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Lead: Heard sued Depp in claims{{efn|Heard's initial filing made three claims for: personal immunity to civil liability; defamation and harassment by computer.<ref name=JCD2defvALHplait/>}} that were later focussed on April 2020 statements by Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman made to the ''Daily Mail'' ...
m →Other reactions, including effect on #MeToo: Removed stray period and added clarifying comma.
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Film critic [[A. O. Scott]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that society "may not entirely forget, but we mostly forgive" celebrities like Depp.<ref name="nyt-verdict-2">{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |date=2022-06-02 |title=The Actual Malice of the Johnny Depp Trial |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/02/arts/depp-heard-trial-malice.html |access-date=2022-06-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Sociologist Nicole Bedera, writing for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', argued that the verdict shows that "the #MeToo movement hasn't gone far enough" because "there has been very little structural change to the systems that so predictably hurt victims", as the American criminal justice system "can't promise safety or speed. It slows down survivors' healing instead of facilitating it."<ref name="time-verdict-2">{{Cite web |last=Bedera |first=Nicole |date=June 2, 2022 |title=Depp v. Heard Reminds Us That the System Is Stacked Against Survivors |url=https://time.com/6183484/johnny-depp-amber-heard-survivors-metoo/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Time |language=en}}</ref>
Film critic [[A. O. Scott]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that society "may not entirely forget, but we mostly forgive" celebrities like Depp.<ref name="nyt-verdict-2">{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |date=2022-06-02 |title=The Actual Malice of the Johnny Depp Trial |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/02/arts/depp-heard-trial-malice.html |access-date=2022-06-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Sociologist Nicole Bedera, writing for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', argued that the verdict shows that "the #MeToo movement hasn't gone far enough" because "there has been very little structural change to the systems that so predictably hurt victims", as the American criminal justice system "can't promise safety or speed. It slows down survivors' healing instead of facilitating it."<ref name="time-verdict-2">{{Cite web |last=Bedera |first=Nicole |date=June 2, 2022 |title=Depp v. Heard Reminds Us That the System Is Stacked Against Survivors |url=https://time.com/6183484/johnny-depp-amber-heard-survivors-metoo/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Time |language=en}}</ref>


Kellie Lynch, an associate professor of criminology, discussed in ''[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]'' that the trial's relation to intimate partner violence, a topic which Lynch said had many "nuances" that are "often overlooked". Lynch commented that the bidirectional violence is not necessarily "mutual abuse". and that to properly understand intimate partner violence, "one must consider the context under which the violence occurs."<ref name="the-conversation-verdict-1">{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Kellie |title=Heard v. Depp trial was not just a media spectacle – it provided an opportunity to discuss the nuances of intimate partner violence |url=http://theconversation.com/heard-v-depp-trial-was-not-just-a-media-spectacle-it-provided-an-opportunity-to-discuss-the-nuances-of-intimate-partner-violence-182843 |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref> ''Time''{{'s}} Eliana Dockterman wrote that domestic abuse is "messy and complicated", but "social media strips away nuance", resulting in the myth that victims must be "perfect", which was a standard that Amber Heard could not meet.<ref name="time-verdict-1">{{Cite web |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana |title=The Depp-Heard Trial Perpetuates the Myth of the Perfect Victim |url=https://time.com/6183505/amber-heard-perfect-victim-myth-johnny-depp/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Time |language=en}}</ref>
Kellie Lynch, an associate professor of criminology, discussed in ''[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]'' that the trial's relation to intimate partner violence, a topic which Lynch said had many "nuances" that are "often overlooked". Lynch commented that the bidirectional violence is not necessarily "mutual abuse" and that, to properly understand intimate partner violence, "one must consider the context under which the violence occurs."<ref name="the-conversation-verdict-1">{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Kellie |title=Heard v. Depp trial was not just a media spectacle – it provided an opportunity to discuss the nuances of intimate partner violence |url=http://theconversation.com/heard-v-depp-trial-was-not-just-a-media-spectacle-it-provided-an-opportunity-to-discuss-the-nuances-of-intimate-partner-violence-182843 |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref> ''Time''{{'s}} Eliana Dockterman wrote that domestic abuse is "messy and complicated", but "social media strips away nuance", resulting in the myth that victims must be "perfect", which was a standard that Amber Heard could not meet.<ref name="time-verdict-1">{{Cite web |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana |title=The Depp-Heard Trial Perpetuates the Myth of the Perfect Victim |url=https://time.com/6183505/amber-heard-perfect-victim-myth-johnny-depp/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Time |language=en}}</ref>


