How Robert Downey Jr. Allegedly Reached Out To Johnny Depp After His Defamation Trial Verdict Came Down

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been making headlines for years, as their long legal battle continues on. Things came to a head when their defamation case began in Virginia, with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor and his representation largely coming out as the victors in court. And now we know how Robert Downey Jr. allegedly reached out to Depp after his defamation trial verdict came down.

With cameras in the courtroom, the public carefully followed every moment of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s trial in Virginia. What resulted was the court of public opinion, and countless memes and TikToks. And according to the New York Post, Iron Man himself aka Robert Downey Jr. FaceTimed Depp shortly after the verdict came out in his favor.

This information about Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr.’s correspondence was confirmed by the Post, but originally revealed by Depp’s close friend Josh Richman during a charity event. He revealed that a FaceTime between the two celebrities occurred shortly after the defamation trial came to an end. While most of that conversation is private and between the two A-listers, Richman revealed one thing RDJ said to the Edward Scissorhands actor:

John, thank God it’s over.

This sentiment was no doubt echoed by Johnny Depp himself, who has put his focus on his various legal battles over the last few years. Because prior to the defamation trial, Depp sued the U.K. news outlet The Sun for referring to him as a wife beater. But that case didn’t go quite as well, as the courts ultimately ruled against the actor, who pivoted his focus to the suit against Amber Heard occurring stateside.

Throughout the defamation case, Johnny Depp’s team maintained that the actor wasn’t interested in taking money from Amber Heard, but that he simply wanted to clear his name. Now that he’s succeeded in this quest, it should be interesting to see how the 59 year-old actor’s career ultimately recovers from the controversy. As for Heard, it remains to be seen if/how she’ll be able to pay the whopping $10 million that the jury landed on.

Even for those who don’t know Johnny Depp or Amber Heard, Robert Downey Jr.’s feelings of relief still might ring true. After all, the news cycle was dominated for weeks as the defamation trial played out on our TVs. And while the public continued to follow every update about the ongoing situation, things have definitely calmed down a bit.

While it remains to be seen how Johnny Depp’s career recovers now after his victory in court, he’s certainly been keeping busy. The multihyphenate wasn’t present when the verdict for the defamation case was released because he was already in Europe appearing as a musician. Music seems to be a big focus of Depp’s as he’s reuniting his celebrity supergroup Hollywood Vampires. Depp is also expected to jump into production soon for his first movie, where he’ll be playing Louis XV. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.