EXPLAINED: Fate of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial spectacle
Experts are split on who will win the Depp-Heard trial after six weeks of courtroom chaos, and a last ditch plea from Amber Heard. Here’s a recap.
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In her final testimony Amber Heard sobbed as she described relentless online attacks during her court battle against Johnny Depp. “I am harassed, humiliated, threatened every single day,” the actress said. “People want to kill me, and tell me every day.”
Heard, 36, said some had even said they wanted to put her year-old daughter in a microwave. “I am a human being,” she told the jury in Fairfax, Virginia, in the last moments of a protracted trial adding that the online mockery of her testimony was “agonising”.
After seven weeks the jury of seven has retired to consider its verdict on one of the most acrimonious disputes in Hollywood history.
Depp, 58, sued Heard for defamation over a 2018 article in The Washington Post in which his former wife described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. His lawyers say his reputation was damaged even though the article never mentioned his name.
Heard filed a US$100 million counterclaim against Depp after his lawyer called her allegations a hoax. Since the trial began last month, social media attacks on Heard have intensified.
On TikTok, hashtags critical of Heard have drawn billions of views. Edited videos and memes claim everything from her being drunk and taking drugs in the courtroom, to just straight out lying on the witness stand.
Depp followers have lionised his lawyer Camille Vasquez, and hinted at a romantic connection between Depp and Vasquez.
Woman against woman has been part of the spectacle.
When the model Kate Moss appeared to support Depp this week, negative sentiment towards Heard increased by 40 per cent and positive reaction towards Depp increased by 50 per cent.
There are double the number of profiles taking part in pro-Depp or anti-Heard conversations compared with anti-Depp or pro-Heard discussions.
During closing arguments last Friday, the rival legal teams offered wildly different portraits of a relationship gone horribly wrong.
Vasquez, representing Depp, said Heard “ruined his life by falsely telling the world that she was a survivor of domestic abuse. We ask you to give Mr Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr Depp is not the abuser Ms Heard said he is, and hold Ms Heard accountable for her lies,” she said.
Benjamin Rottenborn, representing Heard, said Depp was trying to use the jury as an “accomplice” in ruining Heard’s life. He said that if Heard was abused once then she should win.
He also returned to “vile” texts Depp wrote about burning Heard and abusing her corpse. “These words are a window into the heart and mind of America’s favourite pirate,” Rottenborn said, referring to the actor’s role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. “This is the real Johnny Depp.”
Some experts say Heard overacted on the stand but will win because of evidence of real abuse. Other experts say there will be no winners because both Depp and Heard’s careers are in ruins.
The lowdown and what happens next
Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for US$50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post, in which she referred to herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”, but did not mention Depp by name.
He alleges that the piece damaged his reputation and career, including being dropped from Primates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts movie franchises, as she referenced the period of time they were together.
A court agreed that it was clearly implied that Depp was the abuser, and found the defamation trial could move forward in Fairfax County, Virginia – where The Washington Post has its printing press.
Heard filed a US$100 million counterclaim alleging Depp’s layer called her claims false.
These are the viral moments, the face-palm errors, and likely outcomes after six weeks of courtroom chaos.
Timeline of key moments
2009: Depp and Heard met on the set of The Rum Diary. The same year, Heard was arrested over physically assaulting her girlfriend Tasya van Ree. The charges were later dropped.
2011: They become a couple in late that year, or possibly early 2012, according to a court filing.
2012: Depp announces his separation with Paradis, who he dated for 14 years and had two children, Lily-Rose, in 1999, and John Christopher, in 2002.
2014: Heard is seen with an engagement ring, which Depp appeared to confirm in an interview by calling “a chick’s ring” on his finger “probably a dead giveaway”.
2015: They married in a private ceremony at their LA home.
2015: The couple brings their two Yorkshire terroirs to Australia, breaching biosecurity laws, and they later release an apology video.
2015: While in Australia, the pair got into a violent argument in which Heard is alleged to have thrown a vodka bottle that severed Depp’s finger.
2016: On May 23, Heard filed for divorce on May 23 and get a restraining order against Depp four days later, accusing him of physical abuse. On May 21, she alleges, Depp threw his phone at her. Police said an investigation found no crime.
2016: On August 16, a $7 million settlement was reached after Heard withdrew a domestic violence restraining order. The couple releases a joint statement saying “neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”
2017: Divorce is finalised a year later, with the pair signing a nondisclosure agreement and Heard keeping the Yorkshire terriers in the split. Depp kept his cars, properties, and a private island.
2018: Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post claiming she was a victim of domestic abuse, without mentioning Depp by name.
2018: Britain’s The Sun newspaper publishes a story calling Depp a “wife-beater”.
2019: Depp sues Heard for $50 million for defamation.
2020: The Daily Mail releases phone recordings where Heard admitted to “hitting” Depp.
2020: Depp sues News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, over libel for its 2018 “wife beater” story. The court ruled against Depp in November, but a three-week trial revealed allegations of Heard punching Depp, defecating in his bed, and having affairs with Elon Muck and James Franco, which Heard denies.
