- Johnny Depp won a victory in his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
- Lawyers told Insider it could encourage more defamation suits against abusers.
- Even if the accused can't win the case, they could use the courts as a platform to try and repair their reputation.
Johnny Depp won a victory Wednesday after suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation, an outcome that could encourage other wealthy and powerful people accused of abuse to sue their accusers.
Depp sued Heard in 2019 over a Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a victim of domestic violence. Depp argued Heard was the abuser in the relationship and that her accusations had destroyed his career. Heard countersued, accusing Depp of domestic and sexual abuse. Both have denied abusing the other.
A jury on Wednesday found both actors liable for defamation against each other but ultimately sided with Depp, finding Heard acted with "actual malice" and awarding him $15 million in damages. Heard was awarded $2 million over comments Depp's lawyer made calling allegations she made a "hoax."
"It's a complete and total win and vindication for Depp," Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Insider. "This was an extraordinary legal and public relations come back. I've never seen anything like it."
It's not yet clear how the outcome of the trial and public support from fans online will impact his career, but Rahmani said Depp's win, inside and outside of the courtroom, could encourage others to go after accusers.
"I would expect to see — whether it's athletes, politicians, celebrities, the rich and powerful — to aggressively go after their accusers," Rahmani said.
Even if the accused do not believe they can win a defamation trial, which is notoriously difficult in the US, those with more financial resources than their accusers may sue anyways simply in an attempt to resurrect their reputations.
"There's a possibility that celebrities could use the courts as a platform," Beverly Hills entertainment attorney Mitra Ahouraian told Insider, adding that's exactly what Depp did: "He used the courts as this massive public platform. It could have gone another way for him and I don't know that other celebrities will take that risk."
Ahouraian, who has often worked with actors on other defamation cases, said not all celebrities will be as willing to air their dirty laundry as Depp, who pushed to have cameras in the courtroom despite Heard's objections. She said Depp's confidence in the support of his own fans and in his own story likely helped him pursue the case. She added that if other accused people feel they have nothing more to lose, as Depp expressed, they may be more likely to bring a suit.
John Culhane, professor of law at Widener University Delaware Law School, told Insider the Depp outcome could encourage others to sue accusers "if they really believe that they've been defamed." But he added this case is such an outlier in many ways that it's difficult to guess how much of an impact it will have.
Another potential outcome, he said, is that accusers may be more hesitant to write an op-ed like Heard's, adding "you wouldn't want people who have legitimate grievances to be silenced."
Rahmani agreed, saying the outcome could "chill and discourage accusers from coming forward," adding that while domestic violence and sexual assault can be falsely reported, they are already among the most underreported crimes. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network estimates that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police, meaning more than 2 out of 3 assaults go unreported.