Are you ready for a deep dive into one of the most controversial and divisive court cases in recent history? Are you ready to learn too much about the lifestyles of the rich and (in)famous? Keen to watch two people shit the bed, figuratively and in one case literally? Then get onto Depp v Heard, which is now streaming on Netflix.
In case you’ve just emerged from a coma, this three-part documentary series follows Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against his former wife, Amber Heard, with both parties alleging some pretty shocking incidents of abuse, both physical and emotional.
It’s all very sordid stuff, which electrified the social media sphere with fans, stans, and activists declaring their fidelity to one camp of the other (the no man’s land of “I don’t know—they both seem awful” was pretty sparsely populated). Plenty of pundits saw their follower count skyrocket while covering the trial, which arguably led to some, uh, lapses in journalistic integrity.
You might wonder what new insight can be gleaned from going over such well-turned earth. The entire case was televised, pored over, analysed, and argued about for ages, after all. But this new doco by director Emma Cooper delves into how various influences, commentators, and content creators latched onto the trial for hits and clicks, asking the rather pertinent question: how could such a tsunami of online attention affect the outcome of the trial? Can a court of justice hope to compete with the court of public opinion?
That’s a difficult conundrum, but you surely couldn’t find a more relevant test case than the whole Depp/heard brouhaha. It’s arguably the biggest celebrity court case since the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Whether you’re #justiceforjohnny or #justiceforamber, this is a must watch. However, if you’re team #everythingivelearnedaboutthishasbeenagainstmywill, maybe skip this one.