Tiffanie Drayton, a writer, stated to [[NBC News]] that the verdict "points to an ongoing culture that does ''not'' believe women", and sends "a very loud and clear message to survivors [of domestic abuse] like me — that we should never speak up against an abuser, especially not a famous or powerful one".<ref name="nbc-verdict-1">{{Cite web |last=Drayton |first=Tiffanie |date=June 2, 2022 |title=The horrifying domestic abuse precedent set by Johnny Depp's defamation win |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/johnny-depps-amber-heard-trial-verdict-will-devastating-chilling-effec-rcna31681 |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> ''[[The New Yorker]]'' editor Jessica Winter cited domestic violence advocates describing a [[chilling effect]] on the speech of victims of domestic violence, that they may be "disbelieved, harassed, shamed, and ostracized if they press charges or share their experiences".<ref name="new-yorker-1">{{cite news |last1=Winter |first1=Jessica |date=2 June 2022 |title=The Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Verdict Is Chilling |work=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-depp-heard-verdict-is-chilling}}</ref> Law professor Eugene Volokh of ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' acknowledged that the Depp-Heard verdict would result in a chilling effect on accurate #MeToo allegations, but argued that according to Supreme Court decisions ''[[New York Times v. Sullivan]]'' and ''Garrison v. Louisiana'', the American legal system has already "accepted the core of liability for knowing or reckless lies that damage particular people's reputations, notwithstanding the chilling effect even such reduced liability can cause."<ref name="reason-verdict-1">{{Cite web | last=Volokh |first=Eugene |title=Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Libel, and Chilling Effects |url=https://reason.com/volokh/2022/06/01/libel-and-chilling-effects/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Reason |language=en-US}}</ref>
Tiffanie Drayton, a writer, stated to [[NBC News]] that the verdict "points to an ongoing culture that does ''not'' believe women", and sends "a very loud and clear message to survivors [of domestic abuse] like me — that we should never speak up against an abuser, especially not a famous or powerful one".<ref name="nbc-verdict-1">{{Cite web |last=Drayton |first=Tiffanie |date=June 2, 2022 |title=The horrifying domestic abuse precedent set by Johnny Depp's defamation win |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/johnny-depps-amber-heard-trial-verdict-will-devastating-chilling-effec-rcna31681 |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> ''[[The New Yorker]]'' editor Jessica Winter cited domestic violence advocates describing a [[chilling effect]] on the speech of victims of domestic violence, that they may be "disbelieved, harassed, shamed, and ostracized if they press charges or share their experiences".<ref name="new-yorker-1">{{cite news |last1=Winter |first1=Jessica |date=2 June 2022 |title=The Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Verdict Is Chilling |work=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-depp-heard-verdict-is-chilling}}</ref> Law professor Eugene Volokh of ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' acknowledged that the Depp-Heard verdict would result in a chilling effect on accurate #MeToo allegations, but argued that according to Supreme Court decisions ''[[New York Times v. Sullivan]]'' and ''Garrison v. Louisiana'', the American legal system has already "accepted the core of liability for knowing or reckless lies that damage particular people's reputations, notwithstanding the chilling effect even such reduced liability can cause."<ref name="reason-verdict-1">{{Cite web | last=Volokh |first=Eugene |title=Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Libel, and Chilling Effects |url=https://reason.com/volokh/2022/06/01/libel-and-chilling-effects/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Reason |language=en-US}}</ref>

Revision as of 08:39, 6 June 2022

Depp v. Heard
CourtCircuit Court of Fairfax County
Full case name John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard
StartedApril 11, 2022 (2022-04-11)
DecidedJune 1, 2022 (2022-06-01)
Court membership
Judge sittingPenney S. Azcarate[1]
Case opinions
  • Heard found liable on all three counts of defamation against Depp
  • Depp found liable on one of three counts of defamation against Heard
  • Depp awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, but punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 per state law
  • Heard awarded $2 million in compensatory damages

John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard (CL–2019–2911)[1] was a defamation trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, that began on April 11 and ended on June 1, 2022.[2] Plaintiff Johnny Depp alleged three counts of defamation against defendant Amber Heard, each claiming US$50 million+ in damages.[3] Heard filed a counterclaim against Depp with initial claim of: personal immunity to civil liability and both defamation and harassment by computer by Depp directly or through his agents and claiming US$100 million in damages.[4]

