Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: Can their careers survive the trial?

CNN
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After six weeks of testimony in a defamation trial that has aired the good, bad and the very ugly of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s former relationship, the case is now in the hands of the jury.

Whatever the verdicts in Depp’s $50 million suit and Heard’s $100 million countersuit, something else is true: The fate of their respective careers will be decided in the court of public opinion, according to Hollywood insiders.

CNN spoke with six entertainment industry experts for this story, some of whom spoke on background to protect professional relationships.

Whether fair or unfair, the wave of support Depp has received on social media during the trial – especially on TikTok – may serve him well going forward, one veteran publicist who has known Depp for years told CNN.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect before he took the stand and if anything, I believe this has done nothing but help his public image,” the source said.

Another top Hollywood publicist, who hasn’t worked with either Depp or Heard, said neither of their images have fared well.

“Both are highly dysfunctional. Money is toxic and greed destroys. No one wins here,” this publicist said.

Naturally, there are hurdles for both actors to overcome once their legal battle ends.

Heard testified that Depp was verbally and physically abusive. She also accused Depp of sexual violence during their relationship.

Depp claimed multiple times on the stand that he has never struck a woman, denied Heard’s allegation of sexual battery and called himself a victim of domestic abuse by Heard, which she denies.

Depp and Heard met in 2009 on the set of their film “The Rum Diary” and were married from 2015-2016 before divorcing.

Photographs as well as audio and video recordings painted a picture of two people in a relationship with what was characterized as “mutual abuse” by Laurel Anderson, a clinical psychologist who worked with Depp and Heard in 2015 as their marriage counselor, in testimony played on April 14. (To illustrate how contentious this trial has been, the witness’s use of the term itself has spurred criticism.)

Entertainment agent Darryl Marshak thinks film studios might – at least, initially – be hesitant to engage with the actors entangled in a controversy that has played out so publicly.

“Robert Downey Jr. won an Academy Award and then aired his personal business out in the world and people kind of recoiled,” said Marshak, who has previously represented stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Hilary Swank. “I think Hollywood is a strange place. When you air your dirty laundry in front of the machine, the executives, all the people that make the parts move, they sort of recoil from a hot flame.”

Depp claims a 2018 op-ed by Heard in which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse” defamed him. He has starred in two films since the op-ed, which did not mention him by name, “Waiting for the Barbarians” and “Minamata,” both independent films.

Heard, whose countersuit claims she was defamed by an attorney for Depp who called her abuse allegations a “hoax,” will appear in the sequel to “Aquaman,” scheduled for release in 2023.

Marshak said he believes Depp’s “unbelievable talent” will help him return to movie screens.

“Hollywood is also forgiving and as it moves forward and this thing stops airing and Johnny is able to move fluidly back into the business. I think he’ll reemerge again,” he said. “Hollywood is a fickle place.”

The courtroom performance by the legal teams for Depp and Heard – a live-streamed trial watched by millions – may also shape industry perspective on the two stars.

“Globally, people have seemingly become polarized by the trial, we have watched this unfold in the press prior to its culmination in the courtroom, ” Amanda K. Ruisi, founder and president of AKR Public Relations & AKR Ventures, told CNN.

Ruisi believes Depp’s representatives have been more effective.

“Mr. Depp’s legal and strategic communications team have done an incredible job in delivering a consistent message in the courtroom and throughout the media, which I believe has helped corral the support from his fan base.”

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