From the director of The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes comes Depp v Heard. This documentary series directed by Emma Cooper. Depp v Heard examines the infamous defamation case that captured the world’s attention as the first Trial by TikTok, and questions the nature of truth and the role it plays in our modern society.
From April 11 to June 1, 2022, the John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard trial, held in Fairfax County, Virginia, ruled on allegations of defamation between Depp and Heard. Depp, as plaintiff, filed a complaint of defamation against defendant Heard claiming $50 million in damages; Heard filed counterclaims against Depp claiming $100 million in damages. In May 2016, at an early stage in their divorce proceedings, Heard claimed that Depp had abused her physically, which he denied. In a separate libel trial in England, in which Depp sued News Group Newspapers Ltd over an article published in The Sun, the presiding judge ruled against Depp. Several legal experts suggested that Depp had a smaller chance of winning in the US trial compared to the UK trial. In the Virginia trial, Depp's claims related to a December 2018 op-ed by Heard, published in The Washington Post. Depp claimed Heard caused new damage to his reputation and career. Heard's counterclaims included allegations that Adam Waldman, Depp's former lawyer, had defamed her in statements published in the Daily Mail in 2020. Throughout the trial, Depp's legal team sought to disprove Heard's abuse allegations and to demonstrate that she had been the instigator, rather than the victim, of intimate partner violence. Heard's lawyers defended the op-ed, claiming it to be factual and protected by the First Amendment. The jury ruled that Heard's op-ed references to "sexual violence" and "domestic abuse" were false and defamed Depp with actual malice and awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard, although the court reduced the punitive damages to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law. They also ruled that Waldman had defamed Heard by falsely alleging that she and her friends "roughed up" Depp's penthouse as part of an "ambush, a hoax". They awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages from Depp. After the trial ended, Heard put forth motions to set aside the verdict, but was unsuccessful. Then, both Depp and Heard appealed against the respective verdicts. In December 2022, both parties reached a settlement and dropped their appeals, with Depp's lawyers stating that Depp would receive $1 million from Heard. The livestreamed trial attracted large numbers of viewers and considerable social media response. The majority of the social media response was sympathetic to Depp and critical of Heard. The trial renewed debates around topics relating to domestic violence, the #MeToo movement, and women's rights, although some commentators were more skeptical of the trial's long term implications.
It makes for a very disjointed viewing experience that draws you in with the trial footage and how it’s edited, then kicks you right back out with the mostly idiotic social media commentary that added nothing but noise to the whole trial.
Simon says Depp v Heard receives:
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