Here’s everything you need to know about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial
This week, the Pirates Of The Caribbean star took the stand for the first time
Aux News Johnny Depp
The trial between actors and former married couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is officially underway. The defamation trial enters its sixth day, and is expected to last about five or six weeks in total, with possible witness testimony from James Franco, Elon Musk, and more. The trial’s also spurred Depp super fans from around the world to sit outside the Virginia court house at all hours of the day.
Here’s everything you need to know about the case thus far.
Why is Depp suing Heard?
Depp filed the defamation lawsuit in 2019, following the publishing of a 2018 Washington Post op-ed written by Heard in which she refers to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Although the actor is not explicitly named in the article, Depp and his lawyers attest Heard’s writing contains a “clear implication that Mrs Depp is a domestic abuser.” He says these claims substantially derailed his acting career.
“I spoke up against sexual violence—and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change,” Heard wrote in the op-ed following the former couple’s divorce in 2017.
“Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age. But I kept quiet—I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn’t see myself as a victim,” Heard continued.
Heard first accused Depp of domestic abuse in 2016, and the two officially divorced in 2017.
What has been said in testimony so far?
On Tuesday, April 19, during a 3-hour long testimony, Depp discussed Heard’s abuse allegations, as well as his own tumultuous childhood and history of drug use.
Depp denied hitting Heard or any other woman, and he said Heard’s allegations in the Washington Post op-ed led to the sudden downturn of his once-famed career. “It’s very strange when one day you’re a Cinderella, so to speak, then in zero point six seconds you’re Quasimodo. I didn’t deserve that nor did my children nor did the people who believed in me all these years,” he claimed, per the New York Times.
Depp admitted he used his first illicit drug when he was 11 years old, in order to deal with the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother—however he said Heard’s telling of his drug use is “grossly embellished.”
The actor also said that though he developed a dependence on the opioid Roxicodone following an injury on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, he detoxed and experienced withdrawal from the drug during his relationship with Heard.
“I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.” he added.
During the second day of his testimony, Depp opened about the volatile arguments between himself and Heard. “I was sort of not allowed to be right, not allowed to have a voice,” Depp said, per Vulture. “So at a certain point, what enters your mind is, you start to slowly realize that you are in a relationship with your mother, and I know that that sounds perverse, obtuse but the fact is some people [search] for weaknesses in people…” The fights and arguments would quickly become violent, he explained. “If I stayed to argue, eventually I was sure it was going to escalate into violence. Oftentimes, it did.”
Depp also denied hitting Heard during an argument about his “Winona Forever” tattoo (that was later changed to read “Wino Forever”). “It didn’t happen,” he said. “I have never struck Ms. Heard. I’ve never struck a woman in my life and certainly not going to strike a woman if she decides to make fun of a tattoo that I have on my body.”
The actor also described, in graphic detail, his finger injury. “First of all, I felt no pain whatsoever,” Depp recalled. “I felt heat, and I felt as if something were dripping down my hand, and then I looked down and realized that the tip of my finger had been severed.” The injury caused to him to come close to having a “nervous breakdown” he said before adding, “I started to write with my blood, in my own blood, on the walls, little reminders from our past that essentially represented lies that she had told me, lies that I caught her in.”
Additionally, Depp discussed how the allegations affected his once-thriving career. He said the sixth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie (which hasn’t been film or produced) as being in “dangle mode.” And when asked about a 2018 DailyMail article that said Depp was “out as Jack Sparrow,” he said he wasn’t surprised. “Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife beater,” he continued. “So I’m sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The #MeToo movement was in full swing at that point.”
What is Depp seeking?
For this libel trial, Depp is pursuing compensatory damages of “not less than $50 million.” During his testimony, Depp also claimed per Vulture, that the suit is a way to “clear his name” for himself and his children, Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 20.
Wait, hasn’t there already been a court case?
Yes. In 2020, Depp sued News Group Newspapers (which oversees The Sun) for publishing the headline “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?” The actor alleged the headline was libelous. However, the judge did not rule in Depp’s favor as the claims against him were proven “substantially true.”
There will be defamation countersuit
Heard has filed a countersuit against Depp for defamation concerning his claims that she orchestrated a hoax against him and was in fact, actually the abusive one in the relationship. She says her former husband concocted a “smear campaign” against her and seeks $100 million in compensatory damages.
194 Comments
It’s frustrating how this was clearly a toxic, mutually abusive relationship, but everyone is deciding to make only *one* party out to be history’s greatest monster.
Speak for yourself. I’m happy ignoring both of them. You should try it.
My instinctive reaction to “Here’s everything you need to know about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial” was “nothing.” I don’t need to know a single thing about this shitshow.
Perfect opportunity for a slide show with 20+ pages, all empty.
I don’t need to know a single thing about this shitshow. According to Depp, that’s a literal description of events! https://www.newsweek.com/johnny-depp-amber-heard-defecating-bed-viral-clips-tiktok-twitter-1699652
Sadly, I did already know that. So I’m starting from behind (stop it).
So you can completely ignore this situation while delving through comments about it? Have you been Severanced???
What, you can’t walk and chew bubble gum at the same time?
This is more akin to saying you’ve given up chewing gum out one corner of your mouth while blowing a bubble out the other corner.
