Johnny Depp's defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard has entered its sixth and final week, with closing arguments expected on Friday. Depp is seeking $50 million in damages in order to punish Heard for implying that he was a domestic abuser in a Washington Post op-ed; Heard contends that Depp was indeed abusive, and has countersued for $100 million.
Their conflict is messy and salacious, and the public can't seem to look away. But the fraught attempt by everyone involved—trial participants and onlookers—to condense a rocky relationship into a neat, uncomplicated story about a hero and a villain, should give pause about the wisdom of formally arbitrating such things.
