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Camille Vasquez represented Johnny Depp in his defamation case against Amber Heard, which ended with Heard being ordered to pay Depp more than $10 million. During the trial, Vasquez received plenty of praise on social media. Some fans created merchandise dedicated to her. One person went so far as to give herself a tattoo of Vasquez’s face on her leg. After the trial, Vasquez made partner at Irvine-based Brown Rudnick. Her fame, however, did not come without criticism.
Rumors sparked about a romance between Vasquez and Depp during the trial.
“It was disappointing to hear them, but I think they started because people like love stories, they like to make things up; doesn’t mean they’re true,” Vasquez said in an interview with “CBS Mornings.” “I’m touchy-feely with everyone; that’s just who I am. … I was fighting for his life, his name. It’s perfectly normal I think to be able to extend a hand and give him a hug and make him feel like he was protected.”
Heard expressed concern about wider ramifications of the verdict.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,” she told TMZ.
A Stanford University law professor sent out a series of tweets condemning Vasquez.
“In a society that strips women of real power, some women have learned to seek male approval in the hopes they won’t be raped or abused or humiliated. Sucking up to power might feel good to you but it won’t work. You will be next,” she wrote. The tweets received an overwhelming amount of backlash.
In response to taking on this case in a post-Me Too world, Vazquez said she encourages all victims to come forward regardless of gender.
“I know Johnny as a person, and I’ve worked with him for (nearly) five years now … and I believed him. … I never hesitated because I believed Johnny, and I was an advocate for him and I wanted the opportunity to give him his life back; he deserved that,” Vasquez said on “The Talk” on CBS.
Vasquez, now the legal analyst for NBC’s “Today” show, was hired to represent Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) in the fall following his antisemitic comments. Her firm later dropped Ye as a client.
“Days later—and only after several brands and companies had distanced themselves from Ye—did the firm say it would not represent the rapper,” wrote Tariro Mzezewa, a blogger for The Cut. “Maybe in her new job on NBC, Vasquez will explain where and how she draws the line on which disgraced men to represent.”
Vasquez plans on continuing her practice.
“I’m a lawyer; when I look at myself in the mirror, I see an advocate. I was born to do this, I really feel that way,” she said in an interview with “CBS Mornings.”