Nerd over-analyzes bland joke, News at 11.
This Humorless Nerd Accused Another Nerd of Being Humorless and You Won’t Believe What Happens Next!
Loving the mental gymnastics you’re having to resort to. More, please.
You sure like overengaging with petty bullshit for someone who came to these comments to announce they don’t engage with petty bullshit.
Petty bullshit? Nah. Petty Nerds? Part of a complete breakfast.
This Is The Scene That Got Humorless Nerd Cancelled
I have not been severanced to my recollection.
Lol as if the average moron who follows tedious celeb relationship fallout sagas like this would even be able to function without a deluge of juicy new gossip to wade through every day of their lives
I kind of gave up on figuring out what’s going on.
It just seems like my only reward for learning about what actually happened is to be emotionally abused online by people who are on one side of the issue or the other.
I’m not on either side and can still abuse you online, if you like.
Sign me up!
Not great, Bob!
“You’re quite a guy!”
Ok but only because you asked so nicely.
ok then, something something..snowflake…something something, do your research! something something cuck..something something else.
Damn man you just triggered me, uh I’m uber butthurt right now… Let’s see, I’ve just been owned… What else? You sure made me your beta cuck.
Hell yeah, that’s my whole goal in life, to get into internet arguments and berate people!
in my experience only one side is doling out the abuse (ironically)…the blind one-sidedness of his fans’ support is a little irritating and scary, like sparring with a t***p supporter back in the day (“oh you can’t take the word of 20+ women who accuse him of assault, they just want a payout” LOL).
Yes! That’s easily the most horrifying aspect of this.
domestic abuse professionals are pretty adamant that just because someone eventually starts fighting back, it doesn’t make them the abuser. you end up internalizing all this abuse and start using it too, and it’s a common tactic of manipulation by abusers. Soon the victim will lose any outside support, and the abuser gets to maintain control of the narrative.
Right, but from what we know of Johnny Depp’s…eccentric behavior before meeting Amber Heard, as well as some of the testimonies we’ve heard, it seemed well beyond “lashing out against one’s abuser.”
“Right, but from what we know of Johnny Depp’s…eccentric behavior before meeting Amber Heard.”A lot of that probably deals with his drug and alcohol addiction.
I have also been told by domestic abuse “professionals” that all women are incapable of domestic abuse that is it is always the man that is the abuser and that anything a women says and does is Always self defense, so.
This happened
on a related note, stumbling onto the Depp cult has been pretty jarring to say the least (I say this assuming that’s who you’re referring to as *one* party). JFC, getting them to acknowledge that *maybe* he did something unsavory and that a British court of law ruled it “substantially true” that he abused her ONLY leads to rational-seeming retorts (“you know she’s friend with the judge, right?” “if that’s true, why was his appeal rejected?” “YOU’RE A JERK WHO LOVES AMBER HEARD!!!”) followed by some pretty nasty name-calling. Suddenly he can do no wrong, she is completely and utterly batshit (which again, I am not ruling out), and British courts don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about LOL. The whole thing has a strong stink of t***p—a heavily riled cult that cannot and will not process that their dear leader is infallible; blind rage-filled attacks in response along with a heaping dose of ignoring reality and reason; and of course, using expensive litigation to bully someone into submission. Which is too bad because I used to like Depp until he decided to inflict Pirates of the Caribbean movies on us after getting high on his own farts.
And the thing is, what about Depp exactly inspires this level of idolatry? Even if you think that he is, or at least was, the best actor of a generation, why does that inspire people to slavishly devote themselves to clearing his good name? I actually liked the Pirates trilogy, and Depp in them, and honestly didn’t even mind it going all Fast and Furious with sequels and spinoffs. But that doesn’t make me care a lick about his personal life, let alone have me believe he’s somehow incapable of doing wrong. These people really seem to believe he’s some sort of divine force. It must have something to do with the way some people contend with modern celebrity mixed with a heaping dose of good old misogyny, given the threats some of them level against Heard in the process of defending Depp.
I don’t get it either—he has spent the last 10-20 years coasting on his reputation and not much else; before that he was a pretty attractive guy who had solid “acteur” bona fides before he decided to sell out (and I’m not judging him for that based on the shitloads of money he has made); but the EXTREME response I have seen from his fans has been surprising for the reasons you laid out. and it’s funny you point out the misogynistic aspects of this, because let me tell you, if you REALLY want to throw them into a dither, just blithely mention that the extreme one-sidedness of their support reeks of misogyny; HFS, do they go OFF LOL. You’ll get a bunch of female fans saying “I was abused so I can’t be one-sided, I know what I’m talking about, how dare you” and “he’s drawing attention to the plight of abused men everywhere” which, come on, that is NOT what’s motivating this at all LOL.the vein that hasn’t been mined enough IMO is the “UK courts are dumb/incompetent/biased/conspiring against him” angle, which I would do if I cared enough to jump back into the pits and spar with those nuts LOL.
“Come on, that isn’t the motivation behind this at all”All well and good, so long as you acknowledge that “bringing increased visibility to female domestic abuse victims” isn’t Heard’s primary drive in any of this either and is an ancillary benefit at best. Depp and Heard are both massive cornball egomaniacs and at least one is a full on hack (her obviously) with the other teetering on the brink seemingly content to coast through the remainder of his career on lowest denominator tentpole thrill rides for undiscerning losers
He was so charming in Ed Wood!