Depp and Heard are both actors who were married from 2015 to 2017.[5] Heard filed for divorce on 23 May 2016 and obtained a temporary restraining order, alleging that Depp had been physically abusive to her.[6] The couple finalized their divorce in January 2017, with Heard receiving a $7 million settlement that she pledged to donate to charity.[7] In December 2018, Heard published an op-ed in The Washington Post, accusing her ex-husband, without explicitly naming him, of intimate partner violence.[8] The op-ed's headline stated that Heard "spoke up against sexual violence—and faced our culture's wrath".[9][10] Heard wrote in the op-ed that firstly, "two years ago" she became "a public figure representing domestic abuse", and secondly, that she was personally "seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse."[10][11] Depp denied the allegations and blamed the op-ed for damaging his reputation and career, and for causing him to sustain extensive financial losses. In return, Heard sued Depp in claims[a] that were later focussed on April 2020 statements by Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman made to the Daily Mail that, first, there was a "sexual violence hoax" by Heard against Depp; second, that Heard and her friends "spilled a little wine" in a penthouse, "roughed the place up, got their stories straight" and dialed 911 to stage a "hoax"; and third, that there was an "abuse hoax" by Heard against Depp.[9][12]

The jury ruled that the headline and the two statements made above in Heard's op-ed were false, defaming Depp with actual malice, so the jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard.[9][12] The punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.[13] For Heard's counterclaim, the jury found that the first and third of Waldman's statements were not defamatory, but also ruled that Waldman's second statement regarding Heard and her friends having "roughed" up a penthouse to stage a "hoax" was false, defaming Heard with actual malice, and thus awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and zero in punitive damages to Heard from Depp.[9][12] Her spokesman and lawyer said Heard intends to appeal the decision.[14][15]

Background

Depp and Heard's relationship

Johnny Depp (left) and Amber Heard (right)

Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard began a relationship in 2012 and married in Los Angeles in February 2015.[6] Heard filed for divorce on May 23, 2016, and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp.[16][17][18] In response, he alleged that she was "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse".[10] Heard testified about the alleged abuse at a deposition during their divorce litigation, alleging that Depp had been "verbally and physically abusive" throughout their relationship, usually while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.[19] The divorce received much publicity, with images of Heard's alleged injuries published by the media.[20]

A settlement was reached in August 2016, and the divorce was finalized in January 2017.[21] Heard withdrew the restraining order, and she and Depp released a joint statement stating that their "relationship was intensely passionate and periodically volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm."[10]

Depp paid Heard a settlement of $7 million, which she pledged to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.[22][23] The settlement also included a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) preventing either party from discussing their relationship publicly.[24]

Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd

Main article: Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd

In April 2018, UK tabloid The Sun published an article entitled: "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?"[25][10][26] In response, Depp sued News Group Newspapers, the publisher of The Sun, and then executive editor[b] Dan Wootton for libel in June 2018.[10][26] Both Depp and Heard testified in the trial, which focused on evaluating 14 alleged incidents of abuse, at the High Court of Justice in July 2020.[27][28] In November 2020, Mr Justice Andrew Nicol, sitting without a jury, found that Depp had lost his case as the allegations against him had been proven to a civil standard and were found to be "substantially true".[29][28] The verdict found that there was "overwhelming evidence" that Depp had assaulted Heard in 12 of the 14 alleged incidents and put her in fear of her life.[30][31][28][32]

After the verdict, Depp resigned from the Fantastic Beasts film series at the request of Warner Bros., its production company.[33] In March 2021, the Court of Appeal rejected Depp's request to appeal the verdict, concluding that the appeal had "no real prospect of success".[34] Lawyers for Depp had argued that he hadn’t received a fair hearing and that Heard was an unreliable witness, but the appeals judges concluded he had a "full and fair" trial, and that "the judge based his conclusions on each of the incidents on his extremely detailed review of the evidence specific to each incident ... in an approach of that kind there was little need or room for the judge to give weight to any general assessment of Ms. Heard's credibility."[34][35] According to The New York Times, the use of material from the UK trial has been limited in the US case, but the specifics have not been disclosed publicly.[31]

Heard's op-ed in The Washington Post

In December 2018, The Washington Post published an op-ed article written by Heard; it was titled: "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence—and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change."[36][10][37] In the article, Heard stated: "Two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out. ... I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse."[10][38] She further stated that as a result of this, she had lost a film role and an advertising campaign for a global fashion brand.[31] The op-ed, which identified Heard as an ambassador on women's rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, called for Congress to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act and raised concern about the changes Betsy DeVos had proposed to Title IX, which Heard argued could potentially "weaken protections for sexual assault survivors".[31][36]

Adam Waldman's comments to the Daily Mail

In April 2020, the Daily Mail published an article containing several allegations by Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman. First, Waldman stated that "Amber Heard and her friends in the media used fake sexual violence allegations as both sword and shield, depending on their needs. They have selected some of her sexual violence hoax 'facts' as the sword, inflicting them on the public and Mr. Depp".[9][12]

