Amber Heard: All the celebrities who supported the Aquaman 2 star during Johnny Depp defamation trial
Julia Fox and Kathy Griffin are among the stars who sided with Heard in the defamation case brought by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp
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Your support makes all the difference.The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial has gripped people around the world.
Depp sued Heard for $50m (£40.1m) for allegedly implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t name him, he claims her allegations impacted his ability to work (an expert speaking at the trial this week asserted that the op-ed had basically no impact on Depp’s career).
Heard had filed a countersuit accusing Depp of allegedly orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his own lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.
On Wednesday (1 June), the jury shared their verdicts, finding that Heard had defamed Depp on all three counts.
She was demanded to award him $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages. Heard was found to have a partial win in her case and was awarded $2m (£1.6m) in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.
Throughout the trial, Depp’s fans had been signifcantly louder than Heard’s. At the time of writing, nearly 4.3 million people have signed the petition to have Heard removed from Aquaman 2, and celebrities such as Winona Ryder and Javier Bardem had explicitly voiced support for him.
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Chris Rock even joked on stage that we should “believe all women, just not Amber Heard” – to a considerable backlash.
Which public figures supported Heard during the trial? See all the celebrities who have spoken up for her, below…
Actor Dolph Lundgren waded in on the subject of Heard after a petition to have her removed from the forthcoming sequel reached 4.5 million singatures.
The actor, who plays Nereus in the films, told Redline Steel CEO Colin Wayne: “She was great. I worked with her on the first Aquaman, now the second one. We shot last fall in London.”
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He continued; “She’s terrific, I had a great experience with her. She’s very kind, nice to the crew, nice to everybody, just down to earth. She had her newborn baby with her on set with the nanny which was kind of cute.”
Heard previously condemned the campaign to have her removed from the film and denied that the outcome of the Depp libel case had any impact on her own franchise.
“Paid rumours and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality,” Heard said in a statement. “Only the fans actually made Aquaman and Aquaman 2 happen. I’m excited to get started next year.”
Kathy Griffin
Comedian Griffin was one of the first celebrities to come out in support of Heard. She commented on the actor’s announcement that she would be taking a break from social media while the trial was on, saying: “Oh, Doll. I’m thinking about you and sending all the love.”
Howard Stern
While the veteran radio host has not specifically voiced his support for Heard, he has spoken out against Depp. Speaking on his SiriusXM show in late April, he said: “He figured, ‘I’ll put this on TV because I’m so persuasive and I’m so smart, and I’m such a wonderful guy... I will charm the pants off of America at the trial.’
“No you won’t. This will not go well. It’s not going well for you, it’s not going well for her. It’s not going well for anybody. You sound like two battling children. It’s just coming off really badly.”
Ellen Barkin
In testimony for the trial recorded in 2019, actor Barkin claimed that a “jealous” Depp once threw a wine bottle across a hotel room back when they were dating in the early 1990s.
Jurors also heard Barkin testify that her ex was “controlling” during their brief time together, and would question her about where she was going and what she was doing, telling her “don’t do this, don’t do that”.
“Just a jealous man, controlling,” she said, recalling he would ask: “Where are you going? Who are you going with? What did you do last night?”
Barkin testified about one particular time where Depp allegedly got “very angry” and accused of her having sex with someone else because she had a slight scratch on her back.
Barkin’s testimony about the bottle incident was heard previously during Depp’s UK libel case with The Sun over an article where the newspaper labelled him “a wife beater” – which the Pirates of the Caribbean actor lost.
Depp denied the incident took place when Barkin’s claim emerged, and testified that she called him abusive because she held a “grudge” against him.
“A sexual element began with Ms Barkin which lasted for months on and off really because she was making the film I was making at the time, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Depp said.
“She wanted a proper relationship with me and I did not want that. I didn’t feel the same about her as she did me and I suppose from that moment on she became very, very angry and since then I have not spoken to Ms Barkin.”
Julia Fox
Uncut Gems star Fox has publicly supported Heard. She commented on Instagram: “Did she hit him? Yes. Was it abuse? No. You need to have power to be able to abuse it. She was 25. He clearly was always way more powerful including physically and financially.”
David Krumholtz
Actor Krumholtz, who starred with Heard in NBC drama The Playboy Club, posted a series of Instagram Stories supporting her. “Drugs and alcohol turn men into monsters,” he wrote. “I believe Amber Heard.”
Since the trial began on 11 April, supporters of Depp have been circulating their favourite moments from the courtroom on social media platforms. The hashtag #teamjohnnydepp has nearly 80 million views on TikTok, with some people criticising the “memeifcation” of the case.
Follow live updates on the trial here and find out who has voiced support for Depp here.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, you can call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247, or visit their website here.