Johnny Depp received a FaceTime call from friend and fellow actor Robert Downey Jr to congratulate him on his win following an intense six-week trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard. As fans are aware, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star won his defamation case against his former flame after taking the latter to court for implying he had abused her when she wrote her 2018 Washington Post op-ed.
Johnny’s friend Josh Richman made the revelation during a charity live stream event for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles before a rep confirmed the remark to The New York Post. Shortly after the verdict was announced on June 1, the 59-year-old received a call from Robert via FaceTime while he was staying at a hotel in the UK where he’d been touring with English guitarist Jeff Beck. During their conversation, RDJ is said to have told his longtime pal, “John, thank God it’s over.”
Robert and Johnny’s friendship dates back several decades, having first formed a bond during their earlier years as up-and-coming actors in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Amber has since sat down for an interview with NBC’s Today Show, insisting that the representation of the explosive trial on social media had not been fair.
The full one-hour interview won’t air until June 17, but NBC released a sneak peek on Monday, where the Texas native tells interview Savannah Guthrie that she wasn’t angry with the jury’s verdict, but she stands by her words that there was no justified representation simply because Johnny is such a beloved actor.
“Even somebody who is sure I am deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think I’m lying, you still couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me that you think on social media there’s been a fair representation,” she argued. “You cannot tell me that you think this has been fair.”
When Amber was quizzed about her feelings towards the jury, who ultimately ruled in Johnny’s favor, agreeing that she had defamed his character when she wrote her controversial op-ed one year after their divorce was finalized, she added, “I don’t blame them. I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor.”
A spokesperson for Amber later shared that while Johnny relished in giving numerous statements after his win, their client opted to express her “thoughts and feelings, much of which she was not allowed to do on the witness stand.”
Johnny was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and another $5 million in punitive damages, but given that the punitive fee is capped at $350k per Virginia state law, on top of Amber winning $2 million in compensatory damages, Johnny would only be entitled to receive $8.35 million from his ex.