There is no doubt that Johnny Depp got the public's attention this year amid his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. According to a report, the Pirates of the Caribbean star tops Google's 2022 trending people.
Johnny Depp Tops Google's Most Trending People In 2022
Depp, 59, brings the most traffic on Google among celebrity discussions on the platform. He "had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2022 as compared to 2021," People reported.
Behind Depp is Will Smith, who also made headlines following the Oscar slapping incident with Chris Rock earlier this year. Heard also made it on the top three following her highly publicized defamation trial against Depp.
Rounding out the top 5 are Antonio Brown and Kari Lake. Comedian Rock, whom Smith slapped onstage during the Academy Awards, appeared in the seventh spot.
Prior to the recent report, Heard was reportedly Google's most-searched celebrity for 2022. She topped the list with an average of 5.6 million searches per month in the United States alone, according to Celeb Tattler (via New York Post). However, at the time, Depp was closely following her at the second spot. Apparently, the Pirates actor outranked the Aquaman star.
Netizens React To Johnny Depp Dominating 2022 Google's Trending List
Following the report of Depp being Google's No. 1 trending person of the year, several netizens reacted, and many joked about Heard chasing her ex-husband again.
"Why does she keep chasing this poor man?" one commented. Another added, "She's always following him!" with a laughing emoji.
"And he wins again," a third user wrote.
"Johnny found justice! That is totally search worthy," a fourth person added.
"And we know Johnny and Will, unlike she who will remain nameless, weren't searched because no one knew who they were," another person commented.
"Johnny Depp and Will Smith yes. Amber Heard was on here because she's a known liar and set Johnny Depp up! Her bots made her trend!" a different user opined.
Depp won his defamation case against Heard. The jury awarded him $10 million in damages. They also awarded Heard $2 million for her counterclaim.
Both filed an appeal to overturn the June 1 verdict. Heard wanted to overturn the decision or have a new trial. Depp appealed the $2 million damages awarded to Heard because he didn't make the inflammatory statement in her filing, but his previous lawyer, Adam Waldman.
Stay tuned for more news and updates about Johnny Depp.