FUCK YOU!!!
For me personally, I’d really been drifting since getting ejected from my previous cult for repeatedly flubbing the sex rites. Depp’s wispy facial hair kinda reminded me of Jesus, and that was more than enough for me to latch on to him as God’s beacon of truth on earth. But I can only speak personally. For others, it might be his early work as a teen heart throb on 21 Jump Street.
People really like pirates. And boozed-up, ravaged-looking has-beens.
And you know both of them personally to give a judgement like this for sure.
I agree. Ever since those stupid Team-Jennifer/Team Angelina t-shirts, our society decided we must choose a side. There are situations where it’s Team-Nobody. This, for me, is one of those situations. I think we’re looking at two problematic people. Depp is clearly a substance abuser with a history of temper tantrums (not towards women perhaps, but his destruction of hotel rooms has made the press). Heard has a history of abusive behaviour. I believe the case was dropped, but at least one former partner accused her of domestic violence. The former partner was a woman… so I guess it only counts if it’s man on woman violence?Ugh. I don’t know. I’m just saying I agree with you.
Been saying this for however many years this has been going on. But alas, nuance and grayness are inconvenient and irreconcilable for so many people.
Clearly, because I’m sure you know exactly what was happening in their personal lives.
If you look up the term “Pyrrhic Victory” in the dictionary, you’ll see Depp and Heard’s mugs. But on the plus side, a whole lotta lawyers will be able to retire off the money they make from this.
It’s really too bad that they couldn’t hold this trial off another few years. I’ll bet by 2025 or so, some suits in Hollywood would have figured out a way to make this Celebrity Defamation Trial, with special episodes featuring James Franco and Supreme Court Justice Elon Musk.
Thing is though these are all Depp’s lawsuits. He’s the one who can’t stop suing over and over despite it never going well for him.
the whole thing seems very t***pian in its narcissism and spiteful need to bully someone who they feel “got over on them” using their massive financial advantage to make them submit
I mean I went through just the Depp Direct Examination and the start of the Cross yesterday and it’s literally the same bloody things as in the London trial, the exact same emails, recordings, texts. Even the London transcript is being used now.It’s a farse.
I’m not sure why you include Heard in this when all the lawsuits and court cases have been his doing. It’s almost as if he’s an abuser who is still trying to terrorize her any way he can even though she’s left him.
You have a lot of free time.
There’s just something not right to me about all of the statement’s Johnny Depp has made about this situation. His statement:
“I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.”
makes him sound like a jackass. The fact that he refers to drug addicts as maniacs screams of someone who has a negative view on mental health issues and is possibly in denial of their own state of being.
Counterpoint: he is being described as some kind of maniac, one who needs to be high or loaded all the time.
This. He’s not saying anyone that is addicted to drugs or depends on them is a maniac. He’s deliberately being painted that way.
I have no horse in this race, but hanging on that line like it’s some “fuck you” to anyone that has a drug addiction is misleading.
“I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.”
It makes it sound like the unspoken second half is “I am a movie star who needs to be high or loaded all the time.
I just want to be high or loaded all the time. There’s a difference.
“I can quit any time I want to. I just choose not to quit.”
Like The Ramones baby, I wanna be sedated.
How about just part of the time?
Or maybe, just maybe, he is referring specifically to the way that Heard framed him, which was basically as a drug-addled maniac. You know, one of the things at the very heart of the trial that he is testifying at? Weird concept, iknow…
Wasn’t there a Rolling Stone profile written a few years back that pretty much documented that he was, in fact, high and/or loaded all the time?
I mean, the high part is pretty much Seth Rogan in everything he’s done.
If I recall they covered the fact that he was drinking thousands in wine monthly. Now you can, in fact, do that and not be a lush but it was heavily implied he was not buying a ten thousand dollar bottle once a month
There was, it was quite the read. One of those situations where Rolling Stone sends a writer to basically hang out as a guest with the subject for a week. He was coked up the entire time and came across as a deluded idiot.
I think that’s coming from the fact that it is more or less what was said about him.But in a classic case of two things can be true: He also probably is a jackass.
It just sounds like he talks about addiction in the way that the majority of Americans talk about addiction (which is not in the medically accurate, empathetic way), so I don’t think this, specifically. is really going to make look any worse in most people’s eyes. Not saying that should be the norm, but that’s how it is.
You don’t have to be constantly chemically disconnected from reality to blow $650 million dollars, but it helps.
Bizarre take. He’s been accused of being maniac drug abuser. He clearly states he’s not (whether that’s true or not is another matter).
1. I’m not convinced that is everything I need to know.2. I am pleased that he decided to dress as “generic movie bad guy”. Classic mismisdirection.
If I were the director and “generic movie bad guy” showed up looking like that, I would probably tell wardrobe, hair and makeup to tone it down a bit.
“Can we ditch the slicked-back black hair?”
I can only imagine he was going to wear a white tie with that black shirt and suit to really emphasise the “‘30s mobster in a Batman cartoon” look.
LOL I read a story yesterday about how Heard’s choice of suits during the trial have improved her credibility in the courtroom
I think that’s his Donny Brasco wardrobe. Maybe he thought looking like an undercover Fed would help his case.
