Emma Thompson Weighs In On Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Trial Verdict

Actress Emma Thompson does not believe that the #MeToo movement is going to be derailed by the outcome of the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation case.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor had sued his ex-wife after she wrote a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post, declaring herself as a survivor of domestic abuse. Although she did not list the name of her abuser, Depp said that he lost several movie roles due to the implication that he was her abuser and sued for $50 million dollars.

Heard countersued for $100 million dollars, claiming that she also lost movie roles, including “a bunch” of scenes in the “Aquaman” sequel, after one of his attorney’s called her abuse allegations “a hoax.”

The jury only awarded the “Zombieland” actress $2 million dollars from her countersuit. They awarded Depp $15 million dollars total: $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million from punitive damages. The $5 million in punitive damages was later reduced to $350,000 dollars, the maximum allowed under Virginia State Law.

Shortly after the verdict was announced, Heard took to social media to post a statement about the ruling, calling it a “setback” for all women.

Although Johnny Depp has had a number of vocal supporters in his corner, some do support Amber Heard and are concerned about what implication this trial can have on the #MeToo movement.

While speaking to BBC’s Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4, “Years and Years” star Emma Thompson discussed what implications this jury verdict will have for survivors of domestic abuse.

In the conversation, the “Sense and Sensibility” actress said, “One of the great issues to do with that case is fame and how people who are famous are treated differently and viewed differently.”

“The #MeToo movement is not going to be derailed by that, but in order for it not to be derailed, we just have to keep on talking,” she continued. “We have to keep on talking and refuse to allow it to be derailed by a case [with] two very, very, very famous people.”

The “Cruella” actress also did not feel that the trial was “representative” of most victims of domestic violence as a whole.

“A case where the two protagonists are that famous is not representative,” the 63-year-old actress explained, adding that “it's just very important to remember that this movement — which is about human kindness and is just so simple, really, and has been made so complicated — cannot and will not be derailed by one case.”

The “Angels in America” actress has shown her support for the #MeToo movement in the past. As PEOPLE previously reported, Thompson dropped out of Skydance Animations’ animated film “Luck” in 2019 after the company hired former Pixar head John Lasseter, who had faced previous accusations of sexual misconduct while he worked for Disney Animation.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Skydance Animation CEO David Ellison defended his hiring at the time saying, “John is a singular creative and executive talent whose impact on the animation industry cannot be overstated. He was responsible for leading animation into the digital age while telling incomparable stories that continue to inspire and entertain audiences around the globe.”

After he was hired, Thompson exited the project and sent a letter to the animation company. The letter was later published in The Los Angeles Times.

“It feels very odd to me that you and your company would consider hiring someone with Mr. Lasseter's pattern of misconduct given the present climate in which people with the kind of power that you have can reasonably be expected to step up to the plate,” Thompson wrote in the letter.

“I am well aware that centuries of entitlement to women's bodies whether they like it or not is not going to change overnight. Or in a year,” she continued. “But I am also aware that if people who have spoken out – like me – do not take this sort of a stand then things are very unlikely to change at anything like the pace required to protect my daughter's generation.”