After the notorious Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial, it almost seemed for a while that Depp’s Hollywood downfall was all because of Heard and her allegations. The explosive 2022 trial thus left fans divided—some rallied behind him, while others called him problematic. But here’s the thing—Depp’s career struggles didn’t start with the courtroom drama.
It’s now time to admit how Johnny Depp had been struggling with his dimming star power even before the legal battle. From The Lone Ranger (2013) to Mortdecai (2015), Depp had been repeatedly delivering high-profile box office flops. Now, for those unaware—his fading star power wasn’t just bad luck—it was partly his own doing.
Johnny Depp’s 2022 trial against Amber Heard worsened his already damaged career
After Amber Heard‘s 2018 Washington Post op-ed, as Johnny Depp sued her for defamation, it marked the biggest celebrity feud of the decade. The two stars exposed each other’s dirty laundry in the court, during their 2022 trial, which eventually led fans to pick sides. Eventually, although Depp won the defamation case, Hollywood wasn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for him afterward.
Soon, Disney dropped him from Pirates of the Caribbean, and Warner Bros. replaced him as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. So, while the trial became a personal win for Johnny Depp, it turned into a professional nightmare, as studios became hesitant to work with him. But surprisingly, this wasn’t the real reason why Depp’s star power started dimming in the industry.
While the 2022 trial might have worsened Johnny Depp’s reputation in Hollywood, his troubles were already brewing long before. Way ahead of the courtroom drama, Depp was already struggling with something every Hollywood star fears—fading relevance. Surprisingly, Amber Heard had nothing to do with that—it was purely Depp’s on-set behavior and alleged lack of professionalism that marked his downfall.
According to reports from THR, sources reflected on how Depp’s unorthodox behavior had not only launched him into the industry but also marked the end of his career. It was his reckless spending over the years and reports of constantly arriving late and drunk to the set while making Dead Men Tell No Tales, that ruined Johnny Depp’s reputation in Hollywood. To add insult to injury, it was also reported that he needed an earpiece to remember his lines.
Johnny Depp’s downfall began way before his trial with high-profile flops
So it seems, even before Amber Heard released the Washington Post op-ed, and Johnny Depp accused her of defamation, followed by the notorious trial (that fans believe to have damaged Depp’s career), the Sweeney Todd star’s box office magic had started wearing off. Well, as mentioned earlier, part of Depp’s fading stardom was because of his on-set behavior becoming a major red flag.
From The Lone Ranger (2013), followed by Transcendence (2014), and even Mortdecai (2015), Johnny Depp appeared in films that spectacularly bombed at the box office, costing the studio millions of dollars. And it was all before Depp even married Amber Heard. So it seems that the actress was in no way responsible for Depp’s already damaged reputation and career in the industry.
| Johnny Depp’s movies | Box office collection |
| Murder on the Orient Express (2017) | $351 Million |
| Sherlock Gnomes (2018) | $97 Million |
| City of Lies (2018) | $2.8 Million |
| London Fields (2018) | $433,732 |
| Waiting for the Barbarians (2019) | $740,448 |
| Minamata (2020) | $655,593 |
| Jeanne du Barry (2023) | $7 Million |
| Johnny Puff: Secret Mission (2024) | $259,660 |
Whether it was arriving late to set, appearing intoxicated at times, or the reports of using an earpiece to have his lines fed to him instead of memorizing them—it was entirely Johnny Depp’s behavior that became a liability for him in Hollywood. So, by the time the trial happened, Depp’s career was already hanging by a thread. The legal battle just made it even harder for studios to take a risk on him.
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