Netflix released the celebrity controversy that stole the attention of not just an entire country but also what seemed to be the entirety of social media after almost a year since the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp defamation trial concluded. Heard and Depp engaged in a court battle over Heard’s allegations that she had gone through “domestic abuse” in an opinion piece she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018. Depp sued her for defamation to $50 million, though she didn’t mention his name, and Heard also countersued him for twice that amount. Viewers rushed to YouTube and TikTok for weeks to inspect the whole trial, and they generally supported Depp and bullied Heard. This documentary goes through both of their testimonies so viewers can form their own opinions rather than be influenced by outside sources.
When Heard and Depp met and started to fall for each other when filming the Hunter S. Thompson novel-based 2011 movie “The Rum Diary,” their love story appeared to be headed in a positive direction. Depp testified, saying, “She seemed to be the perfect partner: literate, sweet, funny.” They married in 2015. Heard testified, “There wasn’t any love like that, you know?” “And after that, he would… vanish.”
Although violent disagreements between the two were captured on recordings and played in court, Depp testified that he never physically assaulted Heard or any other woman for that matter.
Whitney Henriquez, who is Heard’s sister, was the one person who claimed to have seen Depp physically assault Heard. One piece of information, however, would have further supported Heard’s assertions but was not made available to the jury. After an alleged incident in which Depp reportedly kicked Heard to the ground on a flight as they were heading to L.A. in 2014, Deuters, Depp’s former aide, allegedly texted Heard. But in the Virginia courtroom, the message screenshots that had been admitted in the U.K. trial were not allowed. The messages were deemed hearsay.
This Netflix documentary showed how Heard and her group seemed to have been misled by some half-truths. Bredehoft showed the jury a cosmetics case that her client allegedly carried to conceal bruising from injuries by Johnny Depp. Bredehoft could have used cosmetics as an example, but the product’s makers, Milani Cosmetics, said it was made after the couple’s divorce.
Something else that impacted the jury was when Heard said that she had pledged the $7 million she received in her divorce from Depp, dividing it equally “between the American Civil Liberties Union and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.” Heard said she used the terms “donating” and “pledging” synonymously and that, in reality, she had not given the charity her entire contribution when cross-examined by Vasquez. Although, as shown in the show, multiple celebrities use “donating” and pleading” synonymously. Additionally, the jury listened to clips of Heard confessing to hitting Depp.
Depp received $15 million (which was reduced to $10 million. Heard received $2 million in damages from the jury. The former couple settled in December after Heard appealed. She gave Depp $1 million, and he donated it to nonprofit organizations.
This documentary reveals how much social media and content creators can persuade an entire population based on nothing but their opinions. I believe justice was not served to Amber Heard, and she deserved better. TikTok users jumped to make videos supporting their favorite actor and videos of bullying Heard. This is an example of why women who are victims of abuse do not dare stand up for themselves. People should make their own opinions based on facts and not jump on the bandwagon. This documentary showed everyone another side of this case that the world needed to see.
