An Australian lawyer who creates TikToks was surprised to wake up to texts from friends saying they had seen him prominently feature in the new Depp v Heard Netflix docuseries.
Criminal defense lawyer Jahan Kalantar, was preparing for a regular day at court on Thursday when he received messages from his friends telling him they saw him in the docuseries, which explores Amber Heard’s and Johnny Depp’s 2022 defamation case.
“They said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe you’re on there. We’re very proud of you’,” Mr Kalantar told news.com.au.
“I didn’t know what they were referring to. And then as the day went on, I received more and more texts from relatives here and overseas.”
When Mr. Kalantar, a self-described “suburban Sydney guy” looked into it further, he was shocked to learn his daily TikToks analyzing the case had been featured in the global Netflix series.
“No one’s more surprised by my success than I am. It’s a very weird situation.”
The three-part docuseries examines the role of social media in the trail of the Hollywood actors and shows both testimonies side-by-side for the first time.
Throughout the trial, Mr. Kalantar, whose videos on the topic collectively amassed millions of views, used his decade-long legal experience to dissect key moments of the highly talked about trial.
“You could tell that this trial was going to be enormously important, kind of like the O.J. Simpson trial but for our generation,” Mr. Kalantar said, who goes by the handle ‘jahankalantarofficial’ on TikTok.
“What I really tried to do is bring the lens of I’m a lawyer, this is how I look at it, and explain it as I saw it.”
Mr Kalantar, said it was “weird” to see his followers grow from 60,000 to 300,000 during the trial, after he started sharing clips two years ago during lockdown.
“Waking up and having 4000 or 5000 new followers is very strange. But I’m so grateful.”
One of his popular videos, which featured in the Netflix docuseries, saw Mr Kalantar predict Depp’s victory following Heard’s cross-examination in the trial.
“When Miss Heard was being cross-examined, she, in my view, took so many positions that were simply untenable, that her credibility was shaken substantially. And in a defamation case, credibility is a huge issue.
“So when the cross-examination, which was masterfully done by Miss Vasquez, was completed, I was quietly confident that their side would probably take it … It was a fairly convincing cross-examination that, in my view, answered some of those defamation questions that had been open to the jury.”
Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million in defamation compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in June 2022 after the jury decided she “acted with actual malice” when she identified herself – without naming her ex-husband – as a “public figure representing domestic violence” in a 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post.
The jury agreed with one aspect of Heard’s claim — that she was defamed by Depp’s lawyer — and awarded her $2m in compensation and $0 in punitive fees.
Looking back, Mr Kalantar said there was a number of reasons the case captivated the interest of millions around the world, with no other case “coming close” to the level of social media engagement.
“We always want to know how the other half live so it’s inherently interesting to see what’s going on with two Hollywood celebrities who’ve been married for a really, really small amount of time breaking up, and particularly when there’s been that level of vitriol between them.”
“We also have to be very cognisant of the impact this [trial] might have on survivors of sexual abuse, sexual trauma, intimate partner violence and domestic violence. And it covered a whole bunch of very topical themes that really were interesting to everyone.”
He said there was no question public perception of the trial was influenced by social media – something that could be a concern if it were to continue to occur for other cases.
“People started to take sides very assertively, [they were] either team Johnny or team Amber. And I think that there is a danger in that when you don’t know all the facts.”
“I think that ultimately the outcome [of the trial] was the right one. However, I think it is a concern when the court maybe makes a finding one way, and the general public looks at it a different way.
“That’s something that if we don’t find a way to properly, buttress and resolve, we might have issues moving forward.”
In the meantime, Mr Kalantar continues to share videos breaking down complicated cases to his more than 360,000 TikTok followers.
“I used to think that people weren’t interested in the law. Now I realised they are interested,” he said.
“It’s just that no one’s ever reached out to teach them. And having a chance to educate people about this amazing thing called the law has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.”