Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard | All that for this

Am I happy or disappointed with the verdict in Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard? In truth, I expected nothing more from this trial that it would end, regardless of the verdict.

This freak show has lasted long enough: six long weeks of appalling intimate unpacking, in addition to the daily clashes on social networks between the pros and the anti Depp or Heard. Depp’s fans are much more numerous, because he is much more famous than her. Me, Depp, I discovered him handsome as a god in 1990, when Amber Heard was 4 years old, in a film by John Waters, Cry-Babyand it all looked like the most fucked by John Waters.

It was impossible to escape it. Rarely have I seen a case that arouses so much passion.

Fifteen minutes before the verdict was announced, comments on the sites where the announcement was broadcast live were exploding.

It should be remembered that this was a civil trial with a jury in a case of defamation and not a criminal trial for domestic violence, even if the testimony focused mainly on this, Heard and Depp s accusing each other of all kinds of aggression. Supporting photos and recordings. It wasn’t pretty to see or hear, but it became a very popular show.

The word “guilty” was therefore not pronounced. The jury had to determine whether or not Amber Heard had defamed her ex-husband in a column written in 2018 and published by the washington post, where she presented herself as a “public figure of domestic violence” without naming Johnny Depp. The jury concluded yes, because the actor was identifiable even without being named, and that she would have acted maliciously. He also believed that Amber Heard had been defamed in a media outlet by Depp’s lawyer who claimed that the actress’ allegations were a hoax.

In short, it’s a victory for Johnny Depp. He was claiming $50 million in damages; Amber Heard doubled the bet by asking for 100 million in return. The jury established 15 million for him, and 2 million for her. We wonder if it will be able to cover the costs of the lawyers…

“I am devastated that the mountain of evidence has not been sufficient to address the far greater power, influence and ascendancy of my ex-husband,” Amber Heard said after the reading of the verdict.

For his part, Johnny Depp was not in court to hear the verdict, but in England, where he was seen participating in Jeff Beck’s shows during the few days of deliberations. “The jury brought me back to life,” he said. “From the beginning, the goal of bringing this case to justice was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. I feel at peace to have achieved this. »

It was not so much a question of money for Johnny Depp as of reputation. Model Kate Moss, who testified, silenced a rumor that he pushed her down some stairs when they were a famous couple in the 1990s. Completely untrue, she said, and it was of course one of the highlights of this televised trial – among others for those nostalgic for the 90s generation.

But with everything we heard in court about Johnny Depp’s drug and alcohol use, the violent language he used to talk about his wife, and the closet doors he smashed when he gets angry, we wonder if a chilly studio like Disney will still want to partner with him, despite his victory.

To regain his reputation, Johnny Depp was really ready to show everything. I think that’s what got him sympathy.

The battle rested on the credibility of Amber Heard, who was basically accused of having written in an article to be a public figure victim of domestic violence. The least we can say is that it did not pass the test with public opinion and the jury. After a week or two of trial, she faced not just Johnny Depp, but all of America. While in England, Depp had lost his libel suit against the newspaper in 2020 The Sun who called him a “woman beater”.

In Quebec, a trial like that of Depp against Heard could not take place. My colleague Yves Boisvert reminds me that civil trials by jury were abolished here in 1976. It would have lasted less, the sums would not have been the same. Besides, it wouldn’t have been televised. Footage of the trial has generated a staggering amount of memes, parodies and hijackings of Amber Heard’s testimony, across all platforms. While she was still talking about domestic violence in detail. People are free to believe it or not, but I don’t know what it says about the current climate when we ridicule this kind of comments en masse to generate clicks. While the members of the jury are not sequestered and they can scroller on Twitter, TikTok or Instagram.

At the end of this trial, which I was beginning to find frankly interminable, I see nothing very transcendent to remember, nor any real winner either.