1Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife, Amber Heard, 35, (Aquaman (2018), The Rum Diary (2011), Drive Angry Piper (2011), and more) for defamation after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, where she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Ms. Heard countersued Mr. Depp, claiming that he “defamed her when his former lawyer released statements saying her allegations of abuse were a hoax.”
It is now coming out that during the trial, Johnny Depp reportedly confided in an Instagram influencer who was covering the trial on social media.
Jessica Reed Kraus (@houseinhabit) has more than 900,000 followers and posted daily updates about the six-week defamation trial to her account.
On Tuesday, June 21, Kraus posted to Instagram claiming that she spoke with Depp on the same day that the trial began, which was on April 11.
Kraus said she was introduced to Depp through an old friend of the actor’s, claiming to have met the friend through Instagram after she posted about the trial.
According to Insider, Kraus explained how the Alice in Wonderland star told her that he trusted her:
“‘I don’t know you’ he says, ‘but I know, just by the words you use and the aesthetic in your work, that I trust you,'” Kraus wrote, quoting Depp. “He touches briefly on the Rolling Stone article that shredded his reputation and ruined his trust in media. A betrayal he hasn’t yet recovered from.” The widely-read 2018 profile, which Depp was interviewed for, covered the actor’s legal and financial difficulties.
They also talked about Depp’s “tendency to trust the wrong people, and the trouble it’s caused him in various periods throughout his life,” according to Kraus’ account.
As the trial went on, Kraus apparently stayed at the same hotel as Depp’s legal team and at one point, she posted photos to Instagram of Depp’s lawyer Benjamin Chew in the hotel elevator.
Kraus eventually met Depp in person while at a cocktail party that was held at the hotel after he testified, she told Insider. She reportedly took a picture of him and a source close to Depp confirmed the accuracy of Kraus’ photo.
The Instagram Influencer went on to say how Depp is “naive” because he is not on social media. Per Insider:
“He’s so naive,” Kraus said. “He didn’t even understand, on those phone calls, how viral every part of the trial was, because he is not really on social media.”
Both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, as well as many witnesses including Depp’s ex, Kate Moss, took the stand and pled their cases over a six-week trial. A seven-person jury went into deliberation on Friday, May 27 and reached a verdict on Wednesday, June 1.
Amber Heard awaited the verdict in the courtroom next to her attorneys, but Johnny Depp was in the United Kingdom as he has been making surprise appearances at Jeff Beck gigs and did not make it back to the United States. According to reports, Depp watched the verdict live from the United Kingdom.
On Wednesday, June 1, the jury found Ms. Heard defamed Mr. Depp by publicly accusing him of domestic abuse. The jury found that Mr. Depp proved Ms. Heard lied about her allegations.
In Heard’s countersuit against Depp, the jury found that Depp’s former attorney, Adam Waldman, publicly defamed her. Heard now owes Depp $15 million. Depp owes Heard $2 million in compensatory damages.
Although Depp was not inside the courtroom while the verdict was read, he released a statement regarding the outcome, saying, in part:
I am, and have been, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.
Johnny Depp, is one of the best-known versatile actors in Hollywood. He has starred in a wide variety of films including Sweeney Todd (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Secret Window (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), 21 Jump Street (2012), The Lone Ranger (2003), Public Enemies (2009), and more.
Depp is best known in the Disney community for playing the iconic role of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Depp played Jack Sparrow in all five Pirates of the Caribbean films, including Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003), Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
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