Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard dominated headlines for the entirety of the six-week trial and, even a month later, it continues to be a topic of interest, as both parties deal with the aftermath. There were a number of reasons this case in particular drew so much attention. The seriousness of the allegations that the stars lobbed at each other, the (sometimes alpaca-related) hijinks that took place in the courtroom, and the public’s ability to watch everything go down on TV all contributed to high interest. But one of Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean co-stars, Naomie Harris, said she found the whole situation kind of “disturbing.”
Naomie Harris, who played voodoo priestess Tia Dalma in the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, discussed the trial, in which public support strongly favored her colleague, Johnny Depp. Coverage of the trial was impossible to avoid, and Harris said it distracted people from other serious events that were happening. She told The Independent:
It’s hard not to have followed that case because it was so rammed down our throats every day. It was all over social media, all over the news, everywhere. I think there’s something quite disturbing about that, actually, because there are some serious events happening in the world that deserve much greater airtime than they’re having because this kind of thing is being aired.
The star specifically mentioned Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial, saying the courtroom proceedings of Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend was both more relevant and important than much of what was happening between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Maxwell was sentenced on June 28 to 20 years in federal prison for helping Epstein recruit and abuse teenage girls. The actress — who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Moonlight — said the defamation case should have been a private matter between the former couple.
The Jack Sparrow actor came out on top in the end, as the jury decided the actor was to be awarded $15 million — $10 million being compensatory and the other $5 million being for punitive damages (which was lowered to $350,000). Amber Heard won a small victory, being awarded $2 million as part of a $100 million countersuit. The actress’ lawyers have contended that she is unable to pay the $8.35 million owed (though there were opinions on that as well, after Heard was seen flying via private plane following that assertion).
If Naomie Harris didn’t agree with the public attention the defamation case got, she’s probably not going to like it if their ongoing legal battles continue to dominate the headlines — particularly Amber Heard’s. The Aquaman star is still being investigated for perjury in Australia, as authorities are looking into whether she lied about bringing her Yorkshire terriers (Pistol and Boo) into the country in 2015 without declaring them.
For his part, Johnny Depp is headed back to court for a 2018 assault charge stemming from his work on the 2018 movie City of Lies. Given the media attention Depp and Amber Heard have generated, it’s a good bet that the public will have interest in these cases as well.