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By Mark R. Weaver
Former Deputy Attorney General of Ohio
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The jury believed Johnny Depp. After a six-week defamation trial that pitted Depp against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, a Virginia jury delivered a rare verdict: They awarded Depp $15 million in damages. The jury also said Depp's lawyer defamed Heard.
As the closing credits rolled on the courtroom lovers spat, a few things about this small screen drama are now clear. First, the vicious vitriol spewed between divorced spouses is wince-worthy enough when observed on a small scale, but it becomes downright detestable when played out on a world stage. Second, and perhaps less obvious, the trial drew back the curtain on the insecurities, vacuousness, and even nihilism that co-stars with many red-carpet celebrities.
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As an on-air legal analyst for the Law and Crime Network, I've watched more of this trial than most Americans, but the trial was popular on social media with people reacting, choosing sides, and creating memes from the various courtroom antics. A car crash beckons rubberneckers, but so, too, does the collision of competing celebrity narratives.
From sordid accusations of infidelity to accounts of drug use that would make most libertines blush, the witness stand throbbed with tales of embarrassing excess and personal lives racked with dysfunction. (Who will ever forget Depp's accusation that Heard left feces in the marital bed?) The judge, ever calm and professional, did her best to keep the spectacle suitable to the setting, but she could only do so much amid six weeks of clashing over nearly every charge and countercharge. I've prosecuted rape cases with less contentiousness.
While there wasn't quite an army of attorneys on each side, there was a small platoon, some of whom will now metamorphose into that oddest of species, the celebrity lawyer. Little good can come of that; the enticing buzz of celebrity acclaim was the dark undercurrent enveloping the entire affair.
The English poet Lord Byron reminded us that "fame is the thirst of youth." After years of seeking to quench their respective yearnings by gulping deep of this well, Depp and Heard approached the litigation hungover from that bender. Their endeavor was equal parts tabloid saga and cautionary tale.
I imagine even these two might quietly acknowledge that the celebrity culture that has captured and consumed our country demeans people on both ends of the obsession. All too often, luminaries genuinely believe they're brilliant, which makes their lives ever darker when the reality of their own mediocrity becomes obvious.
This phenomenon isn't unique to the entertainment world. It also happens in both political parties. Choosing leaders of the world's greatest republic based on whoever ranks highest on the celebrity meter is enough to vex a founding father. We can do better.
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Improving on this score starts with recognizing that, whether or not the TV camera adds pounds, it certainly subtracts context. In both politics and show business, those nearest to the famous see the flaws most clearly. And unless they're called into court to testify, they keep it to themselves. After all, the closer one gets to a star, the more obvious it becomes that celebrity is nothing more than a chaotic ball of gas.
It would be reductive to describe this trial as a verdict on domestic violence. While that's a loathsome crime that brings about physical injuries, this was a civil trial over alleged reputational injuries. Money damages were the only possible remedy. But, although Depp essentially won the day, a judicially enforced eight figure Venmo transfer wasn't the ultimate goal here. Depp sought to impeach the credibility of his accuser, and he seems to have succeeded.
Despite the smorgasbord of sordidness on display in this case, I still find myself asking for grace for both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. We're all far from perfect, but we can accurately call these two famously broken. Even megalomaniac multi-millionaires suffering the predictable woes of a dissolute lifestyle are worthy of some scant measure of sympathy. Most Americans lead lives with less drama and more happiness. We can spare a little compassion.
In the end, this trial reminds us that, like entering the "eat the most wings with nuclear hot sauce challenge," notoriety is much sought after and, once achieved, much lamented. We don't need a director to yell "cut" to see that this chaotic scene is over.
Mark R. Weaver is the former Deputy Attorney General of Ohio and a veteran prosecutor who has handled numerous jury trials, including helping to send a serial killer to death row. He is the author of the book "A Wordsmith's Work." Twitter: @MarkRWeaver.
The views in this article are the writer's own.
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