Johnny Depp recently won the defamation trial that he had issued against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The six-week-long trial was held in Fairfax, Virginia, and Depp won the $50 million case. Interestingly, some spectators who attended the defamation trial are now selling their paper wristbands online. It is on eBay for as much as Rs 3.8 lakh! For the uninitiated, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation regarding an op-ed, which was published in the Washington Post in 2018, where she called herself a domestic abuse survivor. Even though she didn’t name Depp, his legal team had claimed a $50 million compensation payment.
Sheriffs at the Fairfax County courthouse had distributed wristbands as a crowd control measure at the highly publicised trial. A large number of fans had gathered to attend the same. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to note that several people who were admitted to the courthouse are now selling their disposable, colour-coded paper wristbands which is stamped with their date of entry. It is available on auction websites like eBay for as much as $5,000 (Rs 3.8 lakh).
“This is a piece of celebrity culture history,” wrote one seller reportedly, who started the bidding for his wristband at $4,999. He also described the condition of the wristband in detail and wrote, “The wristband has been cut so I could remove it from my wrist, you cannot reattach it without using glue or tape; but I figure this would be better framed.”
A white wristband from day 16 of the trial already has six bidders. That seller had reportedly written, “Seller waited outside of the courthouse to snag a seat into the audience to watch the Depp v Heard trial live in person.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met on the sets of The Rum Diary in 2009 and started dating a few years later. In 2015, they got married. During that time, Johnny Depp was in a long term relationship with French actress Vanessa Paradis while Amber Heard was dating photographer Tasya Van Ree. Following the split with their respective former partners, the two began secretly dating in 2011. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were engaged in 2014. The news became public when a picture emerged of the actress wearing an ornate engagement ring. They finally got married in 2015 in a very private ceremony on Depp’s private island in the Bahamas.
In 2016, Heard filed for divorce and alleged that Depp had physically abused her during their marriage under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Depp denied the accusations and stated that Heard was “attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.” Their divorce was finalised in 2017. Johnny Depp later sued Amber Heard for defamation because of an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post in 2018. In the op-ed, headlined “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change,” Heard claimed that she was a domestic abuse survivor. However, she did not name Depp.
