The highly publicized defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has enthralled audiences across the globe, sparking avid discussions and debates. As the dust begins to settle, Depp’s legal team looks back on the numerous challenges they faced during the highly dramatic proceedings.
For lawyers representing Depp, one of the biggest challenges was managing the actor’s temperament throughout the arduous trial. In a special that just aired called Interrogation Raw: Celebrity Under Oath, attorneys Benjamin Chew and Jessica Meyers spoke about the 2022 Virginia defamation case and their strategies for keeping their celebrity client in check.
Chew noted that humor played a significant role in Depp’s testimony as it served to tear down the serious points of contention raised by the legal team representing Heard. “Johnny’s use of humor really countered whatever serious argument Amber’s counsel was trying to make. We aimed to humanize Johnny before the jury, helping them understand that he is not capable of harming the woman he loved,” Chew said.
The lawyers were concerned, however, that he might erupt in anger on cross-examination. “We were concerned that he might blow his top,” Chew said. “The other side would do everything in their power to get him to do that. One of the key things in cross-examination is controlling the witness, and Johnny didn’t let Heard’s attorney, Ben Rottenborn, control him at all.”
Depp, 61, had sued his ex-wife Amber Heard, 38, for defamation over an op-ed she wrote discussing her experiences with domestic abuse without naming him directly. Eventually, the jury ruled in Depp’s favor, and after a settlement, Heard was ordered to pay him $1 million in damages.
But immediately after the reading of the verdict, Heard did release a statement in which she seemed to indicate just that when saying, “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still wasn’t enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband.”
Whereas he said, “Speaking the truth was something I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally achieved that.”
The two were married in 2015 at their Los Angeles home after nearly three years of dating. Their troubled marriage took a turn in May 2016 when Heard filed for divorce and was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp.
