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Johnny Depp fans hail COMPELLING testimony, but experts slam HAMMY performance

At the trial, Johnny Depp claimed that he was telling the 'truth' for his family and children's sake

Johnny Depp testified in his $50 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. At the trial, the actor claimed that he was telling the "truth" for his family and children's sake. He also claimed that Heard's allegations against him have ruined his relations in Hollywood. 

Depp started his testimony by saying that Heard's claims are "not founded on any kind of truth." "I never struck Ms Heard in that way, nor have I struck any woman in my life," Depp testified, claiming that "her accusations sorta permeated the industry". The civil trial in Virginia is now in its second week. So far, it has been focusing on Depp's behavior and whether he ever physically or verbally abused his ex-wife. 

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When Depp's lawyer asked him to describe his childhood in Kentucky and the abuse he suffered at his mother's hand, the actor said, "I could see when she [his mother] was about to head into a situation where she was going to get riled up and someone was going to get it. And generally it was me."

The trial is expected to last at least six weeks. While jurors have heard several contradictory accounts of the relationship between the former pair, Heard's team has portrayed Depp as an abuse partner who was regularly into acohol and drugs. Depp's team, on the other hand, has labeled Heard's allegations of violence as a "hoax" and claimed that it is a deliberate attempt to destroy Depp's reputation.

Depp and Heard are squaring off over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post, where she called herself a domestic violence survivor. Depp has claimed that he was booted from the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise because Heard's op-ed clearly implicated that he was the abuser. The article, however, did not mention Depp by name. The actor sued for $50 million and Heard countersued for $100 million, claiming Depp ran a smear campaign for years in an attempt to silence her and destroy her acting career.

Depp and Heard began dating after meeting on the set of the 2011 film 'The Rum Diary'. They got married in Los Angeles in February 2015. In 2016, Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp, accusing him of abuse. Depp, however, denied the claims, saying that her accusations were a "choreographed hoax”. In 2019, the two settled their divorce out of court. At the time, Heard said she had donated her $7m (£5.5m) settlement to charity. Depp later accused her of lying about it. 

"Johnny Depp on the stand was compelling"

Fans have taken to Twitter to express how they believe that Depp's testimony is a clear indication that he is innocent, and that Heard is guilty. "After hearing Johnny Depp’s testimony live in court right now I think we can all finally conclude that this man did not deserve anything that had happened to him and everyone who did him wrong should give him a huge apology," one user wrote. "Johnny Depp is an introvert who is sharing all the trauma he went through, while EVERYONE is watching, including having right in front of him the person who abused him. I think he has all the right in the world to be anxious and go over his testimony as slow as he does," another user said.

"The evidence and testimonies are all so clear that smirky Amber Heard is guilty and had always been abusive to many people. Mind you, this trial will go on for another several WEEKS! Let Johnny Depp has his final words, justice and we finish this already," one user said, while another wrote, "Testimony has ended for the day. Johnny Depp on the stand was compelling, authentic, emotionally resonating for the court. It was powerful. Kudos to Mr. Depp and his legal team. I have a long night of writing threads on the past two days of testimony, after a brief break." "Johnny Depp’s testimony is heart breaking.. the hurt in his face.. why has it even gotten to this point? Because he’s a man and she’s a women everyone sided with her disregarding him? Abuse doesn’t only pertain to one gender. He didn’t deserve Disney nor Warner Bros to cut him," one user commented.

But experts think otherwise

Johnny Depp may have left a deep impact on his fans, but experts seem to believe his testimony was bad and hammy. Maureen Callahan, an award-winning investigative journalist, author, columnist, and commentator, wrote for New York Post, saying that in his testimony, Depp depicted himself "as a confused, sad, gentle soul who somehow stumbled into global fame and ungodly wealth." "For nearly four hours, Depp droned on and on. Really, who can blame him? God knows when he’ll next have such a captive audience. He’s totally unemployable," Callahan wrote.
"The narcissism was mind-numbing. But the performance — wow," Callahan wrote. "He does vulnerability well. In fact, Depp was so charming I found myself wanting to believe him — even as I knew, really, this was just another act by a dark star, imploding."

Jan Moir, a British newspaper columnist who writes for the Daily Mail, said that Depp's testimony was "painful to watch." Many of Moir's articles have previously provoked widespread criticism, including one about Stephen Gately that linked his death to his sexuality. Talking about the testimony, Moir wrote, "Depp was establishing a victim status of his own, a grown man reliving his childhood whippings and beatings, a hint of what we can expect during the long hours to come."

"His is the beginning of the biggest part of the trial, the moment where Depp has to sell his story and make the jury believe his version of events – in essence that his ex-wife acted maliciously and it was she who was the manipulative abuser, not him," Moir wrote. "If this were a movie, we would be arriving at the plot point which changes the course of the hero's life, for better or worse, forever – but this is not a Hollywood film, it is a Hollywood nightmare."

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