(CNN Spanish) — the judgment of Johnny Depp contra Amber Heard entered the final stretch: the juries are already deliberating. Did the actress smear Depp by claiming she had become a figurehead for domestic abuse? These are the keys to understanding the possible scenarios.
What does the jury rule on?
In December 2018, Heard wrote an op-ed for the daily The Washington Post titled “I spoke out against sexual violence and faced the wrath of our culture. that has to change“, in which she wrote: “I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s anger at women speaking out.”
Depp sued her for $50 million claiming that, although the actor is not named, “the op-ed was clearly (and was consistently characterized as such by other media outlets) about the alleged victimization of Mrs. Heard after she publicly accused to her ex-husband, Johnny Depp for domestic abuse in 2016, when she appeared in court with an apparently battered face and obtained a temporary restraining order against Mr Depp on May 27, 2016.”
And he claims Heard’s accusations caused him financial losses, including being cut from future “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies after being the face of the franchise for 15 years.
To analyze the case the seven jurors heard more than 100 hours of testimony, including the long statements of Depp and Heard, who accused each other of verbal and physical abuse. The evidence also included text messages and recordings of conversations.
What were Depp and Heard trying to prove?
The final arguments of the actors’ legal teams show what they wanted to prove. On Heard’s side, that there was indeed abuse by Depp; and on Depp’s side, that the fact that Heard presented herself as a figure representing domestic abuse is defamatory and that she was the abuser.
The actress’s lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, said Depp simply can’t prove to them that he never abused Amber.”
“A ruling against Amber here sends the message that no matter what you do as a victim of abuse, you always have to do more. No matter what you document, you always have to document more. No matter who you tell, you always have to tell to more people. No matter how honest you are about your own imperfections and your own shortcomings in a relationship, you have to be perfect for people to believe you. Don’t send that message.”
The message from Camille Vasquez, Depp’s popular lawyer, was through another channel.
“What Ms. Heard testified in this courtroom is the story of too many women,” said attorney Camille Vasquez. “But the overwhelming evidence and the weight of that evidence shows that it is not his story. It is not Ms. Heard’s story. It was an act of profound cruelty, not only to Mr. Depp, but to the actual survivors of domestic abuse. For Ms. Heard to present herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. It is untrue, defamatory and caused irreparable harm.”
There are two antecedents to take into account in the analysis of the scenarios.
1. Amber Heard’s legal actions
In 2019, Heard filed a motion to dismiss the case against him detailing multiple instances of alleged verbal and physical abuse. The motion, which a Depp lawyer called a “hoax”, was dismissed.
During the trial, the lawyers of the protagonist of “Aquaman” requested that the case be annulled, but the judge rejected the request.
In turn, the actress filed a $100 million counterclaim against Depp that is ongoing.
2. Johnny Depp’s defeat against The Sun
Depp sued News Group Newspapers and Dan Wootton, executive editor of The Sun, for libel over an article alleging the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star had been violent towards Heard when they were dating. In November 2020, a British court ruled in favor of the newspaper.
The case centered on a 2018 column in The Sun that criticized author JK Rowling for supporting Depp’s involvement in the “Harry Potter” spin-off “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” referring to the actor as a “wife beater”.
The column, written by Wootton, read in the headline: “How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ to cast wife beater Johnny Depp in new Fantastic Beasts movie?”
As part of their evidence, the newspaper’s lawyers detailed 14 alleged incidents of physical abuse by Depp, which took place in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Australia and elsewhere between 2013 and 2016, according to the trial ruling.
Depp has denied all incidents of abuse, but the judge accepted that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of violence used to support the article did in fact happen.
Whatever happens, both will face another trial: that of public opinion
Whatever the verdicts in Depp’s $50 million lawsuit and Heard’s $100 million counterclaimsomething else is certain: the fate of their respective races it will be decided in the court of public opinion, according to Hollywood insiders.
Whether fair or unfair, the outpouring of support Depp has received on social media during the trial —especially on TikTok— may come in handy in the future, a veteran publicist who has known Depp for years told CNN.
Another top Hollywood publicist, who has not worked with either Depp or Heard, said none of their pictures have done well.
“Both are highly dysfunctional. Money is toxic and greed destroys. Nobody wins here,” said this publicist.
You can read this full analysis here.