Topline
Johnny Depp’s popularity decreased during his highly publicized defamation trial against Amber Heard, a Morning Consult poll published Wednesday found, despite what seemed to be a growing stronghold of support for the actor on social media as the lawsuit played out.
Johnny Depp waves to his fans as he arrives outside court during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard … [+]
Key Facts
From April 8-10, before the trial began, to June 4-5, days after the verdict was decided, the amount of U.S. adults who viewed Depp as somewhat or very favorably dropped to 56% from 68%.
Baby boomer opinion of Depp worsened the most of any age group, with the amount of respondents who viewed him unfavorably dropping to 37% from 59%.
Some 26% of men viewed Depp as unfavorable in June, compared to 17% who saw him that way in April.
Millennials viewed Depp favorably more than any other generation, with 72% viewing him that way in June, down from 78% in April.
Gen Z’s opinion of Depp was the most unchanged throughout the trial—those who viewed Depp favorably dropped only 2% to 70% from April to June.
Big Number
20.4 billion. That’s how many views the #JusticeForJohnnyDepp tag has on TikTok. The #JusticeForAmberHeard tag has just 88.6 million. Depp joined TikTok this week and quickly amassed 11.4 million followers.
Key Background
Last week a jury decided that Heard defamed Depp in a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post. Though she did not name her ex-husband in the piece, she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard also won part of her countersuit against Depp, over comments his lawyer made calling her claims of abuse a hoax. Depp was awarded $10.35 million in damages, and Heard was awarded $2 million. After the trial ended Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft said she believed social media influenced the decision, saying of the jury, “There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it.” Depp’s lawyers pushed back on Bredehoft’s claims Wednesday, saying the facts spoke for themselves. They also denied claims that there was a coordinated campaign to support Depp, calling them “utterly baseless.”
Further Reading
Johnny Depp’s Lawyers Don’t Think Verdict Will Affect #MeToo Movement (Forbes)
Amber Heard’s Lawyer Says Actress Can’t Pay $10 Million Judgment To Johnny Depp (Forbes)
Jury Rules Amber Heard Defamed Johnny Depp In Domestic Abuse Op-Ed (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/06/09/johnny-depps-popularity-decreased-during-trial-despite-social-media-craze-survey-suggests/