IN the wake of James Franco’s response to the alleged incidents in which he admitted to, at times, using his fame as a “lure” to attract students to enroll in the “Sex Scenes 101” course he taught, Franco has reportedly now found himself in the crosshairs of lawyers representing embattled actor Johnny Depp in his long and contentious legal battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard. Director and star Franco was previously accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Depp is suing Heard in Virginia for defamation in a US$50 million lawsuit over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote in which she described being a victim of domestic violence. Franco will now have to sit for the deposition early next year and answer questions about what he knew about alleged bruises to Heard’s face, according to Page Six. Franco was issued a subpoena after surveillance footage showed him entering an elevator with Heard about 24 hours after she and Depp had a huge dust-up. Heard alleged after the fight that Depp gave her a black eye. Depp has denied the allegations from the jump. “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 show she did not possess each day of the preceding week,” Depp said in his complaint against Heard, according to Page Six. “I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life. I never abused Ms. Heard or any other woman.” Heard’s legal team had claimed Franco lived in the building around the time of the incident and that she and the actor simply took the elevator together. Depp’s attorneys said this is “a lie.” A trial date is set for April 11, 2022, in Fairfax County, Virginia and is expected to last 12 days. (SD-Agencies) | 