Johnny Depp Victory: Why Airing Defamation Trial Live Could Help Actor Win the Case
Johnny Depp reportedly has an advantage now that his defamation trial against Amber Heard is being broadcast live.
The world saw the first part of Depp and Heard's legal battle through Court TV and heard statements and testimonies related to the case. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor is seeking $50 million from Heard due to the op-ed the actress penned for The Washington Post in 2018.
The piece, where she talked about domestic violence, reportedly caused Depp to lose his titular roles, including Captain Jack Sparrow in "The Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise and Gellert Grindelwald in "Fantastic Beasts."
Experts recently weighed in and called the live defamation trial a legal circus due to the public engagement with the estranged couple's legal battle.
Although the live stream provides fans and supporters of both camps access to know the truth, experts said that having cameras inside the court seemingly affects their behavior.
Paula Todd, a journalism professor at York University, told CBC News that Depp gives a "lesson in acting" whenever he takes the stand. She also noted that the public does not get access to the trial for entertainment purposes.
"It's being broadcast because we have the right to a public court system," she explained. "I do think it's helping [Depp]. I do think it's engendering public sympathy for him, because people like him as a performer."
For what it's worth, Depp made the court and the trial viewers laugh through his ill-advised jokes. One of which involved Marilyn Manson, saying that he gave him a pill so he would stop talking "so much."
Johnny Depp, Amber Heard's Case Could Discourage Abuse Survivors
While Depp and Heard's case could support domestic abuse victims to also speak up, the trial could reportedly cause a discouraging effect on any abuse survivor.
Vice president of public engagement at the Canadian Women's Foundation, Andrea Gunraj said, "I think it's very possible that a case like this could have a discouraging effect on anybody who wants to come forward, any abuse survivor."
She then explained how important it is for a person to take a step back and see how such a violence can happen in relationships.
Depp and Heard will resume their legal showdown on Monday, and fans are expecting to see more of the "media circus" that would surround the case.
