The battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard may have left the courtroom, at least for now, but the war is far from over, at least as it concerns Johnny Depp. Depp ultimately came out on top of the defamation lawsuit between the two, and since then the Pirates of the Caribbean actor has been taking something of a victory lap. He’s spoken out against Heard since the verdict and now he’s seemingly taking shots at her in song.
Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck have collaborated on a brand new album, 18, which, according to The Sunday Times (via TMZ), includes a pair of songs penned by Depp. One of the tunes, titled “Sad Motherfuckin' Parade,” which might itself be a reference to the ongoing legal battles that have kept Depp in the headlines, includes the line “If I had a dime, it wouldn't reach your hand,” which certainly could be a reference to Heard, considering how long they have been fighting in court over money.
Johnny Depp filed a pair of lawsuits concerning Amber Heard in the last few years. He ultimately lost a libel lawsuit against a paper in the UK which referred to him as a “wife-beater” in its pages. However, his defamation lawsuit against Heard directly was far more successful. Technically, both sides were ordered to pay the other for defamation, but Heard was ordered to pay the far larger sum.
The legal battle isn’t entirely over just yet. Amber Heard is looking to appeal the case, at the very least we could see a court reduce the amount of the damages, even significantly. Although, there’s still the very real possibility that Amber Heard will be expected to pay Johnny Depp several million dollars when this is all said and done.
The real question, post-lawsuit, is what all the very public proceedings will mean for the careers of both stars going forward. Johnny Depp’s defamation case was based on the idea that Amber Heard’s Washington Post op-ed led to him losing his job as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and he also walked away from the role of Grindelwald in Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts movies following the loss in the libel case. Depp has continued to work, but certainly not as high profile as before.
Amber Heard’s current career status was also at issue in the recent defamation case, as her role in the upcoming Aquaman sequel is reportedly much smaller than it was originally, something Heard’s legal team attributed to the public attacks against the actress which she claimed Depp was behind.
We certainly haven't heard the end of this case yet. And neither star is done with legal proceedings either. Johnny Depp is headed back to court to deal with an assault charge while Amber Heard is being sued by her insurance company so that it isn't required to pay out due to the defamation verdict.
