Johnny Depp verdict: Actor’s popularity plummeted after Amber Heard trial, poll shows

After an explosive six-week libel trial followed by millions on social media and live TV, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard each face an uphill battle: trying to rebuild their images and careers.

Depp already has a head start, with a jury verdict Wednesday largely favoring his narrative, that his ex-wife defamed him by accusing him of abusing her.

“Depp has a hill to climb. Heard has a mountain to climb,” said Eric Dezenhall, a crisis mitigator in Washington with no involvement in the case.

Donald Trump Jr launched a social media attack on Amber Heard as his father was being publically skewered by the January 6 committee.

During a tense prime-time hearing on Thursday night, the House panel directly blamed former President Donald Trump for the 2021 insurrection, which they said was an “attempted coup”.

Mr Trump Jr apparently wasn’t paying attention to what was unfolding at the hearing, as took to Instagram to post an image with the words “believe all women? Really? All of them? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve Amber Heard”.

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The legal team for Johnny Depp has denied the accusation from a spokesperson for Amber Heard who said the attorneys were taking a “victory lap” by making TV appearances following their client winning a blockbuster defamation case.

Attorneys Camile Vasquez and Ben Chew were grilled by Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday morning in one of their first televised interviews since their client emerged victorious in his defamation case against his ex-wife.

Johanna Chisholm reports:

Johnny Depp’s popularity has fallen among US adults, following his legal victory against ex-wife Amber Heard in a high-profile defamation trial.

Depp had sued Heard for $50m (£40m) for allegedly implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. She pursued a $100m (£80m) counterclaim.

After six weeks of testimony and three days of deliberation, on 1 June, the jury sided in favour of Depp, finding Heard liable for defamation.

While the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s overwhelming popularity on social media amid and after the trial painted a picture of rising favorability for Depp, the data tells a slightly different story.

Inga Parkel reports:

Following the verdict in the dueling defamation suits filed by Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, the op-ed at the centre of his claim against her has been amended.

The Washington Post has added an editor’s note to the article bylined by Ms Heard and originally published in both print and online on 18 December 2018.

No, really.

Harriet Williamson writes:

It’s all gravy in Deppland, and well it might be. The “global humiliation” he promised his ex-wife is complete. Abuse has rained down on her on every conceivable platform, blanketing social media like a biblical plague. Heard’s facial expressions, gestures and mannerisms have been dissected and rubbished by armchair detectives, her testimony mocked with filters and by TikTok users mimicking and mugging at the camera.

Forget locusts, darkness, hail, water turning to blood – try being an unpopular woman testifying against a popular man.

Camille Vasquez has been elevated to partner at her firm Brown Rudnick following the key role she played as a member of Johnny Depp’s legal team during the defamation trial against Amber Heard.

Ms Vasquez became one of several unexpected celebrities at the trial through her tough cross-examination of witnesses and frequent objections to defence counsel questions.

Johnny Depp‘s lawyer Camille Vasquez has once again shut down rumours that she is dating her client.

Depp’s supporters created memes portraying Vasquez as Marvel’s Thor, and even posted TikToks set to romantic music of the pair holding hands and talking closely.

In a recent interview with People, Vasquez addressed the fan and tabloid speculation over whether she was in a romantic relationship with the Pirates of The Caribbean star.

“I guess it comes with the territory of being a woman just doing her job,” she said.

“It’s disappointing that certain outlets kind of ran with it or said that my interactions with Johnny – who is a friend and I’ve known and represented for four-and-a-half years now – that my interactions in any way were inappropriate or unprofessional. That’s disappointing to hear.”

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