Business Analyst - June 2

Thursday, June 2, 2022
Johnny Depp wins defamation
case against Amber Heard
Depp lawyer becomes internet
celebrity
MILLIOnS of viewers
across the globe tuned in
to watch the legal battle
between two hollywood
stars.
As the drama unfolded, a new star
stepped into the spotlight: Johnny Depp's
lawyer, Camille Vasquez.
Vasquez, 37, has become an unlikely -
and unwitting - co-star of the show,
gaining fans for her sharp legal style.
T-shirts adorned with her name and
hashtags praising her are making the
rounds on social media.
"I am still a Johnny Depp fan," reads
one of the many tweets about her. "But I
am also now a die-hard Camille Vasquez
fan."
So who is the attorney that's caught the
eye of court watchers?
Reporting from Fairfax, Virginia
The former couple at an event together
in 2015
The former couple at an event together
in 2015Image caption: The former couple at
an event together in 2015
There have been essentially two cases
here - one decided by a jury and another by
the public.
And from its early days, it was clear the
overwhelming weight of online traffic was
siding with Johnny Depp and deeply
suspicious of Amber heard.
The number of people who watch TV
news each evening in America is about 18
million. The number of views of videos on
TikTok with the hashtag
#justiceforjohnnydepp is, at the time of
this writing, about 18 billion.
The question in the legal trial now is,
what impact this verdict will have? has
Depp saved his career and reputation?
As he made his final pitch to the jury,
Amber heard's lawyer Benjamin
Rottenborn boiled her case down into
simple terms. her op-ed at issue merely
suggested she had been a victim of
domestic abuse - she made no other
specific allegations.
"If you think they were both abusive to
each other... then Amber wins," he said. "If
Amber was abused even one time, then she
wins."
Going by this logic, the jury must not
have believed a single instance of abuse
detailed on the stand by heard.
And there were many. She alleged
numerous instances of emotional,
physical, verbal and sexual assault.
none of these seem to have swayed the
jury, who found she defamed her exhusband
by casting herself as a "public
figure representing domestic abuse".
'Surreal meeting Johnny' in a
pub as verdict is read
Gary Spedding from newcastle has
described to BBC news his chance
encounter with Depp at a pub there
moments before the jury read their verdict.
"It was very surreal, meeting Johnny,"
he said.
"I was happy to have wished him luck
earlier on and am very happy for the
outcome," he said.
"he said 'thank you'. he was very
gracious, you know, smiling. I was glad to
have met him," Spedding said.
'evidence matters, but the jury
are fans too'
If you were to take a look at social
media over the past month, you'd see that
to many, heard lost in the court of public
opinion weeks ago.
"What's interesting about public
opinion in this case is that we can measure
it," said journalist and author Cooper
Lawrence, who has written extensively on
celebrity culture.
"#JusticeForJohnnyDepp has more
than 18 billion hits on TikTok. Amber
heard has only a tiny percentage of that."
each day of the trial, Depp would pass
hundreds of screaming fans on the short
walk from his car to court.
Jurors had been instructed to stay
offline and ignore all coverage of the case.
But the noise around this case will have
been hard to ignore.
"I think it will be really interesting to
see how the jury responds to the cult of
celebrity that's in front of them," Lawrence
said before the verdict.
"evidence matters, but the jury are
fans, too."
Depp lawyer thanks jury
Lawyers for Johnny Depp, Camille
Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, speak
outside the court
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Depp's attorney, Camille Vasquez, has
thanked the jury and said the verdict
confirms that "the claims against Johnny
Depp are defamatory and unsupported by
any evidence".
"We are... so grateful to the jury for
their careful deliberation," she told
reporters outside court.
Another Depp attorney, Benjamin
Chew, said the Depp team was "most
pleased that the trial has resonated for so
many people in the public who value truth
and justice".
"now that the jury has reached its
conclusive verdict, it's time to turn the
page and look to the future," he added.
Africa Live: Thousands of SA travellers
stranded after airline chaos
A reported 3,000 travellers
in South Africa have been
left stranded after the
Comair airline abruptly
suspended all its flights
with immediate effect.
The airline
announced the
suspension on Tuesday
evening, citing financial
problems.
Angry customers say
Comair offered specials
and accepted bookings
just hours before
announcing the
suspension.
Some travellers were
scrambling to find
alternative flights this
morning.
Comair is seeking
more funding to be able
to resume operations.
It operates low budget
airline Kulula as well as
domestic and regional
flights for British Airways
airlines.
The firm says it has
been affected by the
coronavirus-related travel
restrictions and the
recent increase in fuel
prices due to the Ukraine-
Russian war.
It has been plagued by
financial and operational
problems. In March,
South Africa’s Civil
Aviation Authority
temporarily grounded all
its planes, citing safety
concerns.