Some onlookers in the courtroom during Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s trial went to great lengths to secure a front row seat.
Fans told People magazine that they camped out in their car outside the courthouse in Fairfax, Va., and even spent up to $30,000 in travel expenses waiting to get in.
Hordes of eager enthusiasts revealed that they arrive in the wee hours of the morning to secure the wristbands that allow access to the courtroom each day to watch the testimonies of the A-listers.
“I have never attended a public trial before. I never stayed up overnight for anything online, and arrived at 12:45 a.m.,” Sabrina Harrison from Madison, Wisconsin told People. “I’ve never done anything like this in 46 years of life.”
Sharon Smith, 52, told People she flew across the ocean to attend the trial. Fresh out of a 12-year relationship in Britain, Smith put her things away in a storage unit and flew to Virginia when the trial began in April. During the breaks, she goes to Los Angeles, then returns when it resumes.
“I flew back and forth from Los Angeles, so you’re looking at $600 to $700 each time, 10 hours of your life in the air,” she said. “Hotel, food, drinks [cost] around $10,000.
Smith arrives at the courthouse at 1 a.m. every day to land a front-row seat for the highly publicized libel trial. One morning, in particular, she got soaked in a thunderstorm. When asked if she was there for Depp or Heard, she replied, “I get wet for Johnny.”
“I don’t know. It came in my head, then in my mouth,” she told People.
Currently, the courtroom is his home – at least for now. Once the trial is over, Smith is unsure where she will end up.
“I’m sort of between Liverpool, London and Leeds,” she said, adding that her family believe she’s going through a “midlife crisis”.
“I’m having fun,” she said. “People keep saying, ‘Are you okay? Are you really okay?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ “
Ivan De Boer, 59, used a year of paid leave to travel from Los Angeles to the trial, spending $30,000 on his expenses so far.
“I took my whole year off so I could be here for Johnny,” she said. “I’m the same age as Johnny. I’m single, so I basically do what I want.
Although she dropped all that money, she has “no regrets.”
“I would regret it even more if I wasn’t there,” she said.
Emily, a 26-year-old woman from Arlington, Va., joined the sea of early supporters on May 4 at 2 a.m. to make sure she was one of the first 100 people in line.
“My friends think I’m crazy doing this, but I think it’s a landmark trial and I think it’s really interesting that it’s happening in northern Virginia,” she said. . “Someone came last night [at 9 p.m.] to get first place.
People slept in their cars to save money while getting the best seat online.
“It’s not really convenient being in Virginia most of the week, every week, but I was sleeping in my car when I came here,” said Jarva, 33, from Brooklyn. “And since then, I’ve been staying at the Ritz with my friends. I stayed at my other friend’s apartment, and I’ll stay in my car if I need to. It’s worth it.”
Angela Metha, a 40-year-old doctor from Fairfax, Va., said she attended the trial five times in person, making special arrangements that made her attendance possible.
“I came to queue today at 4am. I picked up my mother-in-law so she could sleep with the kids; they are 4 and 6 years old. I stood in line, got my pass, then came home at 7:30. Got them ready for school, dropped them off, came back. And then I worked extra shifts so I could take days off to come here,” she told People.
Like Smith, Metha’s family thinks she’s “crazy,” especially after she asked her husband to spend their 10th wedding anniversary on trial by joining her.
“I said to him, ‘As part of our gift, can you come with me?’ And he’s like, ‘Hell no,'” she said, despite the fact that her husband “loves Johnny Depp.” line up to see it, but it’s exhilarating to see it in person.
Jennifer, a 43-year-old woman from Rome, NY, stood in line at 1 a.m. to enter the courtroom, admitting to People that her shopping spree for perfect outfits cost her $2,200.
“As someone who has experienced domestic violence themselves, it just had to be something we did. I have been here since the start of the trial,” she said. “I’m self-employed, so it was very flexible.”
Depp is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million defamation after he wrote a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post portraying himself as “a public figure representing domestic violence.” Although Depp has not been named, he claims Heard decimated his reputation and career and cost him millions of dollars in labor.
The trial is suspended until May 16, when testimony will resume at 9:30 a.m.
