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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, in a file image from 2015. (Photo: EFE/Olivier)
The most mediatic trial in All Time, which faced Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for millionaire sums, is the final outcome of a controversial story that has put the most famous Pirate Captain and Atlantean Princess in the eye of the hurricane.< /p>
“There is a step from love to hate”, says one of the most famous sayings. And, although it may seem frivolous, a phrase that, perhaps, could be used as an epitaph to summarize the turbulent relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
A relationship which, at this point, practically everyone qualifies as toxic (although not everyone is on the same side), and in which both actors went from marriage to legal confrontations after a whole Crossing of accusations about defamation, abuse and mistreatment.
Now, after almost six weeks of a media trial, the case is closed. closed after a jury awarded Wednesday to Johnny Depp more than $10 million in his defamation lawsuit against her ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating her position that she invented ó; she that she suffered & oacute; abuse at the hands of the actor before and during his brief marriage.
At the same time, the jury also found. in favor of Heard,who said Depp’s lawyer defamed her. when you qualified the accusations of abuse of her as a hoax. The jury awarded him 2 million dollars in damages.
And, although defamation is the cause to rule, there is another trial in parallel: the public trial of those who have been following the story.
What they have is a truth that only both of them know, but several puzzles can be put together between the testimonies and evidence of each party.
+ Of them
John Christopher Depp II (58) was born in Owensboro, Kentucky on June 9, 1963. Amber Laura Heard (36) in Austin, Texas on April 22, 1986.
He has a long career behind him, including multiple roles in Tim Burton’s films and in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” or “Fantastic Animals”, among many other films.
For her part, Amber has extensive experience as a model, and has also acted in films such as “The Danish Girl” (2015), “Justice League” (2017) and “Aquaman” (2018).
Both met in 2009, when the filming of “The Rum Diary” (2011).
The couple (then only in a cinematic sense), shared a relationship with each other. several scenes, including a kiss that now, more than a decade later, the two have mentioned in the trial.
It is, in fact, one of the few details about the that they both have a similar vision. “It wasn’t the feeling of a normal scene, it was a real feeling,” Heard said during one of his statements on the stand.
“I felt it. as something that should not be felt & rdquo ;, he declared. Depp in turn, alleging that at that time they both had other partners.
And the fact is that the actor was married to actress Vanessa Paradis, with whom he has two children (Lily-Rose Melody and John Christopher III).
And Amber was dating photographer Tasya van Ree (in fact, the actress was arrested for a domestic violence altercation with her then-girlfriend, though no charges were filed and Tasya herself called the accusation “unfair.”
+ Fleeting marriage
However, both engagements came to an end: Depp and Paradis divorced in 2012, the same year that Amber and Tasya were experiencing their breakup.And, in 2013,the rumors that since then The rumors that had been hovering over Amber and Johnny were confirmed when their relationship became official.
In 2014, according to People magazine, the couple got engaged. (In fact, Amber already had an engagement ring on her finger.)
In 2015 they were married in a private civil ceremony, to later celebrate it on a private island of the actor in the Bahamas, along with his family and friends (although Lily-Rose Deep did not attend, supposedly for a reason). bad relationship between her and Heard).
The Depp-Heard link was also discussed during the trial. If at the time the witnesses told People that “it was an intimate and informal wedding on the beach, very romantic”; in the legal procedure it has been revealed that there was a strong component of drugs of all kinds. 15 months.In 2016, Amber Heard requested a divorce and a restraining order against Depp for the alleged mistreatment that he would have exercised under the influence of drugs and alcohol: “I put up with it. “Too much emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny,” the actress said in the divorce petition.
The actor the accusations and, finally, Heard withdrew the accusations. The order after reaching an economic agreement (the famous 7 million dollars that has also been discussed in court) for an amicable divorce.
+ The battle judicial
The two then released a joint statement: “Our relationship was intense, passionate and at times volatile, but always with love… Neither party has falsely accused for financial gain. did not exist never any intention to cause physical or emotional harm.” That one seemed be the end of your story.
But two years later, in 2018, Amber Herald published an article in “The Washington Post” where she recounted the story of herself defining herself as &ldquoa public figure who represents domestic violence”. And, although she did not mention the name of Johnny Depp, for many media and readers (and for the actor himself) it was not difficult to conclude that the actress was referring to him.
In 2020, Johnny Depp had a lawsuit against the British newspaper “The Sun” for calling him a “beater” of wives. The judge ruled in favor of the newspaper considering that 12 of the 14 assaults alleged by Amber Heard were “proved according to civil procedures” and concluded that the statements made by the outlet were “substantially true”, also relying on freedom of expression and the press. Heard for the art of her & Í her ass in the “The Washington Post” claiming 50 million for the alleged labor and lucrative problems that he would have faced after the article. The legal battle began.
Heard requested That claim was unsuccessfully dismissed, but her counterclaim for $100 million, alleging that the defamation had been carried out by Depp and that her career had been damaged, was admitted. .
