Johnny Depp was divorced in 2017. So, why are we writing about it now? Because the divorce, the circumstances, the accusations, and the findings are back in the news. Today.
Why? Because Johnny Depp is in court [again] to sue Amber Heard for defamation [again] in Virginia after losing, spectacularly, a very public, media saturated trial in London in 2020. Then the appeal in 2021.
A quick recap: Depp and Heard were divorced after Heard accused Depp of domestic abuse.
Heard got a $7 million settlement, but the accusations kept getting louder and louder. The Sun in London was particularly keen to publish every sordid detail, quoting Heard extensively.
In 2019, Depp sued The Sun and Heard for defamation. He lost the defamation suit. In its opinion the Court, in essence, confirmed he was an abuser. He appealed. That decision came down in May 2021. He lost. The appellate judge not only ruled against him, he called him an abuser in the opinion. It was a vicious opinion.
From the first trial through the coming weeks, everything – absolutely everything – about his marriage and personal life and his alleged abuse was and will be repeated over and over and over in court.
If anyone managed to miss the story and the allegations and the judgments the first few times around, they’ll certainly be up to speed in a couple of weeks.
Why? Because trials are public and the courtroom is a bullhorn. Sometimes, they’re televised.
Every time Depp goes to court, the world sits up and notices and are reminded of what he was accused of doing. Along with the earlier court decisions confirming it. After a court case the notoriety fades. It would be gone now if Depp had just let the London case go.
As an attorney covering the London trial said, “the trial had the effect of placing the damning allegation at the heart of the case — that Mr. Depp is a ‘wife beater’ — into a giant global megaphone. As a result of the trial, millions more people have been made aware of The Sun’s allegation than would have been the case if Mr. Depp had not sued.”
Now more will know: he’ll be in the news for weeks and none of it will be good.
Why are we writing about this? Because we recommend that clients try to work things out in mediation – nice and quiet and private.
A little mediation would have gone a long, long way for Johnny Depp.
Mediation is worth it. Mediation worked during the COVID lockdowns and it works just fine now.
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