Credit: Alamy

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard ‘Hot Take’ actors face criticism from domestic abuse survivors

Tue 4 October 2022 11:30, UK

The actors portraying Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in a new film documenting the couple’s defamation trial from earlier this year have responded to criticism from domestic abuse survivors.

The new programme, Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial, which stars Mark Hapka and Megan Davis, premiered on Tubi last week and recreated the head-turning trial that took place this summer as Depp sued Heard for defamation regarding a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post.

In the op-ed, Heard wrote about being a survivor of domestic violence. While the piece did not namecheck Depp, his lawyers argued that a false implication was glowing throughout the report as she claimed she was sexually and physically abused during their marriage.

The outcome saw Depp awarded $10million (£8million) in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages, while Heard was awarded $2million (£1.5million) after the jury found that Depp had defamed her through his attorney.

The new Hot Take film includes scenes of what may have happened behind closed doors during the actors’ fractious relationship, including scenes of graphic domestic violence.

Responding to the recent criticism from domestic abuse survivors, Davis, who portrays Heard, told Entertainment Weekly: “I think those people are very nervous about this film and very nervous that anything would make light of something as serious as domestic violence.

“I think those people have been very vocally upset on social media because their experience is something that deserves to be respected.

“To those people, what I’d want them to know is, I believe, based on all of my conversations with producers and directors and the studios involved in this project, that no one would come into this wanting anything other than to try and portray the truth as best as possible from two sides where we still aren’t even really sure what happened.”

Hapka added that he hopes the film would humanise Depp and Heard, especially after the way the trial was followed and dissected on social media. “I think it’s horrible that they’ve had to have their entire experience completely broadcasted and brought into everyone’s opinion,” he said.

“But I think if we’re to find a silver lining in all of it, it’s the moments where things are relatable for people, and I just hope that the way that we’ve portrayed it in the movie was able to bring actual humanity to the situation, versus just words on the stand.

“It really brought a lot more compassion towards both of them, for me… A really major part of the movie that’s important to acknowledge too is the sensationalism of it all,” he added.

“This doesn’t get to where it is without so many factors, so many people involved, social media, people at home, all of that combined has made it what it is, and that’s what we’re bringing attention to.”

Watch the official trailer for Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial below.