Apr 20, 2022 5 min read Daily Digests

⏳ Wednesday Fix: Contentious Court Cases

Morning all,

Johnny Depp testifies and says he has never struck a woman in his life.

Meanwhile, the Kardashians defend themselves in court against Blac Chyna, Prince Harry says he's protecting the queen, and Netflix admits to tough times.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers

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DEPP TESTIFIES

Johnny Depp testified on Tuesday in his ongoing $50 million lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard - the second lawsuit relating to their relationship.

As CNN noted, the actor gave a three-hour testimony - which is expected to continue today - where he said he has never "struck any woman in my life". According to The Times, Depp has taken this legal action in a bid to clear his name for the sake of his children.

Context: Depp claims Heard defamed him, when she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” in a Washington Post piece - which didn’t directly reference Depp - in 2018.

Background: Last year, Depp lost a case he brought against The Sun newspaper, after he was labelled a "wife beater" in one of their articles. As Sky News noted, this trial is expected to last another six weeks.

Here is a really helpful article on this case. You can also watch some of his testimony in the clip below - starts from 2:15.

KEEPING AN EYE...

The French election is heating up ahead of Sunday's vote. President Emmanuel Macron is currently leading in the polls against Marine Le Pen, as he seeks a second term in office.

Remember: A French president hasn't won re-election in 20 years - not since Jacques Chirac in 2002.

What's the latest? The country's current prime minister, Jean Castex, said his government will tender its resignation if Macron is re-elected president, “as is the tradition”.

It has been rumoured that European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde may be offered the position - if Macron were to be re-elected.

Context: The French President appoints the prime minister but doesn’t have the power to dismiss them.

Looking ahead: Macron and Le Pen will face off tonight in their first - and only - televised debate of this election race.

MEDIA MATTERS

Netflix has revealed it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. BBC News described it as the streaming giant's first losses "in more than a decade".

What's ahead? Well, the company also acknowledged they expect to lose a further two million subscribers in the second quarter of the year.

Bigger picture: The company currently has 221.6 million subscribers, but here are some other key stats to be aware of;

pulling out of Russia because of the war in Ukraine cost the company more than 700,000 subscribers
the company estimates that account details are being shared with roughly 100 million other households who are not subscribers
many other media companies - Apple, Disney, Amazon etc - have launched their own streaming services in recent years to compete

"It cannot be overstated just how bad of a report this is for the king of streaming right now. The company's stock has fallen more than 40% year to date, and coming into the earnings there was a lot of concern from investors regarding its growth -- concerns that were realised Tuesday with Netflix missing not only the low bar of its own expectations but losing thousands of subscriptions to boot — something that hasn't happened at the company in more than a decade." - CNN analysis

KARDASHIANS IN COURT

The Kardashians have appeared in court as they face a lawsuit against Blac Chyna - the mother of their niece Dream - who claims they played a role in cancelling her former reality TV show.

What's this all about? Celebrity Blac Chyna was previously in a relationship with Rob Kardashian, and the pair share a five-year-old daughter called Dream. During their relationship, the pair had a reality tv show called 'Rob and Chyna'.

Chyna is now suing the Kardashians for $100 million. Sky News reported Chyna claims "they defamed her and illegally interfered with her contracts and business dealings to drive her out of reality television". Their lawyers argue the show was cancelled simply because the couple broke up.

What do Chyna's lawyers say? Well, both sides agree that a fight in December of 2016 effectively ended their relationship. However, there are claims that Kris Jenner - the Kardashian matriarch - "messaged the head of the show saying that Chyna beat her son with a pole and wrapped a phone-charging cord around his neck so tightly it left marks". Chyna's legal team say unaired footage disprove the severity of these allegations.

The trial is expected to continue for up to ten days.

MOST READ

BBC News: I'm making sure the Queen is protected - Harry
The Guardian: Russian tycoon Oleg Tinkov denounces 'insane war' in Ukraine
The Financial Times: Zelensky says Russia has begun renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine
Al Jazeera: West promises Ukraine more arms as Russia steps up Donbas attacks
The Irish Times: Ukrainian refugees: hotels run out of space as emergency accommodation to be used this week

WATCHING OUT FOR...

A full interview with Prince Harry is set to air on NBC News later today.

In a teaser clip (below) that has been making headlines, Prince Harry spoke about last week's visit to the Queen. In the clip, the prince said he is "making sure she's protected and got the right people around her".

He did not elaborate further on that point, but did say California is very much home for him now.

What else? Well, The Guardian had a piece this morning suggesting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - Harry and Meghan - have been invited to appear with the rest of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Queen's jubilee celebrations in June.

It is not yet clear whether or not they will take up the invite.