- Johnny Depp's lawyer laughed but offered no answer when a reporter asked if she was dating him.
- The reporter asked Camille Vasquez on Wednesday to address speculation about their relationship.
- Vasquez is representing Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard in a high-profile defamation case.
One of Johnny Depp's attorneys laughed and offered no answer when a reporter asked whether she was dating her actor client.
Neither Depp nor the attorney, Camille Vasquez, has said anything to suggest they have a romantic relationship. And a person close to Depp has told Insider that their relationship is nothing more than professional.
Nonetheless, baseless speculation about a relationship between Depp and Vasquez has swirled on social media for weeks. Fans of the actor seized on footage of him hugging and joking with her around the courthouse to bolster their theory. (Footage of Depp appearing to crack jokes with one of his other three attorneys, Benjamin Chew, has not gotten the same treatment.)
Depp is involved in a high-profile lawsuit against his ex-wife, the actor Amber Heard, whom he's accused of defaming him in a 2018 essay in which she said she was a victim of domestic abuse. Depp was not named in the essay, but his lawyers have argued it's clear that Heard was accusing him of abuse.
On Wednesday a video taken outside the courthouse in Fairfax County, Virginia, showed a reporter asking Vasquez to set the record straight about her relationship with Depp.
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TMZ published the footage and credited it to the celebrity photo agency Splash News.
"The people want to know: Are you dating Johnny Depp?" the reporter can be heard asking. "It's all over the internet. Can you set the record straight: Yes or no?"
Vasquez laughs but avoids giving an answer, moving on to greet Depp's fans and a dog.
The legal filings establishing how lawyers are permitted to interact with the public are under seal, but it's not uncommon for judges to forbid attorneys to talk about the case and their clients with people not involved with the case during a trial.
Depp's legal team includes Vasquez and Chew, both of the law firm Brown Rudnick. The case has been in the pipeline since March 2019, when Depp filed the lawsuit against Heard.
The trial, every moment of which has been livestreamed online to audiences often in excess of 400,000 people, began on May 2 and is set to conclude on May 27 after closing remarks.
In her opening statement, Vasquez said that while Depp had his demons, he would never abuse Heard.
Heard's numerous allegations include that Depp hit her on multiple occasions and once slammed her head against a wall.
