Theres been a lot of chatter about the ongoing defamation trial involving actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. A TikTok trend mocking Heards facial expressions. Tweets demanding justice for a purportedly innocent Depp. A Fuck Amber Heard mug that you can buy on Etsy for $12.90. Then there was the SNL skit about the infamous poop incident, and the TikToks analyzing whether Heard snorted a bump of cocaine while on the stand. The internet is having a field day.

But whats at stake in the case seems to have gotten lost in the media circus surrounding it.

The trial centers on a defamation lawsuit Depp filed against Heard for $50 million, claiming that Heard damaged his career and income by publicly discussing allegations of domestic violence against Depp. The lawsuit is based on a 2018 op-ed Heard wrote in The Washington Post discussing her experience of domestic and sexual violence throughout her life.

Heard has accused Depp of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, often triggered by his allegedly heavy drinking and drug use, over the course of their four-year relationship. She has filed a countersuit for $100 million, alleging Depp defamed her when his attorneys stated that her abuse allegations were a hoax. Depp claims Heard was the one who was physically violent in their relationship and denies all accusations of physical abuse on his part.

But the trial isnt, per se, about who did what. Depp is seeking a massive amount of money from Heard for publishing that op-ed even though she never named him. The actor only identifies herself as a survivor of intimate partner violence, writing that two years prior to publication she became a public figure representing domestic abuse.