+ The tests
“I have always harbored love for Johnny and it pains me greatly to have to relive the details of our common past before the world,” Heard on Instagram just before the trial, which began. on April 12.
Years ago audios had been leaked where Heard insulted the actor, which made some Internet users, until then mostly on the actress’s side, reconsider whether he related her It could not have been mutual abuse or even if Depp could be the real victim. Hashtags like “JusticeForJohnnyDepp” they grew up at that time.
Many of these audios have been heard during the current trial between the two actors: “I was hitting you, not beating you, grow up once and for all,” says the actress in one of them (she alleged that it had been in self-defense).
“Go and tell them that you, Johnny Depp, a man, are a victim of domestic violence and see how many believe you and take your side”, was another (Heard stated that he said it thinking about how unusual it was that he accused her after he was the violent one).
However, there are also messages from Johnny Depp that leave him in a bad place and reinforce Amber Heard’s defenders: “I hope Heard’s rotten corpse is getting better.” breaking down in the goddamn trunk of a Honda Civic” was one of them or “we are going to drown and burn the witch” and “I f****** her cad see to check that she is ok” was dead”, was another (the actor argued that it was black humor “Monty Python style”).
+ From the hastags to the courts
While the trial had First, the digital battle that had been brewing for years has been growing: the hashtags of “JusticeForJohnnyDepp” or “IStandWithJohnnyDepp” in favor of the actor, and others against Heard such as “AmberTurd” it was opposed by others in favor of the latter, such as “IStandWithAmberHeard”.
On the stand, both in person and by videoconference, paraded various witnesses from both parties: doctors, psychologists with opposing opinions, police, family and friends… Even model Kate Moss.
The latter testified in favor of Depp (with whom he had a relationship from 1994 to 1997) because he denied that he had thrown her down the stairs after Amber Heard mentioned it when, supposedly, the actor pushed her. to Ella Withney Heard’s sister: & ldquo; I instantly jumped on Kate Moss and up the stairs and lunged forward. about him”.
However, Depp accuses Heard of being the one who pushed her. To Withney (who ratified his sister’s version) and Kate Moss was blunt: & ldquo;Johnny Depp never pushed me, kicked me, or threw me; down any stairs & rdquo ;, he declared, and alleged that on the contrary: “he running to help me, he took me He came to my room and looked for me. medical attention”.
But, despite the parade of witnesses who have claimed that they never saw Depp being violent with Heard or that she was even the one verbally abusing him and é He who showed injuries, there are also several who have claimed to have seen marks of aggression on the actress.
+ Statements
Some of the most controversial statements were made by Kate James, Heard’s former assistant, who accused the actress for even spitting on her. In turn, chauffeur Starling Jenkins III has testified that Heard confessed to the crime. to be the architect of a practical joke in which she left & oacute; feces on the actor’s bed (which she attributed to dogs).
This accusation, together with that of being the alleged person responsible for Johnny Depp losing the tip of the finger of one hand when Heard threw a bullet at him. A bottle of vodka are the most notorious by the actor, who alleges that Amber also used drugs and drank often.
“I just locked myself in the bathroom. ;or” What Depp was doing to avoid the “escalation of violence that would occur if I stayed arguing”, alleging that “in her rage and anger she (Amber) hit me”.
While an alleged sexual assault by Depp on Heard using a bottle, another in which he would have looked for cocaine in his private parts, or one in which he threw a bottle of cocaine at him. a cell phone to the face; They are the most serious against the actor, added to all his addictive behavior with drugs and alcohol.
The actress declared feared for her life: “I knew I had to go. I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t survive” and claimed that & ldquo;I was very afraid that she would end badly for me& rdquo; and that “I really didn’t want to leave him because I loved him.”
+ The verdict
The evidence ranged from diagnostic reports to accusations of having He doctored the photos, going through videos that would show Heard’s infidelities with James Franco and Elon Musk, or evidence as to whether Heard promised to do anything. donate the entire 7 million to charitable causes and failed to do so.
Both sides even filed reports to support that their careers have been damaged by each other’s statements. And in turn, they refuted them with witnesses who alleged, on the one hand, that Depp’s dismissal from “Pirates of the Caribbean” it was due to his misbehavior and that Heard’s cut scenes in “Aquaman 2” is based on his lack of chemistry with his co-star Jason Momoa.
On March 27, the final arguments of the lawyers of both parties arrived (Camille Vásquez and Benjamin Chew, the most notorious of Depp’s legal team; and Benjamin Rottenborn and Elaine Bredehoft in Heard’s team).
“Give Amber Heard her voice back,” Rottenborn in his closing argument and inst & gué; the jury to “hold Mr. Depp responsible for his actions”, and concluded & gué; with one more request: “defend freedom of expression.” remind the jury that “what is wrong? at stake is the good name of a man & rdquo ;, and sentenced that “there is an abusive person in this room, but he is not Mr. Depp”, asking that “give his life back” the actor.
Because in the end, the trial is not for the causes of mistreatment or violence, but for defamation. And that is what was in the hands of the jury to decide to reach the end of this media trial.