Some onlookers in the courtroom during Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s trial went to great lengths to secure a front row seat.
Fans told People magazine that they camped out in their car outside the courthouse in Fairfax, Va., and even spent up to $30,000 in travel expenses waiting to get in.
Hordes of eager enthusiasts revealed that they arrive in the wee hours of the morning to secure the wristbands that allow access to the courtroom each day to watch the testimonies of the A-listers.
“I have never attended a public trial before. I never stayed up overnight for anything online, and arrived at 12:45 a.m.,” Sabrina Harrison from Madison, Wisconsin told People. “I’ve never done anything like this in 46 years of life.”
Sharon Smith, 52, told People she flew across the ocean to attend the trial. Fresh out of a 12-year relationship in Britain, Smith put her things away in a storage unit and flew to Virginia when the trial began in April. During the breaks, she goes to Los Angeles, then returns when it resumes.
“I flew back and forth from Los Angeles, so you’re looking at $600 to $700 each time, 10 hours of your life in the air,” she said. “Hotel, food, drinks [cost] around $10,000.
Smith arrives at the courthouse at 1 a.m. every day to land a front-row seat for the highly publicized libel trial. One morning, in particular, she got soaked in a thunderstorm. When asked if she was there for Depp or Heard, she replied, “I get wet for Johnny.”
“I don’t know. It came in my head, then in my mouth,” she told People.
Currently, the courtroom is his home – at least for now. Once the trial is over, Smith is unsure where she will end up.
“I’m sort of between Liverpool, London and Leeds,” she said, adding that her family believe she’s going through a “midlife crisis”.
“I’m having fun,” she said. “People keep saying, ‘Are you okay? Are you really okay?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ “
Ivan De Boer, 59, used a year of paid leave to travel from Los Angeles to the trial, spending $30,000 on his expenses so far.
“I took my whole year off so I could be here for Johnny,” she said. “I’m the same age as Johnny. I’m single, so I basically do what I want.
Although she dropped all that money, she has “no regrets.”
“I would regret it even more if I wasn’t there,” she said.
Emily, a 26-year-old woman from Arlington, Va., joined the sea of early supporters on May 4 at 2 a.m. to make sure she was one of the first 100 people in line.
“My friends think I’m crazy doing this, but I think it’s a landmark trial and I think it’s really interesting that it’s happening in northern Virginia,” she said. . “Someone came last night [at 9 p.m.] to get first place.
People slept in their cars to save money while getting the best seat online.
“It’s not really convenient being in Virginia most of the week, every week, but I was sleeping in my car when I came here,” said Jarva, 33, from Brooklyn. “And since then, I’ve been staying at the Ritz with my friends. I stayed at my other friend’s apartment, and I’ll stay in my car if I need to. It’s worth it.”
Angela Metha, a 40-year-old doctor from Fairfax, Va., said she attended the trial five times in person, making special arrangements that made her attendance possible.
“I came to queue today at 4am. I picked up my mother-in-law so she could sleep with the kids; they are 4 and 6 years old. I stood in line, got my pass, then came home at 7:30. Got them ready for school, dropped them off, came back. And then I worked extra shifts so I could take days off to come here,” she told People.
Like Smith, Metha’s family thinks she’s “crazy,” especially after she asked her husband to spend their 10th wedding anniversary on trial by joining her.
“I said to him, ‘As part of our gift, can you come with me?’ And he’s like, ‘Hell no,'” she said, despite the fact that her husband “loves Johnny Depp.” line up to see it, but it’s exhilarating to see it in person.
Jennifer, a 43-year-old woman from Rome, NY, stood in line at 1 a.m. to enter the courtroom, admitting to People that her shopping spree for perfect outfits cost her $2,200.
“As someone who has experienced domestic violence themselves, it just had to be something we did. I have been here since the start of the trial,” she said. “I’m self-employed, so it was very flexible.”
Depp is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million defamation after he wrote a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post portraying himself as “a public figure representing domestic violence.” Although Depp has not been named, he claims Heard decimated his reputation and career and cost him millions of dollars in labor.
The trial is suspended until May 16, when testimony will resume at 9:30 a.m.