Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial news summary: 13 June 2022
Depp vs Heard: latest updates
Depp v Heard aftermath headlines
- Heard tells first interview since trial: I don't blame the jury
- Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck announce album and European tour
- Depp lawyer Camille Vasquez made a partnerat law firm Brown Rudnick
- Depp tipped for return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean franchise
- Heard intends to appeal trial verdict, lawyer says
- Depp Dior ad triumphs on primetime as fashion house stands by their man
- Depp memorabilia, including a Harely from Cry Baby, to be auctioned
AS USA articles related to Depp v Heard:
Heard: I don't blame jury
In an excerpt from her first interview since losing her defamation suit and counter-suit to Johnny Depp (see post below), Amber Heard says she doesn’t blame the jury for finding against her.
“I don’t blame them, I actually understand,” Heard told the Today Show, in an interview to be aired in full on Friday. “He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor."
Heard also complained about the role social media played in the trial. "Even somebody who is sure I’m deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I’m lying, you still couldn’t tell me - look me in the eye and tell me - that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation," she told host Savannah Guthrie. "You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair."
We have also put together an overview of some of the more unusual scenes witnessed in the Depp v Heard trial in Fairfax County, Virginia. They include an attorney objecting to his own question, Johnny Depp appearing to fall asleep, the judge calling a lawyer a "snarky guy"... and much more besides. AS USA's Will Gittins takes a look back.
AS USA's Jennifer Bubel has taken a look back over some of the crucial moments in the six-week Depp v Heard trial.
Recommended listening: the impact of courtroom TV cameras
Today’s edition of the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast discusses the impact on the Depp v Heard trial of the judge’s decision to allow television cameras inside the courtroom.
Host Nosheen Iqbal spoke to Guardian columnist Moira Donegan, who said: “The impact of cameras being in the courtroom meant that Amber Heard had to describe what she says were incidents of domestic and sexual violence on television. That’s tortuous.
"And the cameras also allowed clips from the trial to be taken out of context, manipulated, commented upon, all in real time, while the jury […] was also able to see all that misinformation. I think it was a tremendously poor decision.”
Meanwhile, Paul Thaler, a journalism professor at Adelphi University in New York, said: “Television really created this eye view into the trial, and now every single participant on social media is a jury member, each pronouncing their own verdict, millions and millions of jurors stating the guilt and innocence of whoever is on trial.”
Amber Heard speaks to Today
Amber Heard has given her first interview following the verdict in her defamation lawsuit against Johnny Depp, which will be aired on Friday on NBC's Today show. The network has now released a trailer for the interview.
Amber Heard's sister, Whitney Henriquez, shared a message of support for the actor on social media after the verdict was delivered:
‘I still stand with you, sissy. Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors. We knew that this was going to be an uphill battle and that the cards were stacked against us. But you stood up and spoke out regardless.
‘I am so honored to testify for you, and I would do it a million times over because I know what I saw and because the truth is forever on your side.
‘I’m so sorry that it wasn’t reflected in the decision made by this jury, but I will never give up on you, and neither will anyone who stands with you. Forever by your side… #istandwithamberheard’
Amber Heard interview to air on Friday
The New York Post reports that Amber Heard will give her first interview since the trial on Friday on NBC's Today show, in which Heard will discuss the social media campaign waged against her.
Johnny Depp to make screen return in Boston George next month
Johnny Depp appears set will make a return to the screen in the form of a new docuseries about drug smuggler George Jacob Jung.
According to Deadline, Boston George is set to premiere on July 22 on Fandor, a streaming service with the actor set to appear in several interviews throughout the docuseries.
At the turn of the century Depp played Jung in the movie Blow, which was based on the story of how George Jung and the Medellín Cartel headed by Pablo Escobar, established a stronghold in the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the US.
Heard to get more time in Aquaman 2?
Amid campaigns from many quarters to boycott the future Warner Bros. Aquaman 2 movie, recent rumors suggest that Amber Heard's Mera character may secure more on-screen time. Previous reports claimed her screen time to be close to ten minutes, while the latest rumor now lists her as being in the sequel for over 20 minutes.