Second, Waldman stated that regarding a 2016 incident in Depp and Heard's Hollywood penthouse: "Quite simply this was an ambush, a hoax. They set Mr. Depp up by calling the cops but the first attempt didn't do the trick. The officers came to the penthouses, thoroughly searched and interviewed, and left after seeing no damage to face or property. So, Amber and her friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist, and then placed a second call to 911."[9][12]

Third, Waldman stated: "We have reached the beginning of the end of Ms. Heard's abuse hoax against Johnny Depp."[9][12]

Trial

In February 2019, Depp sued Heard over her December 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post.[3][39][40] Depp claimed that Heard's allegations were part of an elaborate hoax against him and repeated his allegation that Heard had been the one who violently abused him.[3][40] In August 2020, Heard countersued Depp including the allegation that he had coordinated "a harassment campaign via Twitter and [by] orchestrating online petitions in an effort to get her fired from Aquaman and L'Oréal."[4][41] The trial was held at the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia with this county being chosen due to its being the location of the servers of The Washington Post's online edition.[42]

Pre-trial developments

In October 2020, the judge in the case disqualified Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman from representing Depp after he leaked confidential information covered by a protective order to the media.[43] Following the verdict in Depp's lawsuit against The Sun the following month, Heard's lawyers filed to have the defamation suit dismissed; however, Judge Penney S. Azcarate ruled against it because Heard had been a witness, not a defendant in the UK case; the facts alleged were different (Heard's allegedly defamatory statements were made after the English case commenced); and the parties had not been subject to the same discovery procedures as in the United States.[44] In August 2021, a New York judge ruled that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had to disclose documents related to Heard's charity pledge to the organization.[45][46] The ACLU would later sue Depp for $86,000 as their charge for producing the documents.[47]

The trial began with jury selection in Fairfax County, Virginia, on April 11, 2022.[48] Actors Paul Bettany, James Franco, and Ellen Barkin were mentioned as having been expected to testify.[49] According to a source close to his legal team, Tesla and SpaceX CEO and Heard's now ex-boyfriend Elon Musk was originally listed as a potential witness; however, he made the decision not to testify in the trial.[50]

Opening statements

Opening statements were made on April 12, 2022. Lawyers representing Depp accused Heard of making up domestic abuse accusations about Depp to further her career, saying that Heard made the accusations because Depp had asked for a divorce.[49] They argued that while Heard's 2018 op-ed did not mention Depp, it was clear by implication that it referred to him, and that Heard's writing in that article ("two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse") was a reference to her May 2016 restraining order request, in which she claimed that Depp had physically abused her. Depp's lawyers discussed Heard appearing in public with a bruised face on May 27, 2016, accusing her of staging the injury, citing that Depp had not met her since May 21, 2016, and witnesses did not see her with the injury immediately after May 21, 2016.[38]

Heard's lawyers claimed that Depp had physically and sexually abused Heard on multiple occasions during their relationship, usually triggered by his addiction to alcohol and drugs.[38][49][51] They accused Depp of seeking to "humiliate Amber, haunt her, wreck her career" with the Virginia lawsuit, and to turn the case into a "soap opera".[49] They further argued that the First Amendment protected Heard's right to express her views in the op-ed, which was mostly focused on a broad discussion of domestic violence and did not specifically mention Depp's name. Finally, Heard's lawyers stated that the allegations had not changed Depp's reputation, as they had become public knowledge two years prior to the op-ed, and that Depp had instead ruined his career in Hollywood himself with his drinking and drug use; this made him "unreliable" in the eyes of film studios.[38][51]

Testimony

Main article: Testimony in Depp v. Heard

Closing arguments

Heard's legal team maintained two main arguments, that Depp did abuse Heard, and that even if he did not abuse her, the op-ed was not libelous as it did not mention Depp by name nor directly address her allegations against him.[52] They told jurors to "think about the message that Mr. Depp and his attorneys are sending to Amber and victims of domestic abuse". "If you didn't take pictures, it didn't happen", Benjamin Rottenborn, a lawyer for Heard, said. "If you didn't seek medical attention, you weren't injured." He claimed Depp "cannot and will not take responsibility. ... It's all somebody else's fault." He told jurors that "if Amber was abused by Mr. Depp even one time, then she wins."[53] Rottenborn accused Depp of "victim blaming at its most disgusting".[54]

