A lot of people have plenty of opinions about the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which went into jury deliberations on Friday following closing arguments. As a seven-person jury works to reach a unanimous verdict on the actor’s $50 million lawsuit and the actress’ $100 million countersuit, public discussion continues over whether or not Heard was lying about multiple allegations of physical abuse, including accusations that her ex-husband tried to kill her. With public sentiment leaning heavily toward the former Fantastic Beasts actor, Elon Musk has thrown in his two cents regardding his hopes for what comes next.
Elon Musk, who briefly dated Amber Heard following her divorce from Johnny Depp, was expected to play a part in the defamation trial, as he was subpoenaed in October in relation to communication records regarding the Aquaman actress’ claims of abuse. However, the billionaire never took the stand, despite being listed as a potential witness. The Tesla CEO responded to a tweet Friday night, expressing kind words to both parties:
I hope they both move on. At their best, they are each incredible.
While Elon Musk has history with Amber Heard, it’s unclear if he’s met or spent any time with Johnny Depp. However, after reports got back to the CEO that Depp had allegedly threatened in a text message to slice off Musk’s penis, Musk jokingly challenged the actor to a cage fight. Depp has repeatedly claimed that his ex-wife’s relationship with “mollusk,” as the actor apparently referred to him, started before the former couple split up — a claim both Heard and Musk have denied.
It seems the business magnate doesn’t harbor any real ill will toward the actor, however, considering the tweet called both sides of the antics-filled trial “incredible.” His sentiments were made in response to a post from podcaster Lex Fridman, who shared his takeaways from the six-week ordeal, including opinions on fame, the skill level of lawyers and the ability to lie to millions of people:
My takeaways from Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial:1. Fame is one hell of a drug (for some).2. Psychiatrists & lawyers come in drastically varying levels of skill.3. Lying to millions of people is something humans are capable of.4. Love can be messy.5. Mega pint of wine.May 27, 2022
Over the past six weeks, Johnny Depp and Amber’s Heard’s trial has produced over 100 hours of testimonies in front of the Virginia court and attracted a public audience via broadcast on CourtTV. It’s often been a media circus, with fans of the actor showing up with alpacas outside the courthouse and one spectator being kicked out for screaming that she and Depp were soulmates and telling him “this baby is yours” during testimonies.
Amber Heard said the criticism she’s received online has been “agonizing,” as Johnny Depp fans have started a petition asking that Warner Bros. remove the actress from her upcoming film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, garnering over 4.4 million supporters as of this writing. Depp supporters would also like to see the actor return as Jack Sparrow in another Pirates of the Caribbean movie, with a separate petition raising more than 850,000 signatures so far.
Closing arguments were suspended Friday evening after only a couple of hours but will resume on Tuesday, June 1, following the Memorial Day holiday. Hopefully, as Elon Musk said, whatever the verdict brings allows both parties to move forward.
