Johnny Depp v Amber Heard Defamation Trial Celebrity trials can be counted on to generate significant public interest, allowing a window into the lives of otherwise unreachable figures. The Depp-Heard trial proved no exception, gaining international interest throughout 2022 and becoming one of the most high-profile domestic violence cases of all time. The case concerned a December 2018 opinion piece in the Washington Post written by Amber Heard following her divorce from Johnny Depp after a 15-month marriage, wherein she described herself as having become “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. Depp sued Heard in 2019 for $50 million, arguing that the article’s allusion to alleged acts of abuse by him constituted defamation. Meanwhile, a separate libel case in 2020 against newspaper ‘The Sun’ for publishing an article referring to him as a “wife beater” found against Depp, generating further scandal. The allegations and their subsequent media coverage had severe consequences for Depp’s acting career and led to his departure from key roles in ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ and other films. The defamation trial opened on 11 April 2022. In their opening argument, Depp’s lawyers labeled Heard a liar who was “obsessed with her public image”, while lawyers for Heard described Depp as “an obsessed ex-husband hellbent on revenge”. Further anecdotes of the couple’s tempestuous relationship were shared as proceedings continued throughout the spring and early summer. The trial finally came to an end on 1 June as the seven-person jury found that both Depp and Heard had defamed each other and that Heard was unable to substantiate her abuse allegations. In total, $10.4 million in total damages were awarded to Depp. Though the outcome of the case had impact on little other than the personal fortunes of Depp and Heard, sensational headlines continued to be generated throughout the proceedings. Research revealed that news coverage of the trial had generated more engagement on social media than articles about the Supreme Court and reproductive rights, even as the future of Roe v Wade hung in the balance. 30 LAWYERMONTHLY JANUARY 2023 Johnny Depp & Amber Heard Image Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Mass_11_(21268540588).jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en | (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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