The defamation trial verdict for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard was officially released on Wednesday (June 1), prompting a barrage of emotions from watchers and supporters online.
Following a jury's decision on Wednesday that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp after 13 hours of deliberation, fans took to social media to express their thoughts on the case's outcome.
The trial sparked a slew of fan reactions on Twitter, TikTok, and other platforms, including edits and memes about all parties involved.
So, understandably, the internet had a lot to say after the jury announced that Depp had won the case against his ex-wife Heard, who, according to the verdict, had only been able to show one count of defamation in her own case.
The judgments put an end to a televised trial that Depp had believed would help him reclaim his reputation, but instead evolved into a spectacle that revealed a tumultuous marriage.
She was distraught, said Heard, who was stoic in the courtroom as the verdict was read.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It’s a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,” she said in a statement posted on her Twitter account.
Depp, who was not in court Wednesday, said “the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.”
“I hope that my quest to have the truth be told will have helped others, men or women, who have found themselves in my situation, and that those supporting them never give up,” he said in a statement posted to Instagram.
A crowd of about 200 people cheered when Depp’s lawyers came out after the verdict. “Johnny for president!” one man yelled repeatedly. Outside the court are eager fans waiting for the result. When the verdict was handed down, the crowd cheered, cried and hugged each other in support of Johnny Depp.
Jurors reviewed three statements by a lawyer for Depp, who termed Heard's allegations a fraud, in considering her counterclaims.
They discovered that one of them had defamed her, claiming that she and her companions "spilled a little wine and roughed up the place, got their tales straight," and contacted the cops.
Fans watching the livestream swarmed social media soon the jury returned and the feed was up and running again. Fans of Depp responded with memes and fervor.
Despite the fact that the case was nominally about libel, the majority of the testimony centered on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused as she claimed. Heard detailed more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia when Depp lost the tip of his middle finger and Heard said she was sexually attacked with a liquor bottle while filming a "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequel.
Others, on the other side, rallied for Heard with the hashtag #IStandWithAmberHeard
The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage, including impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors’ mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers.