Johnny Depp’s $50,000,000 defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard is entering what is expected to be its last week of testimony, and it has been a rollercoaster of emotion from start to this almost-finish.
The trial has lasted more than a month and captivated a global audience as both Depp and Heard have testified in dramatic fashion against each other. The crux of the case rests on a 2018 op-ed authored by Heard for the Washington Post in which she discussed the domestic abuse she suffered in the past, according to CBS News.
Depp believes the op-ed cost him a lucrative career, but Heard’s team countered that Depp lost his own career after consistently bad behavior, CBS continued.
Amber Heard Details Alleged Abuse From Johnny Depp https://t.co/W9NW9np0kg
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 5, 2022
Did you know that Heard didn’t actually name Depp in the op-ed? She’s also counter-suing Depp for $100,000,000, claiming that he and his legal team defamed her when they denounced her claims against him as a “sexual violence hoax,” according to iNews.
One point in the case that many seem to have missed is that a British court found that calling Johnny Depp a “wife beater” was “substantially true” in 2020, after Depp sued The Sun newspaper for doing just that. The outlet won the case following four days of testimony from Heard, but that hasn’t stopped the likes of Paul McCartney and Bill Burr throwing their weight behind Depp as this latest trial captivated headlines.
Even Chris Rock, the victim of a fairly unprovoked and public attack from Will Smith, reportedly said, “believe all women, believe all women … except Amber Heard.” I can’t help but worry what these kinds of statements will do for women in abusive, toxic relationships. It’s certainly not going to make it easier for victims to come forward, as they’ll be compared to Heard for years to come.
While most people, including Joe Rogan, have used the word “crazy” to describe Heard, iconic radio legend Howard Stern saw between the lines of Depp’s behavior throughout this exhausting battle. Stern called Depp a narcissist, arguing that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is trying to talk his way out of the case.
“I think Johnny Depp is a huge narcissist and what I mean by that is, he figured, ‘I’ll put this on TV and because I’m so persuasive and because I’m so smart, I’m such a wonderful guy,'” Stern said on his show. Perhaps he’s right.
Perhaps he’s not.
Howard Stern Loses It Over Depp’s Televised Trial Against Amber Heardhttps://t.co/expOS9sVJH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 26, 2022
The revelations throughout this case prove one thing: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had a toxic relationship, and both seem unwilling to let it go. We’ve seen everything from speculations of an affair between Heard and actor James Franco, a dog allegedly sh*tting in their bed, a reported cavity search, to bizarre financial dealings between the pair.
It’s only a matter of time before either one or both of them has to sell their life-rights to Hulu, Netflix, or whatever studio wants to turn this sordid love affair into a hit show. The odds of either of them working again in the near future seem pretty low. (RELATED: Politico Suggests Angelina Jolie Might Be ‘Jane Doe’ In FBI Lawsuit Involving Domestic Violence)
The whole thing is sad, painful to watch, and probably shouldn’t have been televised. Both actors are going to be remembered for these six weeks of their lives, and not the incredible entertainment they brought us in the years before. They’re reliving their trauma for the world to see, and it’s like watching a car crash in slow motion, one that you could have stopped at any time.