Johnny Depp’s Dior TV ad sparks fury as abuse survivor calls it 'disgusting' for 'glamorizing the behavior'
Actor Johnny Depp's Dior advertisement has reportedly left an abuse survivor furious as it continues to be aired on television despite the star losing a libel case against The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The survivor was referring to a commercial for Sauvage aftershave, which features the actor playing a guitar and then burying jewelry in the desert.
The survivor, identified as Jo Manson, whose eye socket was shattered by her bullying boyfriend Luke Patrice, raised objection to the ad being screened during Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off semi-final. She said: "What example is it setting allowing Depp to be on TV?” according to The Sun. "Abusers will see this and think, ‘If he can get away with it, so can I’. It glamorizes that behavior. It’s disgusting."
The 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' star lost a libel case against The Sun earlier in November. His legal team, however, released a statement on Monday, November 2, denouncing their "bewildering" loss in the actor's libel case and vowed to appeal the ruling. Jenny Afia of Schillings, the law firm which represented the Hollywood actor in the London case, said: "This decision is as perverse as it is bewildering. The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr. Depp not to appeal this decision."
Depp had filed the libel claim against The Sun over an article branding him a "wife-beater." The publication had released a piece in 2018 titled "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?" Judge Justice Nicol, in his ruling, however, stated that the tabloid was justified in its reporting that Depp was violent towards his former wife, Amber Heard, on at least one occasion during their relationship, and called the article "substantially true." The judge ruled that 12 of the 14 allegations Heard made of physical violence against Depp had occurred, and added that the two which had not been fully proven did not suggest that the incidents were fabricated by Heard.
'The Pirates of the Caribbean' star's legal team, however, has insisted that the judge's ruling was one-sided. Afia, in a statement, said: "Most troubling is the Judge’s reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point. All of this was overlooked."
Depp's lawyers also stated that they hoped for a fairer hearing in the impending lawsuits in Virginia over a 2018 op-ed Heard wrote in the Washington Post about her experience as a domestic violence victim. "We hope that in contrast to this case, the ongoing libel proceedings in America are equitable, with both parties providing full disclosure rather than one side strategically cherry-picking what evidence can and cannot be relied upon,” Afia said.
Meanwhile, Heard's attorney, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, said that the “decision and judgment are not a surprise" to anyone who had followed the trial. While referring to a follow-up trial which is expected to be heard in Virginia next year, she said: "Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US. We are committed to obtaining justice for Amber Heard in the US court and defending Ms. Heard’s right to free speech."