Heard in first public appearance since trial
Amber Heard has faced an online backlash after the trial jury delivered their verdict and has now come in for some stick from keyboard warriors for taking a private jet to New York. Heard had previously said that she cannot affored to pay the $10.35 in damages awarded to Depp, who it is rumoured may elect not to make his former wife pay.
Following the verdict delivered after the defamation trial, Depp was awarded just over $10 million in compensation, while Heard’s countersuit was awarded $2 million.
Heard appears likely to appeal the verdict and will almost certainly appeal the compensatory figures given by the jury. However it seems very likely that Depp will receive a substantial payment as a result of the case, to add to his already-huge personal wealth.
Depp Harley up for auction
A 1955 Harley Davidson Model K used by Jonny Depp in the 1990 movie Cry Baby is being put up for auction, with the bidding starting at $250,000
Johnny Depp Dior fragrance ad viewed over 100 million times
One of Johnny Depp's ads for Dior eau de toilette Sauvage was aired during the commercial break of MasterChef on Fox on Wednesday night, TMZ reports.The ad shows Depp turn up his silver Gibson Les Paul model guitar 'to 11' to strum the chords of the Troggs' hit Wild Thing on a in the middle of the desert, attracting a pack of curious wolves.
Online, the video has racked up over 100 million views.
On Wednesday it will be two weeks since the $50-million defamation case brought by Johnny Depp against Amber Heard for an opinion piece she published in The Washington Post came to an end.
The court’s decision was much lower than initially demanded by Depp’s legal team as it ordered Heard to pay $10.35 million to him in damages. There was also, though, a requirement on Depp to pay $2 million to his former wife for articles written by his publicist in The Daily Mail.
Heard inists she will mount an appeal, a process which experts say may take a year or even two to reach a conclusion.
Depp's legal team toast victory
It's probably fair to say that not many people had heard of Brown Rudnick, or indeed Camille Vazquez, before the Depp vs Heard case, but the law firm is certainly on the map now having had their profile raised considerably by the trial.
During the course of the trial one member of Depp’s legal team grew into something of a celebrity online with her sharp words to Heard and no-nonsense demeanour in court.
Camille Vasquez was seen by many to be the crucial member of Depp’s team and she has been rewarded by being promoted to partner at law firm Brown Rudnick.
Johnny Depp to play with Jeff Beck on Euro tour
Hollywood star Johnny Depp will head to a series of European cities later in June and in July to perform with British rock guitarist Jeff Beck, organisers announced earlier this week.
Performances include concerts in Helsinki (June 19), Oslo (June 24), Stockholm (June 27), Copenhagen (June 28) and Paris (July 25).
Beck appeared with Depp on a number of UK cities as part of a recent tour in England.
Jeff Beck reveals details of album with Depp
Johnny Depp, who last week won a near-total victory in a defamation suit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, and English guitarist Jeff Beck will release an album of mainly covers next month, after taking to the stage together.
Called "18", the 13-track album will be released on July 15.
"It's almost like you've been through a record store and gone jumping from one genre to another," Beck told Reuters on Friday, saying they first began working on the album at Depp's home in France.
"There's a couple of Motown, there's a couple of Beach Boy covers on ... It sounds pretty good for a home recording." Depp and Beck have recorded music since 2019 for the album, which also features two original songs by Depp, who has his own band the Hollywood Vampires. One song is about actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr.
"We slowly built songs that we just like. We didn't really make any design," Beck said.
"He has ... a very distinctive (voice) and he gets he gets music and hopefully I've enabled him to open up to some songs that he wouldn't otherwise been interested in."
Beck said: "I hope I have helped him a little bit having some kind of understanding and closeness and joking, and just keeping the fun thing going."
Beck was speaking on the sidelines of a blue plaque event honouring late guitarist Jimi Hendrix at the London Hard Rock Hotel. The building was formerly the Cumberland Hotel, where Hendrix often resided before his 1970 death.
"It was one of the biggest vacuums left in rock 'n' roll," Beck said.
Depp v Heard live updates: welcome
Good morning and welcome to our daily live blog for Monday 13 June on the aftermath of the Depp v Heard trial, in which a Virginia jury last week found that Amber Heard had defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed entitled: "I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change".
Heard was ordered to pay Depp damages of $10.35m, but also won out on one count of her defamation counter-suit against the Pirates of the Caribbean star. She was awarded $2m.