He’s turning into Roger Stone before our very eyes.
Either way, she did take a dump on (in?) his bed.
Defa…mation? Did they spell that correctly?
On. You can on take a dump in a bed if you’re tucked in with a glass of warm milk on the bedside table.
Hi Mr. Trump!
A British judge has already ruled that wasn’t true.
He thought the whole thing smelt a bit off.
In the UK case an explanation was put forward that, while Depp assumed it was human shit on the bed (as you do???), it was shit from their little dogs. I’m not an expert on their domestic affairs, but what I saw of the dog shit explanation appeared to make sense.
He claimed in his last libel case that either she took a dump on their shared bed, or one of her friends did. She says it was their dog. Both admit the dog has had bowel problems ever since it ate some of Depp’s weed. Heard thought it might be due to brain damage. At one point the dog shit all over Depp himself as he slept.Depp also claimed there was “strong photographic evidence” that she or one of her friends did it. the only evidence he ended up providing was some photos of the turd. After reviewing the photos and message from both his and Heard’s phones, the court ruled that Heard was not responsible.
Plz no.
Now explain why so many people online are so wrapped up in this.
These are both damaged people that — spoiler alert — none of their online stans will ever be romantically involved in (or should be).
Making your Johnny Depp abuse allegation stance a core part of your personality is beyond strange.
The comments about him on places like Reddit are fucking intolerable. You can’t ever suggest to the people making them that he just might be a terrible person, either. Heard is ALWAYS the devil, and he’s just being set up. To these young men who support him, he’s become some weird shining white knight of men behaving badly who have some VERY deep-seated issues with women. To the young women, well, they most likely still just want to fuck him.If anyone ever wanted to find some of the worst young men and women in the world right now, chances are they’d be “seated outside the Virginia court house at all hours of the day” right this very minute.
I think you would be hard pressed to find many women. In my experience most Depp defenders are men. A very certain type of man who just likes using this whole ugly mess as “proof” that women are evil. It’s sad really
There are women mentioned and quoted in the link in the first paragraph, but yes, it’s most likely more men. How sad of a person do you have to be where Johnny Depp is your redemption?
Look, here’s one now!
This is an unfair comment. Depp went under oath and detailed her abusive tactics. Not only was she abusive to him, she spitefully destroyed his career by writing about it. He is doing every thing he can to get his side of the story heard and clear his name. He is acting like and innocent person done wrong, because simply letting this go away would have been the best course of action for him if he wasn’t..The people supporting him are absolutely no different than people who support women who have been abused. Depp was abused, and he deserves support as well. If you feel his supporters are bad people, then anyone who supports an abused person is a bad person.
my experiences with his stans on FB just trying to make the point about how blindly one-sided their support is has been an interesting experience…I have never been a troll but I assume this is what it’s like LOL. (or maybe I have been a troll and didn’t realize it, who knows.) basically the progression is:1. I (innocently) comment about how a UK court said it was “substantially true” that he beat her, wondering if anyone will say “well that’s a good point but she seems crazy, etc.”2. “she is crazy/she shit on his bed/the UK courts are dumb or bad or biased” etc. (definitely no mention of anything he may have done) but all presented in a seemingly rational way3. “yes but if any of that were true why was his appeal denied?” (again, all verifiable facts)4. “the UK court didn’t know what it was doing and also you obviously want to fuck Amber Heard/I am an abuse victim so it’s OK that I only see one side of this/oh so you don’t want male victims of abuse to have their voices heard???”at that point I am exhausted and annoyed at myself for trying to raise a seemingly rational point on such a polarizing topic and I check out.
Yeah, that tracks with everything I’ve seen on Reddit. She’s always the hero, and anyone saying anything near the opposite clearly have ulterior motives. It’s baffling. I was there this morning, and a bunch of them have taken to posting the same extremely edited clip of Depp being cross-examined by her lawyers on a lot of subreddits. They’ve put in sound effects and stuff on the clip, too. Like clown noises. No, I am not kidding.Cults gonna cult. I do not understand what the fuck any of them think they’re getting out of this or what they think they are proving, and nor do I care to. Just more evidence that humanity in general has lost its goddamn mind.
the ferocity and rabidity and one-sidedness of their support is what threw me. I have always been “meh” about Depp, he was very pretty back in the day and a fine actor but he’s the quintessential “coasting on past glories” actor now any more; also every Pirates of the Caribbean except the first sucked, and that one was only OK.also, seeing so many women DESTROY Heard while also justifying that response by saying they’re abuse victims…that’s a lot to unpack, and I’m not an abuse victim or a woman so I generally don’t touch it, but wow. She is clearly nuts and probably instigated most or all of this but the hatred she elicits is startling.
It’s all insane and I genuinely don’t give a shit (why would I? They’re clearly both terrible people who should’ve stayed far away from each other), but yes, no group of people gets shit on more than women. They always have, and most likely always will.
I don’t think it’s a core part of her personality lol, it’s just that the public gaslit her as much as Depp and it’s been an ongoing battle for a number of years now in the publics eye.
They’re not referring to Heard. They’re referring to the soldiers in the Johnny Depp is Innocent Army.
lol my bad, I was in that ativan one eye open one eye dozed mode.
