Robert Downey Jr, 57, was reportedly one of the first of Johnny Depp's famous pals to call the actor last month, after his libel case victory against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
According to a pal, the Ironman actor FaceTimed Johnny after the news broke last month and told his friend: "John, thank god it’s over."
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was awarded compensatory damages of $10million (£8 million) and a further $5 million (£4 million) in punitive damages, following a six-week long high-profile televised defamation case.
Johnny sued his ex-wife over a newspaper article titled: "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change."
The piece, published in the Washington Post in 2018, did not named the actor, but the star's legal team successfully argued that the op-ed had a damaging impact on his career.
A jury found that the Aquaman star's statements within the piece were made with "actual malice" and awarded Johnny $10 million in compensatory damages and another $5 million in punitive damages.
The jury also found Johnny liable for defamation against his one-time wife when one of his attorneys claimed her allegations of sexual abuse were a "hoax." They awarded the mum-of-one $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages.
According to actor Josh Richman, a friend of Johnny's, Robert Downey Jr FaceTimed the victorious jubilant actor, who was in the U.K when the verdict was delivered in Fairfax County Court, Virginia on June 1.
Johnny was said to be in a hotel room, due to his touring commitment with his pal and musician Jeff Beck.
Josh also claimed that the dad-of-two's staff and friends screamed and cried around the actor when they learned of the news of the televised court case.
Representatives for Robert confirmed to the New York Post that the Marvel actor did contact Johnny after the verdict was delivered.
The news of Robert's phone call comes as Amber speaks out about the defamation trial in his first televised interview post-verdict.
In her first sit-down interview since losing her legal battle, Amber says she understands why the jury reached their verdict in favour of the actor.
She chats to Today's Savannah Guthrie in a pre-recorded interview, which is set to air on Tuesday and Wednesday on NBC.
Amber tells Savannah: "I actually understand. He's a beloved character and people feel they know him. He's a fantastic actor."
But Amber then referred to the negative social media coverage she faced, and how she feels it contributed to the jury's verdict.
"I don't care what one thinks about me or what judgments you want to make about what happened in the privacy of my own home, in my marriage, behind closed doors," she adds.
"I don't presume the average person should know those things. And so I don't take it personally."
The mum-of-one concludes: "But even somebody who is sure I'm deserving of all this hate and vitriol, even if you think that I'm lying, you still couldn't look me in the eye and tell me that you think on social media there's been a fair representation. You cannot tell me that you think that this has been fair."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033
