Ever since he made his feature film debut in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, Johnny Depp has become one of the most beloved and recognized actors of this generation.
Throughout his career, Depp has appeared in popular films such as Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990), Donnie Brasco (1997), Disney’s blockbuster film series Pirates of the Caribbean (2003–2017), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010) and the Harry Potter spin-offs Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and its sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
After appearing in so many commercially successful films, Depp has amassed a considerable net worth. Plus, with his chameleonic acting abilities, the actor has won numerous awards through the years, including a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as three Academy Awards and two BAFTA awards nominations.
However, Depp’s career took a significant hit after his public breakup with actress Amber Heard and the defamation trial the two were involved in. After Heard’s accusations against the actor went viral, Depp found himself with no new movie deals and most of the companies that had partnerships with the actor dropped him. Well, except for one company that extended their partnership with Depp with a million-dollar deal.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Were Only Married for Two Years
Throughout his career, Johnny Depp has dated many celebrities, including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder, and French singer Vanessa Paradis. But the actor has only been married twice. In 1983, Depp married makeup artist Lori Anne Allison, but the couple split up less than a year later. married twice. Then, from 2015 to 2017, Depp was married to the Aquaman actress Amber Heard.
Signs Amber And Johnny Were Never Meant To Be
Between 1998 and 2012, Depp was in a relationship with Paradis, with whom he had two children, one of them being actress Lily-Rose Depp. Following their breakup, the actor began dating Heard. The two met when they co-starred in the 2011 comedy-drama film The Rum Diary.
In 2014, Heard was spotted wearing an engagement ring. A year later, the couple tied the knot with a private civil ceremony in their home in LA. However, things didn’t work out for them because, in 2016, Heard filed for divorce from Depp and then got a temporary restraining order against the Oscar-nominated actor, alleging that he had been verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship.
In 2016, Heard and Depp reached a settlement out of court. The actress received $7 million from the divorce which, according to People, she donated to charity. And a year later, Depp and Heard's divorce was finalized.
Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Publicly Fought in a Messy Defamation Trial
A year after her divorce from Johnny Depp was finalized, Amber Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post saying she had been abused by her partner, although she never mentioned Depp directly. "I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out," Heard wrote.
In 2019, Depp sued Heard for $50 million for defamation over said Washington Post article. Depp alleged that he had been the one who was abused by Heard and that her allegations constituted a hoax against him which led to him losing many job opportunities. As a response, Heard sued Depp for defamation too, and her counter-suit went to trial.
The Depp vs. Heard trial took place in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 2022. During the trial, Heard accused Depp of domestic abuse, claiming that the actor had "plunged into the depths of paranoia and violence after binging on drugs and alcohol" during their relationship.
On the other hand, Depp accused Heard of several instances of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship, as well as of having extra-marital affairs.
Ultimately, the jury’s verdict found that all three statements found in Heard's op-ed were false, defamed Depp, and were made with actual malice. For this, the jury awarded Depp with $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the latter was reduced to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.
As for Heard's counter-suit, the jury found that Waldman's (Depp’s lawyer) first and third statements to the Daily Mail were not defamatory, but his second statement to the Daily Mail was false, defamatory, and made with actual malice As a result, Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and zero in punitive damages from Depp.
After the Defamation Trial, No One Wanted to Work with Johnny Depp Except For Dior
When Amber Heard’s op-ed was published in The Washington Post, Johnny Depp’s career took a turn for the worst. Although the actress never mentioned Depp in her article, many companies and filming studios decided to cut ties with the actor to avoid being part of the scandal.
This included Disney, who fired the actor and announced Depp would not return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or any other future projects. The actor was also replaced by Madds Mikkelsen for the film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
In addition to losing many job opportunities, the actor found himself without many partnerships after many companies dropped him following the scandal. The only company that maintained its work relationship with the actor was Dior. Most recently, Dior Sauvage extended their deal with Depp, offering him more than $20 million to promote their product.
This is one of the most lucrative celebrity fragrance deals up to date!