What are you, some sort of maniac that needs to be high all the time?/s 🙂
It seemingly touches on issues that people are passionate about. I have no doubts fans in Depp’s camp would call themselves “men’s rights” advocates in some shape or form and Heard’s supporters are champions for victims of domestic abuse.
I’m a teacher and a student of mine, who is at least three decades younger than Depp, wanted to write a paper on how abused Depp is. I told her that part of the assignment was having to do original, community research, basically interviews, so it wasn’t a valid topic. She had what I can only describe as a meltdown, started crying and then yelling at me. I can only describe her reaction as being cult-like. It was strange. I have no clue what the truth of the situation between Depp and Heard is, but the student’s reaction/obsession with the case haunts me.
A lot of Depp’s stans are firmly convinced he’s “right” on the basis that he’s the more famous of the two and that he made some good movies 20+ years ago, which means nothing in terms of “yeah, but is he an alcoholic who abuses his wife?”
I do admit that I had a huge pile of PoTC merch & got rid of a chunk of it because I could not stand to look at Depp’s face anymore.
The fact that Disney has not one, but two PotC films in development starring women suggests they feel the same.
I mainly give a damn because the Depp Cult narrative, leading up to the UK case was, “Just wait until he has his day in court. The truth will out!” And to be honest, I was a little curious about how it would play out, since the defamation case was an unorthodox move by an accused abuser. Maybe there was some evidence he had in hand that we didn’t know about? So Depp forum-hunts for the easiest place to win a defamation case in the Western world, goes to court, and loses spectacularly. Actually gets a finding that he’s a wife beater, so he’s worse off than when he started. And you’d think a loss like that would chill the Depp Cult boys out a little bit. But instead, they double down. “That court case doesn’t count! Wait until he has his day in court! The truth will out!”And that bit is creepy. Ask the Depp Cultists why the UK court case doesn’t count, and they throw word salad at you about Heard’s text messages, and vague, unsupported accusations of corruption against the judge. There’s no legal arguments or proof involved in their belief. The fact that Depp’s half-ass attempt to appeal the ruling got laughed out of court doesn’t matter. All there is, is insistence. And this smells familiar, since I live in a country where a significant percentage of people claim that the last presidential election was stolen, but the only evidence they can offer is the fact that the guy they wanted to win, lost.The truth is, I could give a damn about Amber Heard. She might just be the most easily replaceable actress in Hollywood. In the next Aquaman, they could swap out Heard for any other reasonably attractive actress in a bright red wig, and it’s not that I wouldn’t mind. It’s that I probably wouldn’t notice. But the cult that’s grown up around vilifying her, the weird zombie posters that shamble out the second anyone posts anything about Depp or this case, are fascinating and concerning.
I think my biggest takeaway from this is that hardcore “stans” are deeply, DEEPLY weird individuals, and that the realization of their weirdness might well kill them.
Imo, pretty much as simple as it’s become a cultural flashpoint primarily for people who really hate women. I can’t be bothered to learn the full details of the case so I honestly can’t say who is the guiltier party, but it’s a very public trial that can be easily distorted to support reactionary anti-MeToo rhetoric. All the content I’m seeing get the most play on social platforms’ algorithms seems to be capitalizing on this to advocate sexist ideology.
The actor also said that though he developed a dependence on the opioid Roxicodone following an injury on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, he detoxed and experienced withdrawal from the drug during his relationship with Heard.
“I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time.” he added.
Of course, he was also disruptively high or drunk on set before that film and after, so … maybe?
I’m also not sure spending years making sure abuse allegations — even if they’re allegedly untrue — are in the headlines is the way to get his career back on track. Mel Gibson and Louis CK just went away for a while and were able to pick up their careers after an imposed time-out. (Right or wrong: Just stating facts, not saying I’m happy that they’re back.) Depp is just digging himself a deeper hole.
I love how we all feel the need to include the “don’t worry I PERSONALLY think such-and-such is a monster!!” disclaimer every time.
Exactly—Depp got the part in Fantastic Beasts after the abuse claims had been made public. He didn’t need to sue anybody. His career would have been fine if that had been the only issue. He just needed to show up and keep working.The real injuries to his career were a) the article the Hollywood Reporter published in 2017ish that detailed exactly how drunk/high he’d been on the Pirates 5 set, effectively rendering him uninsurable, and b) losing the UK lawsuit in 2020. His legal strategy has been a massive self-own.
The Streisand Effect should be renamed the Depp Effect. He was still able to star in the Fantastic Beast franchise even after the allegations first appeared, and his name is so much bigger than Heard’s that, combined with the misogyny of Hollywood and the world in general, it’s easy to imagine the story completely disappear after a few years. It’s his decision to sue her that wrecked his life, not the article no one would have heard about otherwise.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial. Got all that? Good.
Here’s everything you need to know:Yes, it’s happening.
No, you don’t give a shit.
Johnny Depp used to be hott, now he’s a mess.
“Depp and his lawyers attest Heard’s writing contains a “clear implication that Mrs Depp is a domestic abuser.”Really?
This comment section is making me raise an eyebrow, because the case is now turning into “Ugh they’re both terrible”, which may be so, but in terms of the physical evidence of all this, there is WAY more evidence against Heard.-Audio of her admitting to abusing him and saying that noone will believe him.
