A jury awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages (reduced to $350,000, because that’s the cap in Virginia) to Johnny Depp yesterday, finding that ex-wife Amber Heard defamed him in three statements she made in a Washington Post editorial. The jury also found that Depp defamed Heard via one statement made by Depp’s attorney, awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages and $0 in punitive damages.
The money is largely irrelevant because both actors have many millions. The important thing is that Depp’s good name was restored, and Heard has been outed as a woman who will make up stories to try to destroy a man’s reputation and ruin his life. Who will ever want to work with her or be in a relationship with her again?
Cheers, Johnny. If I had your address I’d send you a troll doll. You’ve earned one.
New Wing Order posted a little more info about their move into the kitchen at the Ghost River taproom on Beale. Through June 10, they’ll be serving their traditional food truck menu there. Then, beginning on June 11, the day of their grand opening, they’ll expand the menu, offering quesadillas, Philly cheese steak sandwiches, and more. They’re open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday and lunch Friday-Sunday. They’re looking to hire a line cook.
DJ Tee Cardaci will perform at Eight & Sand today and tomorrow. From Rio de Janiero, Brazil, Tee has been spinning vinyl for more than 30 years.
DeAndre Williams has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return to Memphis for his “super senior” season. His former teammate Lester Quinones elected to remain in the draft and forfeit his NCAA eligibility.
Meanwhile, Coach Penny will open a restaurant in the Westin just south of Beale Street this summer. It will be called Nitty Gritty Upscale Southern. Penny’s grandmother’s sweet potato pie will be among the offerings.
I love feeling useful. Zoo Rendezvous this weekend has an ’80s theme. Yesterday, as a teenager of the ’80s, I offered fashion advice to my friends who are going:
“An electric purple tiger print Spandex top and shorts? If I were walking through McCain Mall in North Little Rock in 1987, I would totally see someone wearing that.”
“That shirt looks straight out of a TV sitcom from 1986.”
“Bell bottoms? People wore those in 1980. But technically, 1980 was part of the Seventies. The Eighties didn’t actually start until Ronald Reagan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981.”
Maybe next year Zoo Rendezvous will have a dinosaur theme and the people who sit at the corner table at Max’s Sports Bar can give fashion advice.
Soul & Spirits brewery has a new beer, an American Blue Corn Pilsner called Folsom Pilsner Blues. It’s inspired by Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues and is brewed with Cumberland yellow and blue corn to give an aroma of cornbread.
From Food & Wine: Celebrate the Queen’s jubilee with her favorite cocktail, gin and Dubonnet. She inherited her love for the drink from the Queen Mother, who drank it in the 1920s when it first became fashionable.
Two Memphis City Council members want to deny the Trumpster a Memphis Police escort when he visits the Mid-South this month.
Today is National Moonshine Day. Downtown speakeasy Blind Bear is my recommendation for celebrating.
Wizard of Oz is the free movie the DNA is showing tonight in Court Square. The event will open at 7:30 and the movie will start at 8. Food trucks will be onsite or you can bring food from a nearby restaurant,
For my readers who are wrestling fans, this is worth 7 minutes of your time:
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.