Crafty non-fungible token (NFT) creators are monetizing the victory of Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Depp emerged victorious after millions of people watched six weeks of deadly courtroom drama broadcast live around the world. Wide media coverage, as well as the memification of the lawsuit on social media platforms such as TikTok, made it nearly impossible to avoid.
With the subject firmly cemented in the public consciousness, and having captured the cultural zeitgeist, it was inevitable that the cryptosphere would seek to ape in and milk the opportunity for profit.
never fear the truth
A number of NFT creators have sought to hitch their wagon to Depp’s rising star, but there’s also an NFT project backed by Depp himself. never fear the truth is the actor’s first major foray into the worlds of art and NFT.
The portraits created by Depp feature friends and heroes of the actor including Hunter S. Thompson and Heath Ledger, and while the collection was minted in Jan, the NFTs enjoyed increased interest over the course of the trial. OpenSea metrics show a noticeable spike in activity the day after verdict day in particular.
In a healthy charitable gesture, 25% of NFT’s sales proceeds will be donated (unpledged) to Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and, in Heath Ledger’s honour, the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Those projects not directly tied to Depp have much less charitable instincts.
amber turds
The scatalogical NFT project Amber Turds by Johnny Depp exemplifies how the Depp vs. Heard lawsuit has been turned into meme-fodder for the most outrageous corners of the internet.
The NFT collection makes reference to the now-infamous incident in which Heard allegedly garnished the marital bed as a sort of farewell present for her husband.
In the projects own words, Johnny Depp’s Amber Turds are “5,000 liars, gold diggers, drug addicts, fake cryers, stinky, crusty, dusty Amber Turds smelling of Ethereum Blockchain.”
The collection features quotes from the trial as well as key objects including a mega pint of wine, and a makeup compact.
Amber Turds has so far only traded modestly, with the total free collection volume at just over 55 ETH on OpenSea. That didn’t stop an ambitious hodler from slapping a price of 420 ETH on his Amber Turd.
There’s crypto, too
Finally, Johnny Depp Inu proves that anything the NFT sector can latch on to, good old fashioned memecoin creators can also latch on to. Johnny Depp Inu won mainstream press coverage in the U.K.’s Daily Express, but for now, the cryptocurrency remains a nanocap memecoin.
However well the current crop of projects ultimately perform, it’s unlikely that the cryptosphere has witnessed the last Depp memecoin or indeed, the last collection of Johnny Depp NFTs.
The Pirates actor was regularly seen doodling during the course of the six-week long trial. Could there yet be a collection of Depp Doodle NFTs? This is crypto. Don’t bet against it.
