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Topics: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, US News, Entertainment
Rachel Lang
Topics: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, US News, Entertainment
Celebrities appear to be quietly rolling back their support of Johnny Depp in the wake of his defamation with ex-wife Amber Heard.
Depp sued ex-wife Amber Heard over an op-ed that appeared in The Washington Post in 2018 and he won his case at the beginning of June.
The article was entitled: "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change."
The jury unanimously found in favour of Depp, and Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million ($AUD 13.7 million, £7.9 million) in compensatory damages and $5 million ($AUD 6.8 million, £3.9 million) in punitive damages in June.
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However, Judge Penney Azcarate reduced punitive costs, bringing the sum owed to Depp to $10.35 million ($AUD 14.2 million, £8.2 million).
Depp was also ordered to pay his ex-wife $2 million ($AUD 2.7 million, £1.5 million) as a result of a counterclaim filed by Heard.
It was one of the most watched and talked about trials in recent memory and everyone seemed to have an opinion about the evidence and testimony presented each day.
After his win, Depp shared a ‘victory' post on social media, which quickly became one of the most popular Instagram posts of all time, amassing 19.4 million likes.
Some of those likes came from accounts belonging to several of Hollywood's biggest names.
But now the celebrities that had previously thrown their support behind the divisive star seem to be quietly rolling back their support by unliking his social media victory lap.
Some eagle-eyed Reddit users decided to keep track of who had been giving - and eventually withdrawing - their support to Depp.
The people who have reportedly liked and now unliked Depp's post include Bella Hadid, Orlando Bloom, Robert Downey Jr., Zoey Deutch, Sophie Turner, and Jamie Campbell Bower.
Buzzfeed reports that over a dozen of the 105 actors, musicians, and influencers who originally liked Depp's Instagram statement have since removed their likes.
While the reasoning for the silent celebrity exodus is unclear, it comes not too soon after thousands of case documents that weren’t allowed to before the court during the initial proceedings were unsealed.
The trove of more than 6,000 documents revealed multiple allegedly damaging anecdotes about Depp that Heard’s team was barred from mentioning in court.
The files also included additional quotes from video testimonials, including Depp’s famous ex-girlfriend Ellen Barkin.
But the courtroom drama isn’t over yet, folks. Heard's lawyers filed a notice to appeal the verdict on July 21.
A spokesperson for Heard released a statement on her behalf explaining the decision to appeal, claiming that 'the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict'.
So buckle up, because this isn't over yet.