The Reason Johnny Depp Put On Such A Public Trial, According To A Relationship Expert - Exclusive

If you've been paying attention to the current news cycle of the past few weeks, you're probably pretty familiar with the Johnny Depp defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. According to Time, Depp has brought the "Aquaman" actress to trial over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018. In the piece, Heard alleges that she "became a public figure representing domestic abuse" after her relationship with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor. Depp now claims, while not specifically named in The Washington Post story, that it was these accusations that caused him to lose jobs and hurt his career in Hollywood. 

The trial has become sort of like a he said, she said that The New York Times claims has brought "stan culture into the courtroom." Even Heard just reportedly fired her PR team, because, according to a source who spoke with the New York Post, she didn't like the negative press she was receiving. With such a public trial, many of Depp and Heard's fans have been tuning in each day. In fact, the Depp versus Heard defamation trial has been available for livestreaming (via Deadline). While some trials aren't as public, like Ghislaine Maxwell's, some believe there's a real reason why Depp has decided to have such a public trial (via The New York Times). 

Relationship therapist, coach, and host of "Love Talk Live," Jaime Bronstein, revealed to The List that there's a very real reason the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial is so public, and that's attention. According to Bronstein, "Celebrities often make things public to gain attention if they have been out of the limelight for a while." For the same reason you'll text a friend you haven't see in awhile, Bronstein admits, "[Celebrities] don't want the public to forget about them." 

When Depp took to the stand to testify, he admitted that the reason he has decided to bring this case to court is, "It was the only time I was able to fight back and use my own voice." Depp likely felt silenced after being accused of domestic abuse in Heard's 2018 Washington Post op-ed, especially if he feels that it was the reason for his firing from projects like the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise (via Time). 

Host of "Love Talk Live," Jaime Bronstein, believes, "I think that Johnny Depp has made this trial public because he wants to save face and make sure that the public hears his side of the story." Now that fans are able to get Depp's side of the story, it seems as though many people are coming out as #TeamJohnny. Even Vice reports that many of the comments under the trial's livestream online include things like "Free Johnny," similar to the "Free Britney" movement for Britney Spears' highly-publicized conservatorship trial. 

According to BuzzFeed News, there have also been many viral TikTok videos covering the Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial. Relationship therapist Bronstein tells The List, "Johnny wants people to know that he is a good person, not a perfect person, but he isn't the beast that Amber conveys him to be." And it seems it's working. Even after not-so-great audio conversations and text messages between the former couple were shared in court, it seems there are still many fans supporting the actor who is finally getting his chance in court to speak up (via CBS News).