-Police records of Depp’s injuries at the hands of Heard
-Heard’s former assistant testifying that she’s abusive and treated her like shit.
-Heard’s parents siding with Depp instead of her.
-Heard being arrested previously for domestic abuse against her ex-girlfriend.Etc.
Selectively edited audio when she was really talking about how he was stronger than herHis own doctor admitted he hurt his hand himselfKate James is deeply untrustworthy, having met with Depp’s former lawyer and basically lying about how Amber stole the story of her abuseAmber’s father is an abuser so no surprise he’s a horrible person in other ways
The ex-girlfriend denies the abuse happened
Selectively edited audio when she was really talking about how he was stronger than herIs the full audio online somewhere?
-Audio of her admitting to abusing him and saying that noone will believe him.There’s partial audio of her saying she hit him and that no one would believe him claiming he’s the victim. The London trial concluded that such audio wasn’t of use because both parties stated a completely different picture in court to that of the marriage counselling session. https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Judgment-FINAL.pdf (items 174-176)-Police records of Depp’s injuries at the hands of HeardThere are none, are there.-Heard’s former assistant testifying that she’s abusive and treated her like shit.Heard’s former assistant lied about her connections to Depp and that he contacted her so they could “fix her up” (i.e. vindictively go after Heard) making her entire testimony not credible. https://www.nickwallis.com/_files/ugd/5df505_04ca47068ba94d2eb6e78fddadd1b2fb.pdf (pages 1218 onwards)-Heard’s parents siding with Depp instead of her.They didn’t though. They got involved around the time of the restraining order thinking the relationship could be saved probably not knowing what was actually going on.-Heard being arrested previously for domestic abuse against her ex-girlfriend.She was also let off with no charges and that “abused” ex-girlfriend has stuck by her every step of the way since 2016. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/amber-heard-johnny-depp-tasya-van-ree-domestic-violence-allegations-a7072126.htmlAlmost like all this “evidence” against Heard is typical social media hearsay that isn’t backed up in court or something…
I personally suspect they’re probably both garbage people.
kill yourself
IMO, trials should never be public, and this one is no exception. That said, both are clearly to blame for the violent nature of their relationship. These are two very traumatized individuals who need help, and this trial will likely ruin both of their lives. I don’t know who is telling the “truth” so to speak, but I do believe that Depp believes he is not an abuser, and I believe Heard believes she is a victim of domestic abuse. I do think Depp will lose this case because he’s lost twice already, and it will likely bankrupt him. I also think that could be good for him because I believe Depp hates his life and what he has become. I think for years he has been chained to the persona of “Johnny Depp”, the hunky, ageless, Hollywood vampire. Maybe losing this trial will allow him to move to a farm or some shit, let his hair go gray, get fat, and he can just like read books and wear sweaters and stuff.
I guess the good news is that hunky and ageless already bid him adieu some time ago? A guy can’t booze, drug, tan and smoke with such enthusiasm without it catching up with him in a bad way, especially not a white guy.
“Trials should never be public” yikes. They necessarily have to be public. A cornerstone of functioning democracy is citizens being able to observe the courts and monitor if they’re fair. Now obviously for a lot of structural reasons like resource imbalances, the justice system isn’t necessarily fair. But imagine how much worse it would be if the justice system was just a black box and no one knew anything about how it worked. On the other hand, we’d all probably be happier and better people if we didn’t get dragged into the salacious, tabloid-y coverage, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have the ability to find out what happens in court.
I know Court TV is loving this, since they’ve been hyping up the trial for a while now.
It won’t, but I have a perverse hope that the Chris Chan trial gets 1/10th the coverage.
Depp *may* get the ruling out of this that he wants but unfortunately he doesn’t have good PR people around him to tell him after the UK ruling he should have gone away for a few years, live off of his millions of dollars in the French countryside, and then be welcomed back to Hollywood with open arms a la Mel Gibson thanks to the legion of Depp cultists out there angrily defending him no matter what facts are presented to them. Instead he’s going to have the awful details of his marriage put on display for the next few weeks, and we haven’t even gotten to *her* testimony. But the point of this debacle was just to use his money advantage to bully her into submission with litigation after all.
Just think about the awful effect that would have on his children
Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 20. I can’t imagine how hard it must be being Jack Depp right now.
I mean he’s still 20 years old and has an insanely rich father. I’m sure he’s doing okay
I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that comment because I couldn’t tell if they were joking or not LOL. All I know is, the Johnny Depp Stan Club is surprisingly large and devoted, and I’m sure they’d love to meet his son (despite not looking much like a young Johnny Depp like everyone would prefer LOL) to express their devotion. I suspect young Jack is doing just fine in every sense.
The amount of delusion at the moment from those fanatics is insane. They seem to think all these witnesses are random neutral parties and not the witnesses being put forward by Depp’s team and we’ll only hear those defending Heard later so of course so far in this trial “it’s all gone against Heard”…
The guy is clearly in a dream world given he’s still claiming that he never hit her when audio was released in the London trial of him admitting to having headbutted her.I don’t know whether Heard was mutually abusive or not as all we’ve had there really is convenient partial leaks to the papers and a bunch of witness testimony from sources that are hardly credible (it’s nearly wall to wall “person who Depp currently employs/houses”) but given how there was enough documentary evidence to convince four High Court Justices in the UK that at least he was routinely abusive he’s kind of done regardless of the outcome here.
