Amber heard

Friday

Georgia Heneage

Why we dramatize history — and why we should stop

A few weeks ago, a friend asked if I had watched the Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew. That interview, yes — the one with all the sweating and the pizza in Woking, in which he definitely didn’t meet Virginia Roberts Giuffre but he did single-handedly crash his reputation, and Emily Maitlis, like the Medusa of journalism she has since become, just let him tie his own noose. Of course I’ve watched it. I’m a journalist. And a twenty-first-century citizen. Who hasn’t? My friend, for one, though she pointed out that she can just watch the three-part Amazon dramatization of the whole affair, A Very Royal Scandal, which is even juicier than the interview. (“I’m the son of the sovereign,” bellows the Duke of York, played by a soapy Michael Sheen.

history

Monday

Cockburn

Is Amber Heard staging a subtle comeback?

In just one short year, Amber Heard has transformed from arguably the most hated woman on the planet to some kind of new and improved Spanish celebrity. Amber moved to Madrid months after she was sued by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, for defamation. In a viral TikTok video, Heard answers questions from reporters, saying in Spanish, "I love Spain so much."  When they asked if she plans on staying, she replied, "Yes, I hope so. Yes, I love living here." After being asked if she has movie projects on the horizon, she says yes and adds, "I move on. That's life." It turns out that exiling yourself to a new country for privacy can be an effective PR strategy. Take note, Harry and Meghan.

depp amber heard

Monday

Alexander Larman

Can Armie Hammer stage a comeback?

It must seem very strange to Armie Hammer — once a successful, if not quite an A-list actor, who has latterly been reduced to selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands — that his career has taken such a decisive dive into the dumpster. Not very long ago, he was appearing in leading roles in the likes of Death on the Nile and Rebecca, and then his life went into a nosedive because of allegations of everything from cannibalism to sexual abuse. In present-day Hollywood, there is no such thing as a presumption of innocence until guilt is proved, and Hammer was fired from various projects, as well as being dropped by his agency and management company. His days of fame appeared to be over.

armie hammer

Friday

Alexander Larman

Does Johnny Depp have a future in Hollywood?

Since his notorious legal battle with Amber Heard, Johnny Depp has had an eclectic career, which has seen him go on tour with the musician Jeff Beck, announce his intention to direct a film about the painter Modigliani (in which he will reunite with his Donnie Brasco co-star Al Pacino, who will play the art collector Maurice Gangnat) and take on the role of Louis XV in the equally controversial actor-cum-director Maïwenn’s biopic of the king’s mistress Jeanne du Barry. The latter film, which premiered at Cannes this year, is widely regarded as Depp’s comeback after the bruising revelations in the court case — which he won, but with such damage done to his reputation that to large sectors of public opinion, he is now little more than a pariah.

Tuesday

Kara Kennedy

We haven’t heard the last of Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard

From our UK edition

The last thing I wanted to do was write about the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard circus. Really. For months I’ve done everything humanly possible to avoid the social media cults, the TikTok clips and my mother – who was so enthralled by the case that she cancelled numerous plans so that she could watch the live trial, and was temporarily banned from Facebook for commenting that she would give Heard a slap if she ever came across her, which is probably unlikely. But after the latest development in the story, which happened after the judge ruled that Heard was in fact defamatory towards Depp, awarding him around £12 million in damages, I couldn’t stay quiet any more. And neither could a number of celebrities.

Thursday

Cockburn

Judge swats down Amber Heard’s demand for a mistrial

While Cockburn already covered the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard verdict a month ago (live from the courthouse!), he notes that Ms. Heard hasn’t moved on. She's since resurfaced, with her lawyers attempting to throw out the ruling against her or declare a mistrial on the basis of a single juror, Juror Fifteen, supposedly being fraudulent. On Wednesday, Judge Penney Azcarate issued her decision: no. Azcarate wrote: Juror Fifteen was vetted by the Court on the record and met the statutory requirements for service. Fifteen was vetted by the Court on the record and met the statutory requirements for service. The parties also questioned the jury panel for a full day and informed the Court that the jury panel was acceptable.

johnny depp amber heard

Thursday

Grace Curley

A toxic couple on trial

The trial that captured the attention of the country — or at least a handful of TikTokers — came to an end yesterday. A Virginia jury found that actress Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband Johnny Depp and vice versa. While both parties were held to be liable, Depp was awarded $15 million in damages whereas Heard was only awarded $2 million. It was a major defeat for Heard who expressed her disappointment in a statement shortly after the verdict was read. “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband,” she said. The “mountain of evidence” Heard is referencing might not have been enough to sway the jury, but it was somehow enough for the Washington Post.

depp amber heard
Cockburn

Cheers, tattoos and the end of #MeToo — at the Depp verdict

While Cockburn is loath to be anywhere that does not serve brandy, he made an exception for the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard verdict, which was handed down in Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday. On a sunny, hot, sweltering afternoon, Cockburn took a bus from his hometown of Washington, DC. Cue the driver furiously shaking him awake and kicking him to the curb, right in front of the courthouse. Since it was only 1 p.m., there was little to see aside from the various news crews circling the entrance like vultures. As much as Cockburn was hoping for something out of a Hunter S. Thompson article, what he got was more like a city council meeting. At around 1:30, news broke that a verdict had been reached, and that it would be announced at 3. At that point, the crowd began growing.

