What I’m Hearing: Johnny Depp’s Dark Arts

Hello, I'm Matthew Belloni, and this is What I'm Hearing...
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Hello! It’s a one-year anniversary party tonight at What I’m Hearing. Hard to believe, it was May 20, 2021, when I sent my first email, “What I’m Hearing… About the AT&T Mess,” to about 300 people in my contacts folder. A year and 104 emails later, we’ve officially launched Puck, grown the community to thousands upon thousands of readers, brought on some of the best journalists covering media, politics, tech and finance, started audio and events divisions, and hopefully made an impact on the lives of members like you.

Thanks to everyone who has joined this community, and to those who have kinda, maybe thought about joining and will do so now because you won’t want to miss what we have in store next…

Discussed in this issue: Amber Heard, Kathleen Kennedy, Brian Roberts, Cary Fukunaga, Matthew Hiltzik, Warren Buffett, Tom Cruise, Todd Boehly, Bill Mechanic, Bob Iger, and the big star defying the Golden Globes boycott.

But first…

Who Won the Week: Dan Abrams

The Law & Crime Network founder reported 330 million total viewers on the obscure channel for coverage of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, which L&C and Court TV are both covering gavel-to-gavel.

More on the Depp-Heard circus below, but first a couple little news updates and items…

On Thursday, I noted that Netflix warned employees of possible further layoffs “later this year.” A couple people reached out saying the target for that additional reduction in force is actually pretty soon, possibly mid-June, and likely before the next earnings and subscriber reveal in July. (Netflix declined to confirm or comment on the timeline.)...

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Johnny Depp’s Fake News

The dark arts of media manipulation for political gain, once the realm of D.C., have come to Hollywood in the sordid trial of Depp vs Amber Heard, and there’s no going back now.

MATTHEW BELLONI

Did you know that Amber Heard has litigation insurance? She does, according to two sources close to her. The actress’s homeowners policy is covering most of the cost of the $50 million trial against her ex, Johnny Depp. Defamation is actually a common area of protection for homeowners, though one prominent litigator told me it’s usually carved out for famous people, given their higher likelihood of media disputes. Heard had already spent millions of her own money fighting Depp, I’m told, before discovering in advance of the trial that she could invoke the coverage. (Her rep declined to comment.) She did, so kudos to Heard’s business manager, or her broker, or whoever inserted it into her policy, given her notoriety.

That’s a positive fact for Heard, but if you’re following this crazy trial via digital media or social platforms—and, at this point, who isn’t?—it’s unlikely that you will see it elsewhere in your feed this week, when Depp returns to the witness stand. Instead, you’ll probably be exposed to more anti-Heard memes, articles and video clips, the volume of which has been insane and well-chronicled.

The content of the trial is partly the cause, of course—the salacious claims of bed-pooping and bottle-tossing, the toxic display of obscene wealth, substance abuse and entitlement. For that, we can thank judge Penney Azcarate, who, for reasons known only to her, allowed multiple cameras in the courtroom (perfect for those viral reaction shots)...

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