Court transcript for headbutt incident https://www.nickwallis.com/_files/ugd/5df505_4ccfb81ee10a498cbca176e83b6a5d02.pdf (page 508 onwards)
The other thing people need to realize is that fighting back against your abuser isn’t being abusive.
Problem is, that’s basically the argument Depp’s fans are using to defend him.Problem for Depp is, that’s not what his court cases are actually about. The UK case didn’t find that Heard was innocent, because her behaviour was not on trial. It merely established that he was the abusive party in some instances, which makes calling him out on it legally defensible. Had he not responded, or had he said something to the effect of “It was an unhealthy relationship, we were bad for each other, we’re better apart”, most people would probably have moved on and he’d still have a career. But now, if he can’t prove that he was completely innocent, he comes out of this as a confirmed abuser… twice over. It’s such a spectacular self own on Depp’s part that the Streisand effect should probably be renamed in his honour.
Paging the Brian Laundrie apologists…
Also, whether Heard was abusive or not has no real bearing on the case. Depp is suing her for defamation when she implied that he was abusive in her op-ed; she’s countersuing him for defamation because his lawyers claimed to the press that she was faking being an abuse victim during the UK court case. That means both of these cases revolve around proving whether or not Depp was abusive. Even if they both hit each other, that means he loses both. Heard hasn’t been dumb enough to sue anybody who called her an abuser, so there aren’t any lawsuits centered around that claim.
Team Johnny. No way Heard is telling the truth. But hey she is a woman! She must be right then. We should all believe her. Yes we should.
Yes, let’s be on the team of the guy who’s best buds with noted rapist and abuser Marilyn Manson
Unfortunately, a lot of people are on that list.https://www.kerrang.com/a-brief-history-of-marilyn-manson-and-his-famous-friends
I’m not sure what your point is here. We all know the entertainment industry has no trouble looking the other way regards to women being raped and abused.
I can’t discount everybody because they happened to associate with a bad person. Hollywood, for better or worse, is an all inclusive club.
Can you discount the people who have been accused of abuse who are friends with noted abusers?
Just because somebody happens to have associated with abusers as a ‘hollywood star hobnobbing with other hollywood stars’ doesn’t mean I’d lean towards them being guilty.Its not like abuse is of airborne transmission.
Oh come on. You know a lot of people who have been accused of abuse who hang around with noted rapists?
Me personally? No, but I don’t know anybody in Hollywood or any celebrity.
I would think the preponderance of rapists and abusers who are celebrities would make one more inclined to believe accusations than not.
If I really took that dim view of people in hollywood, I wouldn’t watch any tv or movies.
“preponderance of rapists and abusers who are celebrities”This should be in reverse order. The majority of rapists and abusers are not famous. I don’t know if the opposite is true but a quick look at incarceration rates for those crimes shows that most of them can’t be celebrities. There aren’t that many.
I mean are we going to pretend that being rich and famous doesn’t make it much easier for predators to escape consequences of their actions
I suspect their point is, they were unsatisfied with the reality that only 80% of the population on social media worships Johnny Depp and sees not only his total innocence but his saintliness, and so they wanted to feebly rile up the remaining 20% of the population who thinks he may not be that saintly. In other words, a shitty troll.
They forgot David Lynch…
https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Manson-David-Lynch-Genealogies/dp/386984129X
kill yourself
Found the #himtoo asshole.
He looks like a past his prime porn star. The pony tail, the rings, the old man glasses and the suit that clearly fit him better a few years and inches ago.
She’s doing satire I imagine
Sadly no, read the replies
Wow. I assumed it had to be satire because it was so cringey. Even in the totally superficial sense, Depp doesn’t look good. He looks bloated and frumpy. And the male ponytail has a shelf life as your hairline gets worse with age.
Holy FUCK the cringe…
They both sound like an absolute fucking nightmare who should’ve never been anywhere near each other – surely they have/had friends who took either of them to one side to tell them how fucking stupid them being together is?I’ve got friends – both male and female – who have been in relationships that simply turned then into absolutely horrible people. And they got told to their face to sort their shit out. It’s awful, but you gotta tell these people for their own good.
“I’m not some maniac. Just a guy using the blood from my severed finger to write about lies my wife told me, as one does.”
One of these days, one of these media articles is going to acknowledge that Heard is on tape admitting she regularly hit Depp.
kill yourself
Virginia court house —> Virginia courthouse3-hour long testimony —> three-hour-long testimonyhowever he said Heard’s telling —> however, he said Heard’s tellingloaded all the time.” he added —> loaded all the time,” he addedDepp opened about the volatile arguments —> Depp opened (up?) about the volatile arguments“nervous breakdown” he said —> “nervous breakdown,” he said
kill yourself
You correcting her writing is racism.
Vagina cunt house3-inch long testescombover he said I heardloaded all the time . . . loaded all the timeDrop open the vaginal accoutrementsnervous breakdown x 19I am . . . I said
This is a serious case, and only Disney Plus gets a double “Here’s everything” on the AVC homepage?
Here’s everything our headine generating algorithm told us to put on our front page
Stop posting this screenshot on multiple articles like you uncovered the world’s greatest conspiracy. It’s a one-off glitch that only you saw. I spend all day on the AVC homepage and never saw this.
