After a six-week trial that drew millions of people to social media and live television, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard both face a task in trying to rehabilitate their reputations and livelihoods. Depp has a leg up on the competition, thanks to a jury ruling on Wednesday that mostly supported his claim that his ex-wife defamed him by accusing him of beating her.
“Depp has a hill to climb. Heard has a mountain to climb,” said Eric Dezenhall, a crisis mitigator in Washington with no involvement in the case. “If Depp keeps his expectations proportional and understands that he’s unlikely to hit his former heights, he can have a solid career if he takes things slowly. After all, he was vindicated in court, not declared a saint.”
Despite everything, Depp’s fan base is still strong. For the chance to see the action, fans would often camp out overnight. However, unlike rockers and stand-up comedians caught up in #MeToo scandals who can still make money from live shows, Depp and Heard rely on the crisis-averse studio machines to produce large bucks.Whether it’s duelling regular sit-down interviews or another secret weapon in their PR teams’ arsenals, both require rehabilitation.”When it comes to forgiveness and the things that they’ve done”, Danny Deraney, who has handled crisis PR for several of Hollywood’s #MeToo accusers, says males are more likely than women to find new work in the entertainment sector.
He further added: “I think it’s going to be easier for Johnny. For Amber, whether she’s innocent or guilty or whatever it is, it’s going to be difficult. I don’t think her career is necessarily over. But I’m sure it’s going to take a nice hit because I think everyone now is going to look at her as a difficult woman to work with, seeing her emotions the way they’ve been, whether wrong or right. I think they’re going to look at that and say, ‘Do we want this on our set?’”
In Depp’s case it is being said that,In Asian and European markets, where his popularity remains high, the harm to his career is also likely to be much less serious. And he’ll very certainly continue to work on indie films, just as he has for the past 38 years.