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

[8 June 2022 23:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

How much do Depp and Amber Heard owe each other?

Depp prevailed in his $50m (£40m) defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard over accusations of domestic abuse last week.

A seven-person civil jury in Virginia found that Ms Heard defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts star when she implied he abused her in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post.

The jury also upheld one of Ms Heard’s three claims in a $100m countersuit against Mr Depp and his lawyer, who had called her original allegations in 2016 an “ambush” and “a hoax”.

Neither side got the full amount they wanted.

Io Dodds reports:

[9 June 2022 00:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

Heard ‘unable to pay’ the millions in damages

Amber Heard’s lawyer says that her client will be unable to pay the millions in damages she must hand over to Johnny Depp after a jury determined she defamed her ex-husband in the weeks-long trial.

Speaking one day after the verdict was delivered, attorney Elaine Bredehoft told Savannah Guthri while appearing on NBC’s The Today Show that her client is “absolutely not” able to pay the $8.35m in damages that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor won after a jury deliberated for three days following the closely followed, and widely panned, trial.

Johanna Chisholm reports:

[9 June 2022 01:15 · Oliver O'Connell]

Heard lawyer says ‘enormous amount of evidence was suppressed’ in trial

A lawyer representing Amber Heard in her defamation trial against Johnny Depp has spoken out following the verdict to say that “an enormous amount of evidence was suppressed” during the weeks-long trial.

Attorney Elaine Bredehoft appeared on The Today Show on Thursday morning, hours after a jury determined Ms Heard defamed Mr Depp on all three counts in his lawsuit against her regarding a 2018 op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post about being a victim of domestic abuse.

The jury also found in favour of one of three claims in Ms Heard’s countersuit, determining that Mr Depp’s lawyer had called her abuse allegations against her ex-husband a hoax.

Megan Sheets reports:

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

Trial stenographer denies ‘partying’ with Depp

The stenographer who chronicled Depp and Heard’s defamation trial has been dragged into a social media firestorm after footage of her hugging the Pirates actor went viral.

In the video, court reporter Judy Bellinger was seen embracing Depp after both sides presented closing arguments on 27 May.

Ms Bellinger was forced to defend herself after Heard supporters claimed the footage is proof of bias.

The Independent’s Gustaf Kilander reports:

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

Trial wristbands on sale for $5,000 on eBay

Some spectators who attended the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax County, Virginia are now selling their paper wristbands online.

Sheriffs at the Fairfax County courthouse distributed wristbands as a crowd control measure at the highly publicised trial, which attracted a large number of vocal Depp fans in particular.

Several people who were admitted to the courthouse are now selling those disposable, colour-coded paper wristbands – stamped with their date of entry – on auction websites like eBay for as much as $5,000 (£4,000).

Amanda Whiting reports:

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

Unlikely cult celebrities of the Depp v Heard trial

Fans of the estranged couple exhaustively documented Depp and Heard’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.

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

Johnny Depp mobbed by fans in Birmingham

Excited fans swarmed Johnny Depp’s tour bus and brought traffic to a halt after a concert, with one onlooker comparing the scenes to Beatlemania.

The actor was leaving Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on Monday after playing alongside rocker Jeff Beck when he was mobbed.

Footage shows fans packing around the blacked-out coach, with one sat on the shoulders of another and holding up a sign to the windows of the vehicle.

Josie Adnitt reports:

[9 June 2022 07:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Snoop Dogg weighs in on Depp v Heard trial

Snoop Dogg has said he prays that everyone can “learn to get along” following the verdicts in the defamation trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp.

The rapper said he had been “busy doing Snoop Dogg” and so did not keep up with the high-profile case, but hoped others could “be better, with or without each other”.

[9 June 2022 09:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Johnny Depp launches TikTok account amid push for comeback

Johnny Depp is now on TikTok.

The 58-year-old actor, who recently won a multimillion-dollar defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, joined the video-sharing app on Monday (6 June).

So far, Depp has amassed more than 800k followers on the verified TikTok account @JohnnyDepp.

Despite the large following, the Pirates of The Caribbean star is yet to post his first TikTok video.

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

Depp posts thank you message to fans

Johnny Depp has released a video message to fans pledging to “move forward,” after winning the high-profile defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.

Less than a week after the jury ruled in favour of the Pirates actor, Depp posted a video compilation of footage from his recent concerts.

Inga Parkel has the story: