Anyone who has been on social media or seen the news in the last month has most likely heard something about an ongoing trial where actor Johnny Depp is suing his Ex-wife actor Amber Heard for defamation for a grand sum of 50 million dollars. But those who are not keeping up with the trial or those who have not heard anything about it may be confused about what is happening.

For some background information, Depp and Heard are rumored to have begun dating after meeting on the set of a movie they were both in 2012, and the two were then married in February of 2015. Just a year later Heard filed for divorce, and it was finalized at the beginning of 2017. In the divorce Heard received 7 million dollars from Depp and pledged to donate all of the money to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. 

In 2018, Heard had an op-ed article in The Washington Post where she talked about being a victim of domestic and sexual abuse, and while Heard did not mention her marriage with Depp, it was heavily implied. This article would then become the basis of the now ongoing trial. 

During the same time, Depp began to lose favor in the public eye and was all but blacklisted from Hollywood. He was forced to resign from the Fantastic Beast and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises. Depp was set to make 22.5 million dollars from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie and 16 million from Fantastic Beasts, so one can imagine what a devastating blow this would be for him.

Now, things begin to get messy as both parties filed a slew of lawsuits. Starting back in 2018, Depp sued a newspaper called The Sun for the offensive headline, and that trial went to trial in July of 2020. Depp officially lost that case in November of the same year.

Next Depp sued Heard in March of 2019 for Defamation for 50 million dollars, which is the now ongoing trial.

Lastly in August of 2020, Heard countersued Depp for 100 million dollars, claiming that he is running a smear campaign on her. As of right now, the trial between Heard and Depp is ongoing and only time will tell who will win this legal battle.