The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial has gripped people around the world.
Heard is being sued by Depp for $50m (£40.1m) for implying he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. Although she didn’t name him, he claims her allegations impacted his ability to work.
Heard has filed a countersuit accusing Depp of allegedly orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his own lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.
Depp’s fans are a good deal louder than Heard’s. At the time of writing, almost 4.3 million people have signed the petition to have Heard removed from Aquaman 2, and celebrities such as Winona Ryder and Javier Bardem have explicitly voiced support for him. Chris Rock even joked on stage that we should “believe all women, just not Amber Heard” – to a considerable backlash.
But who is supporting Heard? See all the celebrities who have spoken up for her, below…
Kathy Griffin
Comedian Griffin was one of the first celebrities to come out in support of Heard. She commented on the actor’s announcement that she would be taking a break from social media while the trial was on, saying: “Oh, Doll. I’m thinking about you and sending all the love.”
Howard Stern
While the veteran radio host has not specifically voiced his support for Heard, he has spoken out against Depp. Speaking on his SiriusXM show in late April, he said: “He figured, ‘I’ll put this on TV because I’m so persuasive and I’m so smart, and I’m such a wonderful guy… I will charm the pants off of America at the trial.’
“No you won’t. This will not go well. It’s not going well for you, it’s not going well for her. It’s not going well for anybody. You sound like two battling children. It’s just coming off really badly.”
Ellen Barkin
In testimony for the trial recorded in 2019, actor Barkin claimed that a “jealous” Depp once threw a wine bottle across a hotel room back when they were dating in the early 1990s.
Jurors also heard Barkin testify that her ex was “controlling” during their brief time together, and would question her about where she was going and what she was doing, telling her “don’t do this, don’t do that”.
“Just a jealous man, controlling,” she said, recalling he would ask: “Where are you going? Who are you going with? What did you do last night?”
Barkin testified about one particular time where Depp allegedly got “very angry” and accused of her having sex with someone else because she had a slight scratch on her back.
Barkin’s testimony about the bottle incident was heard previously during Depp’s UK libel case with The Sun over an article where the newspaper labelled him “a wife beater” – which the Pirates of the Caribbean actor lost.
Depp denied the incident took place when Barkin’s claim emerged, and testified that she called him abusive because she held a “grudge” against him.
“A sexual element began with Ms Barkin which lasted for months on and off really because she was making the film I was making at the time, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Depp said.
“She wanted a proper relationship with me and I did not want that. I didn’t feel the same about her as she did me and I suppose from that moment on she became very, very angry and since then I have not spoken to Ms Barkin.”
Julia Fox
Uncut Gems star Fox has publicly supported Heard. She commented on Instagram: “Did she hit him? Yes. Was it abuse? No. You need to have power to be able to abuse it. She was 25. He clearly was always way more powerful including physically and financially.”
David Krumholtz
Actor Krumholtz, who starred with Heard in NBC drama The Playboy Club, posted a series of Instagram Stories supporting her. “Drugs and alcohol turn men into monsters,” he wrote. “I believe Amber Heard.”
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