Depp's legal team has maintained that Heard was the abuser in their relationship and that Heard's allegations against Depp were untrue and had ruined his life.[52][53] They asked the jurors to "give him his life back".[55] "You either believe all of it or none of it. Either Mr. Depp assaulted Ms. Heard with a bottle in Australia, or Ms. Heard got up on that stand, in front of all of you, and made up that horrific tale of abuse", lawyer Camille Vasquez told the jury. "An act of profound cruelty not just to Mr. Depp but to true survivors of domestic abuse."[55] Vasquez told the court that Heard "came into this courtroom ready to give the performance of her lifetime ... and she gave it."[53]

Vasquez also argued that Heard "burns bridges" and "her close friends don't show up for her", because according to Vasquez, apart from Heard's sister, every other person who testified on behalf of Heard was a "paid expert", whereas in contrast many witnesses showed up to testify for Depp in court.[56][57]

Jury deliberations

After closing arguments were made by both Heard's and Depp's legal teams, jury instructions were agreed upon.[58] Judge Penney Azcarate instructed that the jury must find all of the following to determine that Ms. Heard was liable for defamation for each statement in question (and must find similarly regarding the statements made by Mr. Depp):

Ms. Heard made or published the statement; the statement was about Mr. Depp; the statement is false; the statement has a defamatory implication about Mr. Depp; the defamatory implication was designed and intended by Ms. Heard; due to circumstances surrounding the publication of the statement, it conveyed a defamatory implication to someone who saw it other than Mr. Depp; and, as proven by clear and convincing evidence, that Ms. Heard made the statement with actual malice (i.e., with knowledge that her allegations were false, or with reckless disregard for whether they were false or not).[58]

Jury deliberations began at around 3:00 p.m. on May 27. They closed deliberations for the day around 5:00 p.m., resuming on May 31, after Memorial Day weekend.[52][59] Deliberations concluded on June 1. The verdict was set to be announced at 3:00 p.m.,[60][61] but there were delays due to the jurors not filling out the damages section on the verdict.

Verdict

The jury found that, for all three statements from Heard's 2018 op-ed ("I spoke up against sexual violence – and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change", "Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out", and "I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse"), Mr. Depp had proven all the elements of defamation,[c] that they were false, defaming Depp with actual malice.[9][12] The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard.[62][63] The punitive damages, however, were reduced to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.[13]

In regard to Heard's counterclaim, the jury found the second of the three of contested statements that Depp's former lawyer Adam Waldman's had published in the Daily Mail to be defamatory and that, for this statement ("Quite simply this was an ambush, a hoax. They set Mr. Depp up by calling the cops, but the first attempt didn't do the trick. The officers came to the penthouses, thoroughly searched and interviewed, and left after seeing no damage to face or property. So Amber and her friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist, and then placed a second call to 911"), Ms. Heard had proven all the elements of defamation,[d] that this statement was false, defaming Heard with actual malice.[12][63][64] Regarding the other two contested statements ("Amber Heard and her friends in the media use fake sexual-violence allegations as both a sword and shield depending on their needs. They have selected some of her sexual violence hoax 'facts' as the sword, inflicting them on the public and Mr. Depp" and "We have reached the beginning of the end of Ms. Heard's abuse hoax against Johnny Depp") the jurors concluded that Heard's attorneys had not proven all the elements of defamation.[9][12][63] Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages from Depp but with no punitive damages.[9]

Reactions

To the trial

The trial drew much attention from supporters of both Depp and Heard, as well as the general public.

Social media

The trial was livestreamed, with the comment section being compared by some reporters to a Twitch or VMA stream instead of a news channel.[65] Users in the stream chat expressed opinions about the case or rallied against others doing the same, with similar comments and memes about those involved and the case seen on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.[66][67][68] Clips of the trial were used to create memes as well as compilations or reaction videos, with multiple such videos going viral.[69] Journalist Amelia Tait of The Guardian referred to the case as "trial by TikTok" and stated that on social media, the case had become "a source of comedy".[70] This was also noted by other journalists at BuzzFeed News,[71] The Independent,[72][73] and Vanity Fair.[74] Those posting about the trial on social media seemed to mostly support Depp,[75][76][77] and against Heard.[78][79] According to Sunny Hundal of The Independent, most of these images and videos portrayed Depp as "smiling, happy or making other people laugh", whereas "Heard is always pictured as angry or crying".[80] One video, a supercut of Heard's lawyer's repeated objections to Depp's testimony had gathered 30 million views on TikTok, and 15 million views on YouTube as of April 29, 2022.[81] Other viral TikTok trends included videos where users act out Heard's testimony, or make "aroused facial expressions" over her testimony of sexual abuse.[70][80] The claim that Heard was passing off film quotes as her own thoughts was debunked,[82][83] as were claims that she was using cocaine on the stand.[84][85] Two of Heard's expert witnesses, psychiatrists Dawn Hughes and David Spiegel, had their WebMD profiles targeted by negative comments following their appearances during the trial.[86][87]

