Johnny Depp's Popularity Declines After Winning Against Amber Heard — But Why?
Following his legal triumph over ex-wife Amber Heard in a high-profile defamation case, Johnny Depp's popularity has declined among American adults.
This is surprising because when the trial was ongoing, his popularity among netizens, even outside of the United States, has gone through the roof!
Depp sued Heard for $50m (£40m) for purportedly hinting in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that he had assaulted her. She pursued a $100 million (£80 million) counterclaim.
On 1 June, following six weeks of testimony and three days of deliberation, the jury sided with Depp and found Heard responsible for slander.
While the overwhelming popularity of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor on social media during and after the trial projected an image of increased favorability, the numbers reveal a little different tale.
According to data obtained by the analytics company Morning Consult, Depp's popularity declined dramatically after his trial, especially among baby boomers and men.
In an April survey, 68% of US adults held "extremely" or "somewhat" favorable opinions about Depp. In June, however, this percentage had plummeted to 56%.
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The percentage of baby boomers who view Depp favorably decreased from 59% in April to 37% in June.
Depp's favorability among younger respondents appears to have remained fairly unchanged, with only a two-point decline among Gen Z adults from the initial 72% in April.
Similar trends were observed among Millennials, with only a six percent decline from 78 percent in April to 72 percent in June.
In June, the percentage of men who regard Depp favorably decreased from 67% in April to 52%. The opinions of women decreased by barely nine points.
Meanwhile, the actor's popularity dropped from 70% to 55% among Democrats, while it dropped from 68% to 55% among independents. From 65% to 57%, the percentage of Republicans who have favorable views decreased.
Despite the patterns in data, Depp's career continues to rise. He recently released two new songs about the downsides of celebrity off his upcoming album with Jeff Beck, 18, which is planned for release on July 15.
It's not clear why, but these are the numbers. It might not matter to Depp though, who said he just wanted to restore his ruined reputation. It was not even receiving the huge amount of damages.
"We obviously can't disclose attorney-client communications, but as Mr Depp testified ... this was never about money for Mr Depp," the actor's lawyer Ben Chew said when asked about Ms Heard's fear of being left impoverished.
"This was about restoring his reputation - and he's done that. It was a total win for Johnny," the star's attorney added.
It remains to be seen whether these surprising trends can have an effect on his chances of a comeback.
