Actor Johnny Depp has been making headlines due to his defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
The couple is facing each other at the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is suing his ex-wife for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post where she claims that she is a domestic violence survivor. Although she did not mention Depp by name, he claims that he has lost movie roles due to the “clear implication” that he was the “Aquaman” actress’ abuser. Heard is countersuing for $100 million dollars.
The trial has been going viral online, with fans making comedic TikTok videos containing hilarious moments of a trial that puts a spotlight on a very serious issue.
Johnny Depp Fans Create Hilarious TikTok Videos Of Court Testimony
One video was shared by Chris J. Carr, who wrote, “Apparently Johnny Depp is a better lawyer and still a d— national treasure.” The video was seen over 200 thousand times and generated thousands of reactions from fans.
“I was a fan before, but now, I think I’m in love with the man,” one fan commented.
“His responses have been on point! #TeamJohnnyDepp,” another added.
“He is smarter than I thought he was,” another wrote.
“I’ve been following this case on YouTube,” another shared. “Johnny Depp is hilarious. He put that attorney in his place!! What a legend Johnny is. I love his laugh.”
“I love his calm demeanor along with his dry sense of humor answering those stupid questions by the lawyer!” another wrote. “I would have died laughing in that courtroom.”
More Johnny Depp TikTok Videos Surface On Reddit
“I’ll never get tired of seeing Depp clowning on this dumbnut,” one user commented on Reddit.
“This dumbnut is clowning himself. He asked Depp a question and then objected on hearsay to his own question, to which the judge was like ‘but it was your question’ and he stutters and fumbles and doesn’t know what to say,” another replied. “Also you cannot make this up, the dumbnut’s name is Rottonborn. A very fitting name.”
“It’s hilarious but also smart af what Depp is doing,” another user noted. “A defamation case like this one is really about the court of public opinion. He doesn’t need money from her, what he wants is for people to know he is innocent, not just the jury, the world. The more farcical this trial becomes the better it is for Mr. Depp and he knows this.”
“I don’t think lawyers are used to dealing with actors who are professionals at improv…” another noted.
“I think they’re trying to go for a strategy of just annoying and frustrating Depp in order to get an aggravated outburst from him on the stand,” another user ventured. “All the interrupting, and stupid lines of questioning and objections, it’s all just trying to get him to lose his cool. But I think his lawyer knows this and has coached him on staying absolutely cool, passive, and personable.”
However, some users think that Depp is going to lose the trial regardless.
Can Johnny Depp Actually Win His Defamation Lawsuit?
One user admitted, “I’m not a lawyer, and haven’t really seen anything outside of the memes.
does Amber actually even have a chance? The judge clearly doesn’t respect their side, the jury surely doesn’t either, the public is against her, how much of a case is there left?”
“She’s probably going to win for a few reasons: primarily is that it’s extremely difficult in the US to prove defamation of a celebrity (Depp lost the case against the Sun regarding this and UK isn’t even as strict),” another user wrote. “Also some of the evidence being used against her (some of the videos/audio conversations) could be used in a very similar countercase of defamation, which the court will take into consideration.”
“But like the other comment said, it doesn’t matter,” they continued. “Depp has already won in every way that he probably cares about, he won’t take a settlement without a payout, and Heard is very likely done in Hollywood – people are already boycotting Aquaman 2 and it hasn’t even come out yet.”
It seems that at least one legal professional agrees with that statement. Daniel Gutenplan, entertainment litigator, defamation expert, and a partner at Enenstein Pham & Glass, told PEOPLE that Depp is facing an “uphill battle” in winning his lawsuit against his ex-wife.
“In terms of the trial in Virginia right now, I think Johnny Depp has an uphill battle,” Gutenplan told the publication. “Defamation is very hard to prove. First and foremost, truth is an absolute defense to any defamatory statement. So regardless of the alleged defamatory statement, if a defendant can establish that it is true, the defense is going to win.”
Gutenplan agreed that the op-ed “doesn’t detail any specific alleged events or any specific conduct. It is incredibly general in that regard.” He added that winning a defamation case “has to be based on facts” and said, “It can’t be based on opinion. And that’s where a lot of defamation plaintiffs get in trouble.”