In 2016, Newsweek conducted a review of tweets that used the actors' names and were liked at least 100 times, finding about 36 tweets that backed Amber Heard or disparaged Johnny Depp, versus only two in support of Depp. Since April 19, 2022, a similar study found that at least 509 tweets had been posted and met the criteria of the 2016 study, with a vast majority giving support to Depp.[88][89] BuzzFeed News reported that, between April 25 and 29, 2022, there were 1,667 posts uploaded to Facebook using the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp, with over 7 million total interactions, i.e. likes and shares between them. Meanwhile, Heard comparatively only had 16 posts in support, with 10,415 interactions. Additionally, on TikTok, videos tagged with #JusticeForAmberHeard have over 21 million combined views, while videos tagged with #JusticeForJohnnyDepp have over 5 billion combined views as of April 29.[66]

Data collected by Newswhip from April 4 to May 16, 2022, indicated that news articles about the trial had generated more social media interactions per article in the United States than all other significant news topics, including the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, inflation, or Elon Musk.[90] Data from SimilarWeb showed that entertainment news websites such as People, Us Weekly, and the New York Post saw traffic increases of between 9–22% for the month of April 2022 compared to April 2021, as a result of the trial.[90] Law&Crime, which broadcast the trial, had a 50× increase in daily viewership on their app compared to before the trial; the president of the Law&Crime network, Rachel Stockman, stated that the consumption of coverage of the Depp v. Heard trial was significantly higher than that of the trial of Derek Chauvin in June 2021.[90] From the above, Axios concluded that Depp v. Heard "stands out as the first major trial to go viral in the TikTok era".[90]

In May 2022, an investigation by the media non-profit The Citizens and Vice World News found that the conservative website The Daily Wire had spent between $35,000 and $47,000 on Facebook and Instagram advertisements to promote misleading information about the UK trial.[91]

Camille Vasquez

Further information: Camille Vasquez

Throughout the trial, many focused their attention on Johnny Depp's legal team, particularly Camille Vasquez.[92] On day 16 of the trial, Vasquez cross-examined Heard, with at least one video of the cross-examination going viral. A TikTok video which shows Heard responding to a comment made by Vasquez to the court, as if it were a question, when no question had yet been asked, received over 1.2 million views and 109,000 likes, as of May 22. Many of the comments under the video are from users praising Vasquez, and her articulation and legal understanding.[93] Supporters created fan pages on TikTok and Instagram, with some garnering tens of thousands of followers. On TikTok, the hashtag #Camillevasquez has over 2.3 billion views.[94][95][failed verification]

After her cross-examination of Heard, Vasquez hugged Depp.[94] On May 18, a reporter from Splash News attempted to question Vasquez about rumors of her and Depp dating, with the reporter claiming that the rumors were all over the Internet, with Vasquez laughing off the comment.[95] It was later posted to TMZ.[96] Sources "connected to Camille Vasquez" expressed that the pair are "definitely not dating".[94]

Some criticized Vasquez for discrediting and not believing Heard, while others championed Vasquez for standing up for male victims of domestic abuse.[97]

Companies

Companies also involved themselves in the social media discussions about the trial. During the opening statements, one of Heard's attorneys held up a compact concealer makeup palette, stating: "This is what Amber carried in her purse for the entire relationship with Johnny Depp. This was what she used. She became very adept in it", appearing to be holding Milani Cosmetics' Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit palette, though the wording may be interpreted as relating to a generic example of a compact.[98] Following this, Milani Cosmetics posted a video on TikTok that stated that Heard could not have used their specific product to cover any alleged bruises during her relationship with Depp as it had not been released until December 2017—eleven months after the pair's divorce.[99] Sellers on Internet marketplaces like Redbubble and Etsy had also begun selling merchandise related to the trial, including T-shirts and mugs such as with the slogan "Justice for Johnny".[70][100] Law professor Mary Anne Franks said that she encountered many forms of online misinformation about the trial despite trying to avoid reading about the trial, and raised the possibility of the unsequestered jury members being influenced by them.[101] Paula Todd, a lawyer and media professor, suggested that the unsequestered jury members would not listen to the judge's instructions to avoid accessing online coverage of the trial.[102]

