Depp V Heard is the new Channel 4 series that is set to ask the question of whether a jury can truly be fair in the age of social media, especially when it comes to a high-profile case, such as the legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
The former Pirates of the Caribbean star sued his ex-wife for defamation linked to an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, entitled ‘I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture’s wrath’. Depp brought the case against Heard for $50million, and she counter-sued, claiming that statements made by his lawyer Adam Waldman on his behalf lost her work for $100million.
The jury unanimously agreed that Heard libelled her ex-husband by writing the opinion piece and that she did so, knowing that it could have a negative impact on his career.
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The court case between the two exes dominated social media, news headlines and household conversations for six weeks while the trial ran in Virginia last year, and even to this very day, drives heated conversations on gender, influence, and, of course, the real-world impact of discussions in the online space.
The three-part series Depp V Heard will explore the notorious defamation trial that fascinated audiences across the globe and the elements it took for the court case to be the first to go “TikTok viral”.
So what else do you need to know about Depp v Heard? Read ahead to find out more:
What will Depp V Heard be about?
The main focus of the series, which is directed by BAFTA-nominated Emma Cooper, will be the impact the global media event had on issues such as gender, violence, and justice in the online space and the real world.