Johnny Depp, 58, has been going in and out of courts for the past two years. First, for his libel case with The Sun, which he unfortunately lost. And secondly, for his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard for writing lies about the actor in her 2018 op-ed. Although Heard never actually named Depp, her words gave away that she was talking about him, leading to a $50 million defamation case.
It, in turn, has led to Depp being boycotted by Hollywood. He was recently made to leave Warner Bros famous franchise Fantastic Beasts. Moreover, his latest release, Minamata, has also been suffering because of this boycott. Although the movie has been released in the UK, it hasn’t been given a release date for the US. This has affected the actor adversely as he has dedicated an enormous part of his life to Hollywood. He said:
“Some films touch people, and this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things. And for anything … for Hollywood’s boycott of me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?”
In the movie, Depp plays the role of a photojournalist named W. Eugene Smith. He visits Minamata, Japan, in the 1970s, where mercury poisoning has had drastic effects. Unfortunately, the movie isn’t able to progress very well. Because of Depp’s personal life drama.
Johnny Depp Files Defamation Case
In December 2018, Heard wrote an op-ed and published it. Here she mentioned how she had been a victim of domestic abuse. Although she didn’t name the 58-year-old actor, her words pointed at him.
So, three months later, Johnny Depp filed a $50 million defamation case against her. While filing for the lawsuit, Depp’s lawyers had said:
“Mr Depp never abused Ms Heard. Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016. They were part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms Heard and advance her career.”
The 2016 statement was about the previous settlement that both the parties had made regarding the same issue of domestic violence. At that time, an official announcement was also released that Depp was not an abuser. And still, somehow, two years later, Heard targeted Depp through her op-ed.
Amber Heard’s Plea to Dismiss Case
Since Johnny Depp lost his libel case in November 2020, Heard has tried to get her way through it. She filed a plea to let go of the lawsuit, which is filed in Virginia as both the cases revolve around Depp being an abuser.
Fortunately for Depp, Fairfax County Chief Judge Penney Azcarate refused to accept the plea and told the case would proceed in April 2022. According to the judge, although both the lawsuits are based on abuse, the words used by The Sun and Amber Heard are pretty different.
The judge, Azcarate, passed a ruling which said:
“[Heard] argues she was in privity with The Sun because they both had the same interest in the case. However, for privity to exist, [Heard’s] interest in the case must be identical to The Sun’s interest. The Sun’s representation of its interest is also a representation of [Heard’s] legal right. The Sun’s interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false. [Heard’s] interests relate to whether the statements she published were false.”
Appreciating the Judge’s ruling, Depp’s lawyer said:
“The Court’s decision most gratifies Mr Depp.”
We look forward to how the lawsuit ends. And how will Hollywood react if Johnny Depp wins the case and vice versa?