Court spectators

Due to the fact that only 100 spectators could be selected each day, a color coded wristband system was implemented with a fresh round of wristbands released each day at 7:00 am.[103] Crowds outside the courthouse would cheer Depp on his arrival, while heckling and booing Heard. On the fourth day of the trial, two Depp supporters were removed from the courtroom when it was discovered that they had made death threats towards Heard online.[104]

In the final week of the trial, a woman was removed from the courtroom after she stood up and yelled to Depp: "This baby is yours!" and claimed to be his soulmate.[105] A court spectator had previously removed himself after being unable to control his laughter during the trial.[106]

One fan repeatedly brought two alpacas in a reported attempt to brighten Depp's day before and after court, with other fans reportedly interacting with the alpacas.[103] This was in response to Heard's lawyer agreeing with Depp that he would not work on another Pirates of the Caribbean film, even if Disney offered him $300 million and one million alpacas.[107]

Broadcast

Amanda Hess, a critic writing for The New York Times, opined that the broadcasting of the trial "is an invitation for the proceedings to be deliberately, even gleefully tailored to a viewer’s whim", with Internet platforms like TikTok and YouTube being "practically built to manipulate raw visual materials in the service of a personality cult, harassment campaign or branding opportunity."[108] Hess states that the "internet livestreaming of the trial has created its own virtual sport", as viewers can provide their own commentary for the livestream, but this "gives viewers the illusion that they can somehow influence the outcome of the case".[108]

Ian Sherr and Erin Carson of CNET wrote that social media algorithms kept providing coverage of the trial to the public "because even if we weren't interested, our friends probably were"; "social feeds may start showing you only pro-Depp videos and posts, because that's what the apps think you'll want."[109] Sherr and Carson cited media professor Paul Booth saying that social media can be "problematic ... when you lose that kind of critical focus on it and you start thinking that the rabbit hole [in social media] you've gone down is the whole world, and you lose perspective on everything else."[109]

Shannon Keating, a culture writer and editor for BuzzFeed News, wrote that the "social media frenzy around this case was clearly fueled by savvy PR", as well as bots and conservative media advertising.[110] She criticized how "lots of people have happily accepted the propaganda as sacrosanct", with Depp having "clearly already won in the court of public opinion".[110]

Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic wrote that the immense public attention of the trial was partly due to Depp and Heard being "famous people locked in a stunningly lurid battle".[111] Goodykoontz criticized social media's coverage of the trial, stating that "Depp and Heard are real people with real problems, after all, not just meme fodder and hashtag subjects", and that the "vile nature of some of the misogynistic tweets and TikTok videos posted about Heard were toxic masculinity at its worst".[111]

To the verdict

Depp's reaction

Depp reacted to the result of the trial by declaring that the "jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled."[112] Depp also stated that he was "overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world". He continued: "I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up."[113] Depp also highlighted "the noble work of the Judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point", and praised his "diligent and unwavering legal team" for "an extraordinary job".[114]

Heard's reaction and plans to appeal

Within minutes of the verdict, Heard released a statement that she was "heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband".[115] She described the verdict as a "setback" for women, elaborating that it "sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated", "sets back the idea that violence against women should be taken seriously", and also expressed sadness that "I seemed to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly."[115]

After the trial, a spokeswoman for Heard said she planned to appeal the decision.[14][116] Heard's lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, said that Heard "absolutely" could not pay the damages she owed to Depp, has "excellent grounds" for an appeal, and would "absolutely" appeal.[15][117]

Other reactions, including effect on #MeToo

Celebrities such as Sherilyn Fenn, Sharon Osbourne, Jordan Pruitt, Naomi Campbell, and Ashley Benson expressed support for Depp after the verdict.[118]

Ronnell Andersen Jones and Lyrissa Lidsky of Slate commented that Depp v. Heard showed that "defamation lawsuits do not always dislodge disinformation from public dialogue. In this case, the lawsuit just created more." According to Jones and Lisky, the result was that the trial failed to "do what defamation law is supposed to: protect anyone's reputation."[119]

Dan Novack of The Atlantic, a media lawyer, argued that the verdict concluded a "fair trial" and was not a markedly different interpretation of the First Amendment, which he says remains "enormously protective of media reporting on credible accusations of sexual abuse. It is telling that Depp did not name the ACLU ... or The Washington Post."[120]

Film critic A. O. Scott wrote in The New York Times that society "may not entirely forget, but we mostly forgive" celebrities like Depp.[121] Sociologist Nicole Bedera, writing for Time, argued that the verdict shows that "the #MeToo movement hasn't gone far enough" because "there has been very little structural change to the systems that so predictably hurt victims", as the American criminal justice system "can't promise safety or speed. It slows down survivors' healing instead of facilitating it."[122]

