Tabloid lawsuit would leave these negative effects for Johnny Depp
Although the lawsuit he initiated against a British tabloid was intended to clean up the actor's image, the prognoses for his professional life are not favorable.
By suing the tabloid The Sun, Johnny Depp wanted to protect his reputation, but the three-week trial, with revelations about his private life and his marriage to Amber Heard, could cost him dearly, both for the actor and his ex-wife.
"It does not matter who wins this disgusting battle, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard will lose THE TWO", he headlined in the Daily Mail at the beginning of the trial, which ends on Tuesday.
The daily hearings to determine whether the tabloid defamed the actor as a violent husband revealed all the dark details of their relationship.
There was talk of Johnny Depp's drug addiction, accusations of cheating on his wife or even excrement found in the marital bed. "They explained so many things and washed their dirty clothes in public, both in a proper sense and in a figurative sense (...) that the damage has already been done", whatever the verdict, says public relations expert Mark Borkowski, in an interview with the AFP agency.
According to him, "the trial makes things worse" because it gives the public "a great story" about their private problems. The case shows "for both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard that glory is toxic," he adds.
According to Emily Cox, an attorney specializing in libel suits, the actor was right to bring the case to justice. "If he had left unanswered those serious accusations of domestic violence they would have been forever associated with his name," he explains. "That would certainly have a greater impact on his career than revealing unflattering details." Emily Cox believes that revelations about her drug use are a lesser evil because "an actor who suffers from addiction is better regarded than an actor who beats her wife."
"If Depp wins his trial it could give new impetus to his career and increase his popularity, as a person unjustly accused of marital violence," he says.
Mark Borkowski is more pessimistic and believes that it will be difficult to really "prove" his innocence and predicts that the actor will have a "Pyrrhic victory". "He made Amber Heard a martyr ... She has become a totem of today's struggles, the emblem of those in abusive relationships."
However, the trial has risks for the 34-year-old actress, who only appears as a witness. "The Sun's defense relies entirely on Amber Heard's allegations, to the point where her credibility is as much at stake as Depp's," says Emily Cox.
"If The Sun loses the trial, it could find itself ostracized in Hollywood," she says. On the contrary, if the newspaper wins, the actress of "The Danish Girl" and "Aquaman" will be "considered as a brave gentleman who launched a crusade against domestic violence," adds the lawyer.
In this case, the consequences for Johnny Depp will be "catastrophic for his career" and his name would be "forever marked by these accusations." A decision in this regard "could also have an impact on [Depp's] defamation complaint against Mrs. Heard in the United States, putting an end to his reputation," says Cox.
"For a big production, with a lot of money at stake, it could then be a danger" to hire the actor, says Mark Borkowski. According to him, however, the actor's career could recover and find exits on the side of "independent producers" or "large European producers". "In these matters people have a tendency to suffer from amnesia."
