Johnny Depp surprises fans at UK concert just days after defamation trial ended

For those of you who’ve been following Johnny Depp’s high-profile defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, a surprise turn of events may be nothing new, given the constant twists the trial took over six weeks. However, the 58-year-old actor has a few more tricks up his sleeve, and he’d like for you to hear them. 

While the closing arguments at the trial were made to the jury on May 27 in the United States, Depp turned up at the Sheffield City Hall in the United Kingdom two days later to join rock guitarist Jeff Beck on stage. 

The pair performed their 2020 single Isolation, which is a remake of John Lennon’s song released in 1970, along with covers of Marvin Gay’s What’s Going On and Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing. 

The venue tweeted “Well… what a surprise we got last night when Johnny Depp joined ⁦(Beck) on stage”, before wishing the veteran musician luck on the rest of his concert tour.

If that wasn’t enough, Depp performed again with his long-time friend, this time at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Beck welcomed him onstage to the sound of applause and cheers, before they played Isolation again. 

It’s currently unclear if he will perform a third time with the former Yardbirds guitarist, who has one more concert at Royal Albert Hall on May 31. 

Depp’s musical foray includes working with the likes of Oasis and Aerosmith and setting up the band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. 

The actor sued his ex-wife Heard for US$50 million over a 2018 opinion piece for the Washington Post where she described herself as “a public figure representing abuse” who faced “cultural wrath” for speaking out against abuse. Although her writing never explicitly named him, Depp and his team of lawyers have accused Heard of ruining his reputation, which led to the highly publicised trial.

The verdict is set to be delivered at the start of June.