I was listening to SXM POTUS and one of the shows that was on during his testimony the first day, played some of the live feed of him talking. It was painful to listen to. I had to turn the channel to something else. He was talking like his Hunter S. Thompson movie character, but 4 times slower. I was internally screaming “Spit the fucking words out!”.
He’s a weird with a beardo.
Nothing. You “need” to know nothing about these two dumpster fire people and their trial.
The weird thing is that, in a court of law in the UK, Depp has been proven he is just as much of an abuser as Heard (alledgedly for her).So…not sure how a US court of law is going to side with him any differently. Or if they do why they would.
No, Depp has been proven to be an abuser in court, Heard has not. That simple.
UK courts of law will also fine you for making mean Facebook comments lol not the mark of a reasonable legal system.
I think a bad PR person and/or his lawyer told him he needed to be seen “winning” a case like this somewhere to restore his reputation. But each country has different standards for their litigation so who knows. One strategy seems to be to try and wow the jurors by having a bunch of celebrities testify how awesome he is, which in our stupid country is likely to work. Ultimately I think this is a power move to bully someone into submission with litigation using his extreme wealth advantage to his favor, a play straight out of the ex-President Fucking J. Moron playbook. (full disclaimer, she is obviously nuts and I think they abused each other.)
Oh, how disappointing.I expected a gag article, with a blank under the heading, ala “The Wit & Wisdom of Spiro T Agnew”.
I like the part where he tries to make writing accusations in his own blood sound normal. That is… wow
I was hoping this article would be completely blank as nobody outside the courtroom needs to know anything about this.
the video of him trashing his kitchen and the psychotically violent texts he sent his friend Paul are all you need to know about this stinky hillbilly
Both my Brother in Law and myself have been victims of domestic abuse by our ex wives. This public conversation and the complete dismissal that men can suffer from abuse is not fun to relive.
He’s a pos junkie. She’s a scumfuck manipulative nutjob. If you’re unsure how credible her side of the story is – look into her partner.
The case seems to be such a fixation for people because it troubles the intuitive heuristic principle, believe victims, without suggesting any easy rule to replace it with. The prosecution of public opinion has evidently shifted from accept Heard’s testimony, Depp’s an abuser to “well, they’re both toxic, fucked up people.”
If only Depp is found to be at fault, detractors will claim that even with evidence of the female partner abusing the man, men are disproportionately targeted legally. If only Heard is found to be at fault, dissenters will claim that rich and powerful men are still protected from consequence.If both parties are assigned a portion of legal blame or penalty, either camp will take it as a vindication of their stance and maintain Depp is only being charged while Heard is clearly at fault out of culturally motivated considerations, or that Heard is only being charged when Depp is clearly at fault because of the pernicious influence of money, celebrity and patriarchy. Doesn’t look like anyone is coming out of this a winner.
no one is coming out of this a “winner” and in fact Depp will lose a LOT more having more details about this sordid affair made public, but Heard’s career already had a shorter window and is probably done based on the horrifying animus against her. No matter what happens here, as in most divorce cases, Depp (the guy) will eventually come out of it well ahead of her in every sense. Hollywood will welcome him back as they did Mel Gibson because they can see from this trial Depp has a surprisingly large and rabid fan base, so get ready for more shitty Pirates of the Caribbean sequels LOL.
Depp is innocent. Heard is guilty. All you need to know.
So at the very least we know that these two people should have never met let alone got married. Ugh!
looks like Johnny is getting himself ready to play Ron Jeremy.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trialI was expecting the article to be completely blank and open directly up into the comment section.
Not only is Johnny Depp stealing Manuel Giusti from On Cinema fame’s look, but Depp is also desperately attempting to recreate the Trial of Tim Heidecker. Not impressed, Joy Boy.
I hate how people think cases involving celebrities are somehow relevant to normal people in somewhat similar situations. Nothing that happens to Johnny Depp or Amber Heard will make any difference to abusers or victims of abuse no matter their gender. OJ ran from the cops thirty years ago and did not get his tires or himself shot, was not rammed or Pitt maneuvered, did not get highway carpet thrown out and was not beaten as he was being arrested. The LAPD hasn’t rolled out the red carpet like that for a Black man accused of murdering a white woman since that time.Celebrities are not normal people and what happens to them has as little to do with us as the sordid doings of the Olympians had to do with the farmers and herders of ancient Greece. A source of amusement, a morality play and not much more.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trialNothing. You don’t need to know anything. I’d post the Simpsons tumbleweed GIF here, but my work computer is being difficult.
it’s a wonder anyone sues anyone for defamation in the US any more, because holy shit can they dig into ANYTHING and make it public knowledge. I feel like a really good PR person would have told him to take the hit in the UK, disappear for a while, and then come back to Hollywood’s open arms like Mel Gibson, it’s not like he’s gonna go hungry in the meantime, he got fucking $16 million for 2 days of work on the last Potter movie; instead the world is going to know in precise detail how fucked up his childhood was.
“Although the actor is not explicitly named in the article, Depp and his
lawyers attest Heard’s writing contains a “clear implication that Mrs
Depp is a domestic abuser.”
So shouldn’t his mom be the one suing for defamation then?
You guys have been radio silent on this today.