The widely publicised Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial is one for the history books.
And, now that a precedent has been set, I won’t be surprised if more celebrity couples pursue a similar path of justice.
In Hollywood, when relationships sour, there is perhaps a handful of scandalous stories around it and then deathly silence as everyone moves on or is gagged by an NDA.
For Depp and Heard, rumours of domestic abuse heightened interest around their divorce, where she was awarded $7 million in the settlement.
According to the recent trial, she pledged the money to two charity organisations but is yet to follow through with the payment.
The couple met when they were filming the 2011 movie “The Rum Diary”. They tied the knot in February 2015 and divorced in 2017.
This isn’t the first time Depp went to court to defend himself.
In 2018, he brought a libel lawsuit in the UK against News Group Newspapers (NGN), publishers of “The Sun”, for calling him a “wife-beater” in an April 2018 article.
Judge Andrew Nichol ruled in the publication’s favour in November 2020, as the reference was found to be “substantially true”.
In February 2019, Depp sued Heard for $50m for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for “The Washington Post” in December 2018.
And in August 2020, she countersued him for $100m, alleging that he orchestrated a harassment campaign on Twitter, which placed two of her work commitments, one in a film and the other a beauty campaign, in jeopardy.
The former couple’s dirty laundry was aired in the trial. Everything from substance abuse, toxic fights and gaslighting to poo on the bed was brought up during the trial.
On Wednesday, June 1, Depp won the defamation lawsuit and Heard was to pay him $15 million (R233m) in damages. She was also awarded $2 million in compensatory damages for her counterclaim.
Several hours after the verdict was delivered, Discovery’s TLC announced it will be airing a two-part documentary, “Johnny vs Amber”.
It is a deep dive into the recent legal battle, including in-depth interviews with the lawyers from both sides.
The documentary also includes video footage, photographs, text messages and audio recordings as submitted by the couples into evidence.
The show airs on Sunday, June 5, at 9pm with a repeat on Saturday, June 11, at 10.55pm.
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