How a Netflix docuseries helped Johnny Depp choose a lawyer

While Johnny Depp is out and about in the United Kingdom with musician Jeff Beck on his UK tour, it has been revealed that the actor was inspired to hire his legal counsel after watching an Emmy-winning Netflix docuseries, Making a Murderer. 

Kathleen Zellner gained public attention after defending the notorious Steven Avery case in the famous 2015 true-crime series. The attorney, an advocate against a wrongful conviction, was then contacted by Depp, who was impressed by her skills. 

Depp sought her counsel for the $50 million defamation case he filed against his former wife Amber Heard in response to an op-ed she wrote on domestic abuse for The Washington Post in 2018. Although she did not explicitly mention his name, Depp claimed that the op-ed cost him his life, career and “everything”. 

The jury ruled in favour of Depp last week, awarding him compensatory damages of $10 million and further punitive damages of $5 million. Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages after one of her counterclaims against Depp was proved true. 

Zellner has now opened up to media outlets about their association. She revealed how the actor called her to invite her to join his legal team after watching her on the Netflix show. He apparently “left a voicemail” stating his wishes, convinced of her ability to fight the wrongful conviction. 

Zellner said, “I didn’t really believe that it was Johnny Depp at all, but it sounded like him, and he left the phone number and just said he wanted to talk to me.”

She said that she knew he was “innocent” as Depp allegedly said, “I saw on Making a Murderer, where you said that you’d be the last person someone would hire if they were guilty because you would find out about it”.

Zellner claims that Depp’s words “struck” her, and she was surprised by “what motivated him to contact me [Zellner]”. 

She described the Pirates of the Caribbean star as “a very humble and sincere person” and insisted that his testimony was “not an act”.