Johnny Depp coming out on top in court of public opinion, experts say

nypost.com:

bombshell defamation case against Amber Heard, experts say.Now that the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star has told his side publicly, legal and PR professionals told The Post a jury ruling in his favor doesn’t matter as much.“When [Johnny Depp] stepped off the stand, I think he already won based on his definition of winning,” said Texas civil attorney Katherine Lizardo. “Because he already obtained the favor of the court of public opinion … once he told his story.”Depp testified for four days during the second week at the Fairfax, Virginia, trial — and then again for more than three hours on Wednesday.He is suing his ex-wife for $50 million, alleging she defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse.

Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, claiming Depp defamed her when he said she was lying about her abuse allegations.“I think for Johnny Depp, winning the legal side of the defamation claim does not matter to him,” Lizardo told The Post. “Winning – it would just be icing on the cake for him because his main goal for filing the defamation lawsuit was to clear his name and to appeal to the court of public opinion.”From the beginning of his testimony, Depp emphasized that he brought the lawsuit to “clear my name,” for his sake and that of his children, Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 20, as well as for those in the movie industry who trusted him.Experts said he achieved this with his time on the stand.“Right now I think it’s undisputed that the court of public opinion favors him and heard him and are now supporting him.