What you need to know about defamation

The current lawsuit between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has many students asking the question: What is defamation and how does it affect a person’s reputation?

Most people don’t know how to avoid a defamation case, neither the legal steps to take when you yourself are defamed. 

Cornia Pretorius, a lecturer in Communication Studies at the North-West University (NWU) and an expert in media law and ethics, defined defamation as “anything that is published that could potentially be seen as causing reputational harm.” She said that any published material that is untrue about a person, can be seen as a defamatory statement.

Cornia Pretorius being interviewed about her insights on defamation. PHOTO: Anchen Coetzee

According to A Practical Guide to Media Law by Milo and Stein, published in 2016, for a defamation case to succeed in court, the following must be true:

  1. It must be published. This means that the defamatory material must be present in some type of media outlet, either in print or online.
  2. The content must contain defamatory material. This means the published material must include statements that cause harm to an individual’s reputation.
  3. The individual must be named. This means it must refer to the specific person that is suing for defamation.
The infographic defines defamation and provides an overview of the elements of defamation. INFOGRAPHIC: Chanté du Plessis

The first element stated above, that a defamatory statement must be published, also refers to any social media platform. Pretorius said that if a journalist for instance retweets or reposts anything said online by another person, that person will also be held accountable for defamation. 

Cornia Pretorius, an expert in the field of media law and ethics. PHOTO: Chanté du Plessis
Cornia Pretorius giving her insight on defamation. VIDEO: Anchen Coetzee and Chanté du Plessis

When an individual is defamed by a media outlet, there are some things this individual can do, according to Milo and Stein. First, the individual must contact the publication to inform them of the incident in the hope that it could simply be cleared up and the publication can publish an apology. 

If the publication does not want to cooperate, the individual can file a report with the South African Press Council. The Press Council is an organisation aimed at “guiding journalists in their daily practice of gathering and distributing news.”

Lastly, the individual can file a lawsuit against the publication. In a defamation court case, it is important that extensive evidence is provided to back up the defamation claim.

The infographic provides information on which steps to follow when being defamed by a publication, and explains what damages in a defamation case are. INFOGRAPHIC: Anchen Coetzee

A good example of defamation is the current lawsuit where Johnny Depp, a famous actor, is suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard, for defamation. Keep in mind that South African laws on defamation are different from laws in other countries.

An article by Vanity Fair in 2022 says that Depp is suing Heard for $50 million dollars for an op-ed she wrote in 2018 about her allegedly being a survivor of domestic violence. This led to many other media outlets jumping on the bandwagon, like The Sun in Great Britain, which published an article headlined, “GONE POTTY How Can J.K. Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”

The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation case is streamed live to anyone with access to YouTube. PHOTO: Chanté du Plessis

According to an article by The Washington Post in 2020, this led to a libel case which Depp lost. He was later fired from the Fantastic Beasts movie franchise and other projects as well. The defamatory statements made by Heard damaged Depp’s reputation drastically, which led to his defamation case against Heard.

Vasti van Staden (21) watching the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation case while referring to the Milo and Stein (2016) book. PHOTO: Chanté du Plessis
A close-up of the book referred to in this article, A Practical Guide to Media Law by Milo and Stein (2016). PHOTO: Anchen Coetzee

Many NWU students are interested in the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard case, including Vasti van Staden (21), an NWU student doing her honours in Advanced Corporate Communication. “I see a lot about the case on my social media every day,” said Van Staden.

Many NWU students are interested in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation case and like to give their opinions about it. VIDEO: Anchen Coetzee and Chanté du Plessis
Nadia Coetzee (20) is one of the NWU students who stays up to date with what is happening with the Depp vs Heard defamation case. PHOTO: Anchen Coetzee

Nadia Coetzee (20), a third-year pharmaceutical student at the NWU said that she tries to follow the case because Johnny Depp is an actor she has always loved and who she wants justice for. “I think what is happening to him is unfair and seeing his reputation being ruined like this is heartbreaking,” said Coetzee. – By Anchen Coetzee and Chanté du Plessis