Depp v. Heard: Personal Injury Lawyers Weigh in on Hollywood’s Trial of the Year

By: Melanie Nguyen

The Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial is shaping up to be the most publicized trial of the year… maybe even decade? Certainly, thousands of people are tuning in and commenting on live footage streamed on YouTube. The comments scroll by so fast; I can’t even read them. As true pop culture devotees and plaintiff personal injury lawyers, Ruby and I thought it would be fun (and hopefully informative) to do a mini podcast series about the trial and our thoughts.

Remember.. Johnny Depp is the plaintiff, and he filed the $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard alleging that she lied in her 2018 op-ed about the fact she experienced domestic abuse.  In response, Amber Heard countersued alleging that Johnny coordinated a campaign aimed at smearing her.

For Johnny Depp to prevail, he needs to prove that Amber Heard acted with actual malice when she made the vague comment that she was a domestic abuse victim. He also needs to prove that Amber Heard’s 2018 op-ed caused him to lose $50 million dollars.

The first episode introduces JD and AH and discusses their background and relationship. It’s impossible to give all the intimate details of their relationship in a short podcast– so here’s a great article detailing that information. We talk about the defamation claim and what exactly Johnny Depp needs to prove to win.

Part 1

Our second episode is a casual discussion of our hot takes/commentary on Johnny Depp, his lawyers and the evidence introduced.

Part 2

In our third episode we talk about the halftime (Rule 50) motion – a motion the defendant can file to dismiss claims they allege the plaintiff was unable to support after they completed introducing all the evidence in their case.

Part 3

In the works, we have episodes about the objections, our hot takes from Amber Heard’s case in chief, and the verdict.

Tune in and let us know what you think! If you want to watch along with us, here’s the link we watch.