The 8 Most Shocking Moments From Netflix’s ‘Depp v. Heard’

If you followed any part of the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard last year, chances are high “Depp v. Heard” won’t offer you anything you don’t already know.

Rather than contextualizing the trial or examining its aftermath, director Emma Cooper takes the old adage “show don’t tell” to heart. The three-episode docuseries is interspersed with trial footage, as well as clips from YouTubers in Deadpool masks, TikTok influencers filming their reactions for clout and streamers who followed the trial in real time — all of which go largely unexamined. In that way, the series mirrors the digital circus this somber court case became. Yet on a practical level, that means the docuseries is little more than a rehashing of the splashiest headlines that dominated entertainment in 2022.

Still, there are some shocking insights hiding in the three-hour runtime of “Depp v. Heard.” Let’s dive in.

Amber Heard testified in court that Johnny Depp assaulted her with a glass bottle

The Netflix docuseries spares viewers from undoubtably the most shocking moment of the trial. While on the stand and being filmed live, Heard testified that Johnny Depp sexually assaulted her with a glass bottle. The documentary then pans to a placecard that reads, “This is the first time live U.S. courtroom footage showed a victim alleging sexual assault in full vision.”

During this section of the docuseries, even the most pro-Depp supporters taken from YouTube and TikTok seem stunned.

“There were a couple of points in the trial that should have never come out so publicly,” Ruth Glenn, president of public affairs at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, tells the camera.

The makeup company Milani weighed in on the case

During a certain point in the trial, the prosecution argued that Heard learned how to cover her bruises using a certain Milani makeup compact. It’s not that allegation that’s particularly shocking, but the response that followed.

In a TikTok that garnered millions of views, the makeup company said that its specific Cosmetics Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit was released in 2017, a year after Heard filed for divorce from Depp. A viewer of the trial even tried to enter the court to show attorneys the TikTok.

Milani later said it was “not taking a formal stance on the trial” and pulled the video.

The poop detail is more complicated than it had any right to be

If there’s one detail most people remember from the Depp v. Heard case, it’s the poop. Depp testified that he believed that Heard defecated on his side of their bed after an argument following her 30th birthday party. Heard has denied this, blaming Depp’s dog Boo, who had bowel control problems ever since she ate a bag of edible gummies as a puppy.

In court, a security guard testified he overheard Heard referring to the incident as “a horrible practical joke.”

But at one point, it was Depp who thought that a human pooping in the bedroom would be a good joke. During a libel trial that took place in the U.K., it was revealed that Depp sent a text to one of his friends that read, “Will you squat in front of the door of the master bedroom and leave a giant coil of dookie so that Amber steps in it and think that it’s one of the dogs, primarily Boo has a major problem. It’ll be funny.”

“Depp v. Heard” does not settle where the defecation came from.

Heard’s divorce settlement was explained

One point that Heard was criticized for both in court and on social media was claiming she donated her $7 million divorce settlement to charity. While on the stand, Heard clarified that she pledged to donate the funds and was using the words “pledge” and “donate” interchangeably.

According to the docuseries, the ACLU attributed $1.3 million towards a plan to donate $3.5 million over the next 10 years. As for the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, the organization testified in 2018 that they had received $250,000 of the $3.5 million pledge. Neither of these details are new, but seeing them explained in one place is useful.

Depp said he should “burn” and “drown” Heard in texts to Paul Bettany

In a series of texts with Marvel star Paul Bettany, Depp wrote, “Let’s burn Amber!!!” and “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f–k her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she is dead.”

These texts took place in 2013, before Depp and Heard were married. They also were sent during a time when Depp had stopped drinking as well as around the time of the private plane incident. During a flight from Boston to Los Angeles, Heard said Depp assaulted her while intoxicated. Depp denied doing so.

There’s a theory that those pro-Depp social media accounts were largely bots

“Depp v. Heard” skims by this fascinating theory, initially touching upon it through a brief clip from podcaster Michael Hobbes. There have been articles and studies examining whether or not Depp’s vocal supporters were real people or merely bots.

Depp’s lawyer Ben Chew denied the idea there was an online campaign in Depp’s favor, telling NBC, “That was absolutely absurd and baseless.”

Unsealed documents revealed that Depp kicked Heard on a private plane

Over 6,000 documents related to this case were unsealed due to campaigning and requests from criminal defense attorney Andrea Burkhart and viewers of this trial. Many who supported unsealing these documents expected to find more proof in Depp’s favor. Instead, they found unsettling messages about the private plane incident.

Depp’s assistant Stephen Deuters reportedly wrote to Heard about the Boston to L.A. flight: “He was appalled. When I told him he kicked you he cried.” In the wake of these documents being unsealed, a considerable amount of people who once liked Depp victory posts on social media unliked those same posts.

Deuters has since claimed the texts were “heavily doctored” and that he never saw Depp beat Heard.

The social media conversations around the case did influence its outcome

In December of 2022, Depp settled with Heard to the tune of $1 million. In a statement on Instagram, Heard revealed that the vitriol she faced online contributed to her decision to settle.

“It’s important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed. The vilification I have faced on social media is an amplified version of the ways in which women are re-victimised when they come forward,” Heard wrote at the time.

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