Fresh on the heels of Johnny Depp’s highly-publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, none other than Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse has taken to social media to declare that he has been emboldened by the Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s Fairfax, Virginia, courtroom win.
Depp originally sued Heard for defamation, seeking $50 million in damages, in relation to a 2018 Washington Post op-ed penned by his ex-wife, in which Heard personally described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Heard did not mention her ex-husband by name in the WaPo piece, but Depp and his legal team assert that the op-ed was clearly in reference to the Pirates of the Caribbean star, and ultimately served to cost him numerous lucrative acting roles due to the accusations. Heard countersued her husband for $100 million over remarks made by Depp’s UK attorney, calling the Aquaman actor’s allegations a “Hoax.”
After a weeks-long trial in Fairfax, Virginia, the jury on the case reached a verdict — finding that Amber Heard did defame Johnny Depp in 3 separate statements she made in the Washington Post piece. The jury also found that Depp’s attorney defamed Heard, on Johnny’s behalf, with the “Hoax” statement.
Ultimately, Depp “won” the case and was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million dollars in punitive damages, while the jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and no money for punitive damages. Punitive damages are capped in the state of Virginia at $350,000, leading the judge to reduce the amount Depp received in punitive damages to the capped amount.
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We don’t typically cover entertainment news here and haven’t weighed in on the Depp vs. Heard trial, as we haven’t kept up with it.
However, we’re now seeing the likes of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse using the Depp vs. Heard trial, namely Depp’s “win,” to “fuel” his own plans to file defamation lawsuits against various media companies, who he and his mother Wendy Rittenhouse have claimed “defamed” Kyle in their reporting on him after he fatally shot and killed two men and injured a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during the widespread unrest following the police shooting of Jacob Black.
Rittenhouse was ultimately acquitted in November 2021 of five charges, including first-degree homicide.
Following the verdict in his trial against his ex-wife, Depp released a statement in which he said, “The jury gave me my life back… Truth never perishes.”
Rittenhouse quoted this statement and added, “I felt that!… Congratulations to Johnny and his team on his defamation suit.”
The Kenosha killer went on to add, “I have a new announcement coming soon about my defamation cases, keep an eye on Fox News and TMAP.org for more this week.”
“The jury gave me my life back.” “Truth never perishes.” – Johnny Depp
I felt that!
Congratulations to Johnny and his team on his defamation suit.
— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) June 1, 2022
“Johnny Depp trial is just fueling me, you can fight back against the lies in the media, and you should!” Rittenhouse wrote in a second tweet, plugging his initiative called The Media Accountability Project that’s purpose is fundraising money to sue politicians, celebrities, athletes, and public figures who he believes have defamed him by calling him a “murderer” despite his acquittal and referring to his as a “white supremacist.”
I have a new announcement coming soon about my defamation cases, keep an eye on Fox News and https://t.co/ZihybAjj7N for more this week.
Johnny Depp trial is just fueling me, you can fight back against the lies in the media, and you should!
— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) June 1, 2022
Rittenhouse has previously stated that he plans to sue President Joe Biden.
Featured image via screen capture
