clear my name and restore my reputation but to attempt to bring clarity to the women and men whose lives have been harmed by abuse and who have been repeatedly lied to by Ms Heard purporting to be their spokesperson."

Heard's legal team had claimed Franco lived in the building around the time of the incident, and simply took the elevator together. Depp's attorneys said this is "a lie". A trial date has been set for April 11, 2022, in Fairfax County, Virginia and is expected to last for 12 days.

According to Page Six, meanwhile, Franco has just admitted in a wide-ranging interview that he was "addicted to sex" and "could never be faithful to anybody," until he met his current girlfriend Isabel Pakzad.