Wednesday

Cockburn

Johnny Depp wins: live from the Fairfax courthouse

Normally Cockburn regards himself as well above the mere paparazzi — or at least too dissolute to properly operate a camera. But he happily made an exception on Wednesday to catch the verdict in the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial, held at the Fairfax County Courthouse just outside his native Washington, DC. It was the region's most captivating trial of an unstable blonde since the Clinton impeachment. And sure enough, the jury found that Heard had defamed Depp, and that Depp had defamed Heard. Yet while Depp was awarded $15 million, Heard was only awarded $2 million, all of it in compensatory as opposed to punitive damages. It's a win for Depp, and Cockburn will have much more to come from the courthouse.

depp

Friday

Teresa Mull

Having fun again on Derby Day

The woes of the world are a’plenty. People are anxious, stressed-out, and burned-out. It seems that no matter what side of the political aisle you gravitate toward, there’s a new battle to be fought at the dawn of each day. Even innocent settings — school board meetings, comedy shows, the Magic Kingdom itself — are not immune from partisan vitriol. Luckily for us, though, this is Derby Day, which means it’s the perfect time to do something about the very real but underreported disorder that’s been plaguing our society for a while now: we’ve forgotten how to have fun. It’s a contagious disease that affects brain function and mood, and if left untreated, could result in everyone becoming a smug, humorless elitist (a prognosis worse than Covid).

Tuesday

Alexander Larman

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: a battle with no winner

Bruce Robinson’s 2011 film The Rum Diary, an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s novel, was a critical and financial flop. It’s doubtful anyone would remember it a decade later were it not for one salient feature: it introduced its star Johnny Depp to the actress Amber Heard, leading to what was initially one of the most glamorous romantic pairings in Hollywood. Yet after their separation and divorce, the fallout from their relationship has been immense, waged through a series of ugly and very public court battles that have laid waste to their reputations. After a court defeat in London, in which Depp sued The Sun for defamation after the newspaper called him a wife beater, Depp has now moved onto another expensive and humiliating legal case.

Thursday

Douglas Murray

No one emerges from a court fight looking clean

From our UK edition

The case of Johnny Depp vs the Sun, heard over recent weeks at the High Court in London, certainly gives fresh life to the old warnings about dirty linen and its public laundering. Whatever the results, I would be surprised if it didn’t provoke others to think again about the wisdom of reverting to the law. The influencers formerly known as the Sussexes, for instance, must be wondering whether their forthcoming legal case will result in them solely being showered with praise. Of course one has sympathy for famous people who feel that they have been badly portrayed. It is unpleasant to read nasty things about yourself in the newspapers. Especially if you have spent years reading largely pleasant things, carefully placed there by yourself or your PR team.

Thursday

Taki

My advice to Johnny Depp

From our UK edition

Gstaad Are any of you tired of reading about Ghislaine Maxwell and her sleazy life? Bored by old news repeated ad nauseam by people who hadn’t — and still don’t have — a clue? Well, your intrepid High life correspondent does have a clue, so here goes. But before I go on about la Maxwell, a few thoughts about the drama taking place in Court No. 13 of the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, where I had the leading role in a 1986 drama — also starring Charles Moore and some lesser characters — that almost broke the poor little Greek boy and also impoverished our great ex-proprietor Algy Cluff.

Saturday

Mary Wakefield

Why did no one believe Johnny Depp?

From our UK edition

When it was first reported that Johnny Depp had been hit and pelted with crockery by his slight, blonde then wife, Amber Heard, I’m afraid my first reaction was disdain. Johnny and Amber recorded their rows on their mobile phones (as you do) and a ‘reliable source’ leaked the recording: ‘I was hitting you, it was not punching you,’ Amber says to Johnny. ‘Babe, you’re not punched.’ Then, exasperated: ‘You are such a baby. Grow the fuck up Johnny… I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you.’ At first my sympathies were with Amber. C’mon Johnny, c’mon Captain Jack Sparrow, can’t a lady throw a plate or two? Surely a slap, under provocative circumstances, is OK?

Wednesday

Natasha Green

What happened to Gilbert Grape?

Young Amber Heard met elderly Johnny Depp on the set of The Rum Diary (2011), a Hunter S. Thompson adaptation about a man trying to save his soul. Like the Depp-Heard marriage, the movie had a weak narrative, too much drinking, and generally poorly reviews. It lasted a lot longer than it should have done, too. Heard filed for divorce in May 2016, but you wouldn’t know it. Three years on, the marriage remains click-worthy. Days after filing, Heard accused Depp of being verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship. Depp denied the allegations, and has now asked for $50 million in damages.

johnny depp amber heard