While the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial rages on in the United States, people from all around the world are weighing in. From the unearthing of unflattering text messages to cross-examinations and witness testimonies, the trial is gaining global notoriety by the minute, with spectators unsure of how it will all pan out.
Several celebrities have already been quite vocal about the trial, with Lily-Rose Depp defending her father, alongside ex-girlfriends Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis. Penelope Cruz, Sia and Sharon Osbourne have also sided with Depp.
Most recently, Drew Barrymore made a reference to the ongoing trial during an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, where actor Anthony Anderson guest-starred.
“It’s, like, one layer of crazy – it’s a seven-layer dip of insanity,” Barrymore said of the shocking details which continue to come to light. “I know that these are two people’s real lives and I know what it’s like to have your life put out in public. I understand all the feelings, but they are actually offering up this information that nobody had to know. This is crazy!”
“It’s truly amazing just to sit back and read the transcripts of what they’ve done to each other!” Anderson replied.
“How about the burnt body? And why the Honda civic?,” Barrymore asked, referring to a text message which Depp had sent a friend back in 2016, where he wished that Heard’s “rotting corpse was decomposing in the f**ing trunk of a Honda Civic.”
She also went on to describe the case as ‘fascinating’ and revealed that she catches up on new information each night.
At the time, it likely seemed like a throwaway comment, but it soon became clear that viewers weren’t happy with Barrymore’s remarks, which were considered to be ‘making light’ of a very serious situation and showing a ‘lack of empathy.’
Barrymore was quick to address the situation, releasing a one-minute video on her Instagram where she issued a public apology to anyone who might have been offended.
“It has come to my attention that I have offended people with making light of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and for that, I just want to deeply apologise,” the talk show host said during the video.
“I can be a more thoughtful and better person moving forward because all I want to do is be a good person,” she continued in the one-minute clip while iterating that she welcomed the criticism from many on social media as “this can be a teachable moment for me and how I move forward and how I conduct myself.
“I very much appreciate the depth of this and I will grow and change from it … And I thank everyone for helping me grow along the way and teaching me,” Barrymore added. “Thank you.”
Surprisingly, her apology video actually drew in even more criticism, with some users asking why she needed to apologise in the first place.
“Was she not allowed to comment on the #JohnnyDeppAmberHeardTrial at all? Why not? Everyone else is. Drew Barrymore say what you want to say. No one has the right to suppress your voice. The trial is crazy,” one user wrote.
“Drew Barrymore having to apologizing for saying the Depp/Heard trial is crazy is really stupid and a waste,” another added.
Either way, the apology has been issued and Drew is moving on with her life, teasing that she’ll be appearing on The Jimmy Fallon Show soon.
In terms of the trial, Heard has just fired her crisis management and public relations team, after a slew of negative headlines were published during Depp’s days on the witness stand. She is expected to take the stand in the coming days.
