Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal battle has been making headlines for years, but things are really heating up thanks to the ongoing defamation trial. The events coming from the Virginia courtroom have been wild, especially with both actors taking the stand to make their case. A number of celebs have been named dropped throughout the course of this saga, and here’s how Ana de Armas, Zendaya, Chris Pine, and more had their names roped into the Depp/Heard trial.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal battle has been a long one, and occasionally involved other celebs like Elon Musk, James Franco, and Avengers actor Paul Bettany. But most recently actors like Zendaya, Chris Pine, Ana de Armas, and Gal Gadot's names were dropped in court. Namely because, per EW, entertainment industry consultant Kathryn Arnold testified that Heard’s career could have risen like those actors if it weren’t for Depp’s team accusing her abuse allegations of being a “hoax” like in a Daily Mail article back in 2020.
Since Amber Heard wrote her op-ed about domestic violence in 2018, Johnny Depp and his legal team have seemingly been trying to prove that she was lying about her alleged abuse. Kathryn Arnold is a witness for Heard’s team, and claims that the “smear campaign” made against her negatively affected the Aquaman star’s career just as it was heating up. After name dropping folks like Zendaya and Chris Pine, she said:
When you look at the time frame of when the Waldman statements came out, and you look at what was going on with Ms. Heard's career prior to the statement and what happened after the statement, it's very clear to make that correlation. It would have been very reasonable to believe her career would have been on an upward trajectory of those other actors if not for the hoax allegations.
Indeed, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s careers seem to have been negatively affected by the ongoing battle in court– which is also no doubt costing them insane amounts in legal fees. For Heard, she’s only attached to a few upcoming projects including Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Although while taking the stand she’s maintained that her role in the DC sequel has been cut down– possibly in response to her ongoing drama with Depp.
Of course, Johnny Depp’s career definitely hasn’t gone unscathed. He was notably asked to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. This occurred almost immediately after he lost a libel case against the U.K. publication The Sun, which has referred to the actor as a “wife beater.” In fact, Depp has only recently started booking new movie roles again.
Having the wild success of folks like Zendaya and Ana de Armas would no doubt have been a dream for Amber Heard, and it’s unclear how her career might have progressed if it weren’t for her legal battle against Johnny Depp. We’ll just have to see how the jury ultimately makes a decision on the defamation case, and how that influences the professional lives of both Heard and Depp. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
