Johnny Depp verdict: Actor’s popularity plummeted after Amber Heard trial, poll shows

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Johnny Depp’s legal team deny ‘victory lap’ after defamation trial win

Johnny Depp emerged victorious in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard following three days of deliberations by the jury, which also handed Heard a partial win in her countersuit.

Depp sued Heard for $50m for implying he abused her in a 2018Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t name him, he claims her allegations impacted his ability to work. She pursued a $100m counterclaim.

The jury determined Heard defamed Depp on all three counts and awarded him $10m in compensatory damages and $5m in punitive damages. Heard was awarded $2m compensatory damages.

When interviewed, Depp’s lawyers were asked about the possibility of dropping damages and said the case was never about money, but wouldn’t comment further.

The “humbled” actor thanked the jury for giving him his life back. He is currently playing gigs on a UK tour with Jeff Beck. Despite massive social media backing for Depp during the trial, a new poll suggests his popularity dropped after the verdict.

In a statement, Heard expressed “disappointment beyond words” and said she was heartbroken, claiming the verdict was a “setback” for women. She has decided to appeal the verdict and is “unable to pay” the damages.

Key points

• Johnny Depp launches TikTok account amid push for comeback
• ‘Humbled’ Depp thanks jury after defamation trial win
• What are Amber Heard’s options to appeal Johnny Depp verdict?
• Johnny Depp shares new message with fans following trial
• Depp’s legal team deny ‘victory lap’ after landmark win against Amber Heard
• Depp may drop damages claim against Heard if she stops appeal, lawyers suggest
• New data: Johnny Depp’s popularity drops following Amber Heard trial win

[10 June 2022 22:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Depp hired lawyer as consultant for trial after seeing her in Making a Murderer

An attorney says Johnny Depp hired her as a legal consultant for his defamation trial against Amber Heard after seeing her in the series Making a Murderer.

Kathleen Zellner, an American lawyer who was featured in the Netflix show, spoke to Law & Crime after a verdict was announced in the case on Wednesday (1 June).

Ms Zellner said Mr Depp called her and left a voicemail at her office at the end of December. She said Mr Depp told her he had seen her in Making a Murderer say that she “would be the last person someone would hire if they were guilty, because you would find out about it.”

“I was struck that that’s what motivated him to contact me,” Ms Zellner added.

Clémence Michallon reports:

[10 June 2022 23:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Depp’s lawyer reveals why he did fist pump over Kate Moss mention in court

Johnny Depp’s lawyer Ben Chew has revealed why he did a little fist pump when Amber Heard’s attorney mentioned Kate Moss in the court during the defamation trial.

During the trial, Ms Heard’s attorney accused the Pirates of The Caribbean star of pushing his former girlfriend Moss down the stairs.

When Ms Heard’s team requested Moss’s testimony, Mr Depp’s attorneys appeared to celebrate the moment via a fist pump.

In a recent interview with Law & Crime Network, Mr Chew said: “There was an instance in which Ms Heard actually did admit to punching Johnny, and that was what we call the ‘staircase incident.’

[11 June 2022 00:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Billie Eilish references Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial in unreleased song

Billie Eilish made reference to the Depp v Heard in an unreleased song that she performed to fans on her UK tour.

The 20-year-old pop star is currently in the UK on her world tour for her second album Happier Than Ever.

Performing at Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday (7 June), Eilish debuted a new song titled “TV”.

The track – which is yet to be released – is a slow, melancholy number with lyrics that reference the highly publicised Depp v Heard trial that came to an end last week

“The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial, while they’re overturning Roe v Wade,” Eilish sang while sat on a stool opposite her brother and collaborator Finneas who played the acoustic guitar.

[11 June 2022 01:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Depp releases new song about pitfalls of fame

Johnny Depp has released a new song about the pitfalls of fame.

The track, which is called “This is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr”, is performed with Jeff Beck and taken from the duo’s forthcoming joint album, 18, which will be released on 15 July.

Ostensibly singing about Forties film star Lamarr, the lyrics of the first verse go: “Erased by the same world who made her a star… The light of her being, her exotic allure / Was torn at the seams for daring to dream / It’s so hard to speak when you’re frozen in scream… Feels like a dream, but it’s life and it’s death.”

In the chorus, Depp sings: ​“I don’t believe, I can’t believe, I won’t believe humans any more.” At another point, he laments: “It’s so hard to talk when no one will hear, and everyone stares as you quiver in fear.”

Depp and Beck have been playing across the UK in recent weeks, with Depp missing the last day of his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard for a gig.

Ellie Harrison reports:

[11 June 2022 02:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Voices: Amber Heard didn’t ask for any of this — but the verdict will change her life

Kathleen N Walsh writes:

There’s a fair argument to be made that no matter which way the jury went in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation case, Heard — and domestic abuse survivors at large — had already lost. Certainly, the weeks and weeks of social media abuse, the humiliation, and the relived trauma Heard endured throughout this highly public trial would be enough on its own to have a chilling effect on future domestic abuse survivors. But the verdict still matters. And it especially matters because Heard never asked for any of this: Lest we forget, Depp sued her.

[11 June 2022 03:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

What are Amber Heard’s options to appeal Johnny Depp verdict

Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft has said her client will appeal the verdict, which largely favoured Depp.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon spoke to three attorneys about Heard’s potential avenues.

[11 June 2022 04:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Unlikely cult celebrities of Johnny Depp v Amber Heard

Fans of the estranged couple exhaustively documented the plaintiff and defendant’s every move and mannerism in court, their attorneys’ arguments, the judge’s interventions and a wealth of colourful witness testimony on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, carving up what might have amounted to dry legal proceedings into a spectator sport.

All of which has raised disapproving eyebrows in some quarters, with concerns expressed that the real issue at the heart of the case, domestic violence, was lost in what has become a bad taste viral soap opera.

While those criticisms are more than valid, there is no question that the trial provided an extraordinary spectacle and a cast of unforgettable supporting characters who found themselves unlikely cult celebrities.

[11 June 2022 04:59 · Oliver O'Connell]

Voices: The Depp and Heard trial has become as divisive as Brexit

Victoria Richards writes:

“Who do you support?” a friend I haven’t seen for a while asked me on the school run. He’s American, and was asking me about the talking point of 2022: no, not the pandemic, not Partygate, but the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, of course.

“Come on, you can’t possibly believe Amber ‘poopy’ Heard,” he added, a genuine tinge of disbelief to his voice. “She’s mad!”

And so, I found myself repeating what I’ve been saying all along, when I’ve seen the disgusting memes and reactions on social media – those directed at Heard, who by any objective estimation has been through living hell, and the comments hurled at those who have written critically of the differing treatment meted out for Johnny “roses thrown in his path, crowds waving, people taking their babies to wait outside court for him” Depp – that the world has become strangely split and divided.