Kellie Lynch, an associate professor of criminology, discussed in The Conversation that the trial's relation to intimate partner violence, a topic which Lynch said had many "nuances" that are "often overlooked". Lynch commented that the bidirectional violence is not necessarily "mutual abuse" and that, to properly understand intimate partner violence, "one must consider the context under which the violence occurs."[123] Time's Eliana Dockterman wrote that domestic abuse is "messy and complicated", but "social media strips away nuance", resulting in the myth that victims must be "perfect", which was a standard that Amber Heard could not meet.[124]

Tiffanie Drayton, a writer, stated to NBC News that the verdict "points to an ongoing culture that does not believe women", and sends "a very loud and clear message to survivors [of domestic abuse] like me — that we should never speak up against an abuser, especially not a famous or powerful one".[125] The New Yorker editor Jessica Winter cited domestic violence advocates describing a chilling effect on the speech of victims of domestic violence, that they may be "disbelieved, harassed, shamed, and ostracized if they press charges or share their experiences".[126] Law professor Eugene Volokh of Reason acknowledged that the Depp-Heard verdict would result in a chilling effect on accurate #MeToo allegations, but argued that according to Supreme Court decisions New York Times v. Sullivan and Garrison v. Louisiana, the American legal system has already "accepted the core of liability for knowing or reckless lies that damage particular people's reputations, notwithstanding the chilling effect even such reduced liability can cause."[127]

Constance Grady of Vox declared that the verdict represented the beginning of the "backlash" to #MeToo, and rejected the argument of Depp's supporters that his victory was an "expansion" of #MeToo to "believe all victims, including male victims". While she said there was evidence that both Depp and Heard had been violent, Grady argued that "Depp had power over Heard that she did not have over him".[128] Miles Klee of MEL Magazine said "the trial had dangerously shifted the terrain of post-#MeToo rhetoric", and set a precedent for "a blueprint for how men in can weaponize their accusers' statements against them".[129] Angie Speaks, writing for Newsweek, stated that the verdict "seems to spell the end of the #MeToo movement's edict that we #BelieveAllWomen", while criticizing the "disregard the [#MeToo] movement has shown for the importance of due process".[130] Conservatives, and particularly conservative women, reacted to the verdict by celebrating what they perceived as the end of #MeToo.[131]

Tarana Burke, founder of #MeToo, disagreed that the verdict had tanked #MeToo, stating that people had been judging #MeToo's success on whether legal decisions went in their favour despite a legal system that failed to ensure "justice and accountability", while Burke judged #MeToo as a success because it had helped "millions" of abuse survivors to come forward.[132] Winter Wheeler, an arbitrator and mediator, disagreed that the verdict was "a referendum on #MeToo long term", opining that people who believed it to be so were possibly unaware of certain evidence in this case. Wheeler further opined that this trial "was definitely not a situation where blind faith and belief in an alleged victim was the right way to go".[132] Leading #MeToo lawyer Debra Katz described the trial as having unique celebrity, "dysfunction" and "craziness", but judged that the Depp v. Heard verdict was less "consequential" to #MeToo compared to Harvey Weinstein losing his appeal for his rape conviction the next day.[101]

Notes

  1. ^ Heard's initial filing made three claims for: personal immunity to civil liability; defamation and harassment by computer.[4]
  2. ^ Victoria Newton was The Sun's editor-in-chief while Dan Wootton served as Executive Editor.
  3. ^ For the three claims the jury found that Mr. Depp had proven all the elements of defamation: that Mr Depp had proven by a greater weight of the evidence that: the statement was made or published by Ms. Heard; the statement was about Mr. Depp; the statement was false; the statement had a defamatory implication about Mr. Depp; the defamatory implication was designed and intended by Ms. Heard; due to circumstances surrounding the publication of the statement, it conveyed a defamatory implication to someone who saw it other than Mr. Depp; and that Mr. Depp had proven by clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Heard acted with actual malice.[62]
  4. ^ The summary question asked to the jury regarding each of Heard's claims was, "Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven all the elements of defamation?" In the case of Heard's second claim, the jury answered "yes" to this question within context that their "yes" answers were then immediately revealed for the following questions: "Has Ms. Heard proven by the greater weight of the evidence that: question - Mr. Waldman, while acting as an agent for Mr. Depp, made or published the statement?"; "question - the statement was about Ms. Heard?"; "question - the statement was seen by someone other than Ms. Heard?"; "question - the statement was false?"; "Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven by clear and convincing evidence that statement made by Mr. Waldman was made with actual malice?"[64]

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