Netflix: Why Johnny Depp and Amber Heard weren’t interviewed for the documentary series on the trial

More than a year after the highly publicized trial of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, Netflix is ​​releasing a docu-series that has been heating up social media for weeks. The series, titled Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard, focuses on a defamation lawsuit between the two actors.

For six weeks in the spring of 2022, this “TikTok trial” took over the United States and many other countries around the world, dominating the conversation on the Internet thanks to excessive coverage on social media by media, influencers and commentators of all kinds.

And surprisingly, there are no interviews with the ex-married couple in all three episodes.

during the interview varietyDirector Emma Cooper explained her decision to focus on “Talk about a trial“, which led to the exclusion of interviews with Depp, Heard and their legal teams:

“I wanted to get out of the “he said, she said” lawsuit and just talk about us, how we relate and how we view events that have little to do with us.“, he explains.

“That’s actually what the show is about, but I can’t help but watch some of the things that are said about me without people having seen the show, and it’s interesting that people jump to a lot of conclusions, but that wasn’t the case. My intention at all.“

In addition, the series does not include interviews with journalists or experts. It is presented only through live streaming of the trial and comments on YouTube, TikTok and other social networks.

What can we expect from the series?

“Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard is a three-part series that examines the infamous defamation case that captured the world’s attention and became the world’s first TikTok lawsuit.“, we can read in the Netflix synopsis.Showing the two shows side-by-side for the first time, this series explores this global media phenomenon, questioning the nature of truth and its role in our modern society.“

In its process, by juxtaposing the two protagonists’ testimonies and pointing fingers at the media circus, the series takes a side of lightness. It will not sufficiently explore the implications of the media coverage of this trial. It offers no analysis by experts or sociologists of the impact of this recasting on society, nor of the issue of male violence and dominance relations between men and women.

Emma Cooper is not a journalist, and her series tells us nothing more than what we already knew. In fact, it tells us more than we knew when we arrived, because the Virginia trial was inextricably linked to an earlier libel case in the United Kingdom, a case that is barely mentioned and deserves a lengthy development.

There are a lot of “legal” issues that are barely mentioned, as if to say, “Look, most people talking about this case didn’t understand Virginia libel law on a superficial level, so why should a documentary?” “Real investigative work could have thrown an interesting light on the case and offered something more than a mere summary.