Whether you saw the highly publicized Depp/Heard trial live on television or the courtroom docuseries Depp V. Heard on your Netflix subscription, it was bound to happen that a dramatization film about the real-life trial would follow. Tubi members got the chance to relive the scandalous trial in a free streaming flick Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial where Megan Davis and Mark Hapka played the famed ex-couple. Davis revealed that after she signed on to play Heard in the biopic, she faced “a wave of so much hate” which sounds so gnarly.
The Depp/Heard Trial was the center of the news in 2022 when a court case took place surrounding Amber Heard’s Washington Post op-ed about domestic abuse allegations. A verdict was announced with Johnny Depp awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
It’s been nearly a couple of years since Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s trial was made into a streaming movie, but its stars haven’t forgotten signing onto the film. Actress Megan Davis, who's had roles in shows like American Horror Story and 2 Broke Girls, spoke candidly to Page Six about overcoming “so much hate” by fans who felt she wasn’t right for the part:
When that role was announced, it was like a wave of so much hate. I think probably like … 30,000 messages and comments. And so many of them were awful, just like, ‘You’re so ugly, you’re so fat. You’re an embarrassment. Just really mean stuff. And at the time, I think I thought I was prepared. I knew there would be some response, but I don’t think I thought it would be like that.
That sounds like a terrible thing to go through when you’re just doing your job as an actress. Megan Davis had a feeling there was going to be backlash, admitting that she was skeptical about taking on the role at first. After all, social media influence came down hard on Amber Heard when the trial was ongoing. It proves that you can never be prepared for any potential backlash.
It wasn’t until Megan Davis auditioned for Hot Take that she watched extensive coverage of the Depp V. Heard Trial. Through her research about Amber Heard, she made it her mission to “humanize” the Pineapple Express actress as best as she could:
When I listened to those tapes, I recognized a lot of myself in how I used to argue with people that I was in love with. It’s challenging when you’re in love with someone who has a larger-than-life life. I think she was doing the best she could and I think most of us are usually doing the best that we can. It wasn’t really a challenge to humanize her because I felt like she was very human and people weren’t giving her credit for that.
Megan Davis continued to say that while she knew that the trial’s two A-list celebrities weren’t “perfect” people, she found it “frustrating” that public support was in favor of Johnny Depp more so than Amber Heard. Through studying courtroom clips and argument recordings to prepare for the role of the American actress, Davis gained newfound empathy for her.
There may have been early backlash for the casting of Hot Take. But, Megan Davis felt that all it took was for the streaming film to premiere for the negativity to fade away:
When it premiered, it was really quiet. That felt like a good sign, that people either thought I did a good job or comprehended the work and why I wanted to do it.
The backlash that Megan Davis received playing Amber Heard may have been gnarly going through “a wave of so much hate.” However, it looks like the Los Angeles resident is in a better place now since taking on the controversial role and is moving on to different projects like her recent poetry book release “What Breaks Us” and her self-written/produced short film Hemorrhage. You can watch Davis play Heard in Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial streaming now on Tubi.