2018: Four days after losing the trial, Depp is asked to leave Fantastic Beasts 3, and he is replaced as Grindewald by Mads Mikkelson. He was also denied the right to appeal the ruling in the libel case, and ordered to pay $841,733 for their legal fees.
2021: In January, Heard countersues Depp for $100 million.
2022: On April 11, the trial begins in Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia
Most talked about statements from Depp and Heard
Depp said he painted a picture with a bloody severed finger, which he lost after a fight where Heard allegedly threw vodka bottles across the room.
“The blood had dried as it were, and so I stuck my finger into a can of paint and also mineral spirits to put my verbal messages onto the wall.”
Heard speaking to Depp on a recording about his alleged abuse.
“By the way, my family, my friends, everyone around me saw all the bruises, a broken blood vessel under my eye, bruises on my head, the missing chunks of hair, the split lip, the black eye, the swollen nose,” she said.
In a recording played to the court, Heard tells Depp to go public about their relationship.
“Tell them, I, Johnny Depp, I’m a victim of domestic abuse … and see how many people believe or side with you.”
Depp’s lawyers asked him what he responded to Heard.
“I said, ‘Yes, I am,’” Depp said in the final statement of testimony.
In a video of an argument, Depp is seen slamming cabinets and pouring out a so-called “mega pint” of wine out before he sees the camera.
“Want to see crazy, I’ll give you [expletive] crazy. I got your crazy. All you’re crazy,” he said on the video. In court, he added: “Clearly I was having a bad time … I did assault a couple of cabinets but I did not touch Ms Heard.”
Discussing the “mega pint”, Depp laughed about the “very large glass”. “Isn’t Happy Hour any time,” he said when questioned about early drinking.
Depp on being “roundhouse punched” and getting a bathroom door kicked into his head.
“I was completely taken aback by such a corrosive horrific move,” he said.
Depp said he took cocaine a few times with Marilyn Manson.
“I once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so that he would stop talking so much,” he said.
Depp alleged Heard defecated in their bed and left it there while she went to Coachella. She blamed the dog.
“That was as absurd and grotesque and cruel and then I was shown a picture of what the problem was,” Depp said.
Amber Heard said she has been harassed and received death threats during the trial.
“People want to kill me, and they tell me so every day. People want to kill my baby in the microwave, and they tell me that,” she said.
Kate Moss came to the defence of Depp to dispel rumours he abused her in the 1990s.
“No. He never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me down any stairs,” she said.
revealed that he was abused by his mother as a child.
Mistakes and unforced errors
The few unforced errors during the trial have come from the defendant’s side of the courtroom.
Heard’s lawyer Adam Nadelhaft, meanwhile, appeared to object to his question when trying to strike something from the record.
Her other lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, called her client Laura Amber Heard instead of her real name, Amber Laura Heard.
Most significantly, Amber Heard mentioned Kate Moss unprompted, allowing lawyers to call the supermodel in defence of Johnny Depp.
Celebrities drawn into the trial
Kate Moss made a rare public appearance to defend her ex and dispel rumours he abused her during their relationship in the 1990s.
Elon Musk, who Heard dated briefly, came up for making one of the donations she promised from her divorce settlement to the ACLU.
James Franco was named for once inquiring about bruises on Heard’s face and an alleged affair between the two. Video appeared to show the pair in an elevator together going up to her penthouse apartment.
Marilyn Mansion was mentioned for his excessive talking during cocaine sessions, with Depp saying he had to give him a pill to keep him quiet.
Paul Bettany was featured in text messages from Depp saying “Let’s burn Amber!!!”
Ellen Barkin, Depp’s sexual partner while filming Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, testified he was “drunk all the time”.
Likely outcome of the trial
As it is a civil suit, neither are facing any criminal charges and either outcome will result in legal fees and damages.
Legal experts predict the jury could be unsympathetic to whoever loses. The winner will have to prove they have lost the amounts being claimed in damages.
If Depp wins, the jury may award more or less than the $50 million he is seeking.
If Heard wins, she will not have to pay the damages and she could receive damages of her own over her $100 million counterclaims that she was defamed by having her allegations called false.
The judge has already rejected a motion by Depp’s lawyers to dismiss her countersuit.
If Heard loses, she could appeal the decision in a higher court, as could Depp, though his appeal would likely not succeed without any new evidence or testimony.
Impact on career and what’s next for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
Depp has already been dropped from major film franchises as a result of Heard’s allegations, including Fantastic Beasts and Pirates of the Caribbean.
While Heard’s role in Aquaman 2 was reduced, the trial revealed it was due to her lack of chemistry with Jason Momoa.
Regardless of the outcome, the public airing of their dirty laundry has already shifted public sentiment with celebrities like Drew Barrymore apologising to Depp for their initial reactions to Heard’s abuse allegations.
Depp is set to return to the big screen in a French-language movie about King Louis XV, his first feature film since 2020’s Minamata.
Heard, meanwhile, is set to appear in Aquaman 2 in 2023 and is in post-production of the thriller, In the Fire. She is also expected to appear in Run Away with Me. It’s unclear what role she will play in the upcoming DC movies beyond Aquaman.
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