A legal and media saga rich in sordid details, the trial between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has caused a lot of ink to flow since April. While it should finally end on Friday, with a verdict announced in the following days, here is a catch-up summary of this scandalous affair.
The genesis of the conflict
Johnny Depp, 58 years old and huge Hollywood star, and Amber Heard, 36 years old and notably known for her role as Mera in Aquamanwere in a relationship between 2012 and 2016. The couple married in 2015.
As early as 2016, Amber Heard, however, filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order that prevented Depp from approaching her. The actress then alleged that due to his drug and alcohol abuse problems, Depp had a tendency to become violent.
The couple reached an agreement, the restraining order was lifted and the divorce was formalized in 2017. In December 2018, Amber Heard wrote an opinion piece in the washington post in which she describes herself as a “public figure representing domestic violence”. Without ever naming her ex-husband, she clearly refers to it. A month after the publication of this text, Johnny Depp decides to sue her for defamation and claims 50 million dollars in damages. In response, Heard filed a counter-claim and seeks $100 million while claiming to have been physically and sexually abused.
The course of the trial
A true show trial, each day in court since April 11 has been broadcast live on the specialized channel Court TV. The sessions, held at the Fairfax County Courthouse in Va., each morning drew hundreds of people who lined up to get one of the 100 seats available in the courtroom.
During the six-week trial, both actors strenuously denied each other’s accusations. Depp notably claimed that he had “never hit a woman in his life” and that Heard had inflicted verbal and sometimes even physical abuse on him during their years of relationship. Depp’s team also presented the jury with a photo of the actor with a bruise on his face, which would have been caused by a blow from Heard.
For her part, Heard insisted on her ex-husband’s excessive drug and alcohol consumption. She accuses him of repeatedly sexually assaulting her and raping her once. His team submitted several photos of his bruised face.
A few celebrities testified or nearly testified at trial. Model Kate Moss was called to the stand and denied an allegation that Depp pushed her down the stairs when they were a couple in the 1990s. Businessman Elon Musk, who maintained a brief affair with Heard, and comedian James Franco, with whom she worked, were both scheduled to testify in support of the actress, but ultimately waived their attendance.
Sleazy details
Many sordid details that surfaced during the trial helped make it go viral. Depp, for example, accused his ex-wife of having defecated on their marital bed. Heard, for her part, insisted on the excessive consumption of cocaine and MDMA by her ex-husband.
Another incident did not fail to react: in 2015, Depp lost the tip of one of his fingers while the couple was in Australia. He attests that Heard had thrown a bottle of vodka in his direction, causing the injury, but Heard rather asserts that he had voluntarily cut his finger to write messages on the wall with his own blood.
During that same altercation, Heard also recounted a particularly shocking episode in which Depp allegedly raped her using an empty bottle.
Public opinion
Public opinion is unequivocally leaning in favor of Johnny Depp. According to washington post, the #JusticeforJohnnyDepp has garnered more than 15 billion views on Tik Tok while its equivalent for Amber Heard has only garnered 51 million views. Even on the spot, in Virginia, the majority of the spectators in front of the courthouse hold signs displaying pro-Johnny Depp slogans.
Possible consequences
Johnny Depp claims 50 million dollars while Amber Heard claims 100 million. Regardless of which party decides in favor of the jury, the latter may modify these amounts upwards or downwards.
Several observers are also worried about the traces that this trial will leave on the movement #MeToo and on the trust placed in women who claim to be victims of domestic violence, so much public opinion leans strongly in favor of Johnny Depp.