In April 2022, fans around the world watched as Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) Johnny Depp went head-to-head with his ex-wife Amber Heard in a Virginia courtroom. The Disney Legend and Aquaman (2018) actress were each suing each other for defamation of character. Depp began the legal process after The Washington Post published an OpEd by Heard, in which she accused Depp of abuse. Depp originally sued Ms. Heard for $50 million, and she countersued for $100 million.

After Heard’s OpEd was published, Mr. Depp was dropped from several lucrative projects. He claimed that he lost $22 million when Disney fired him from Pirates of the Caribbean 6. He also lost millions when Warner Bros. fired him and replaced him as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

In the end, a Virginia jury determined that Depp and Heard had defamed each other, but Heard was more at fault. They ended up awarding Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Heard, on the other hand, was awarded just $2 million in damages.

It’s been just over two years since Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard battled it out in a courtroom, and even though the entire event was televised, there is still an ongoing debate about just how things went down. There is also debate about how cameras in the courtroom impacted the final judgment.

PEOPLE recently chatted with Camille Vasquez and Elaine Bredehoft, the lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, respectively, and asked them how they felt, two years later.

For Ms. Vasquez, clearing Depp’s name in the court of public opinion was just as important as proving his innocence in the actual courtroom.

The contentious case, which was televised live in front of millions, “showed that winning in the court of law is very important, obviously, but winning the court of public opinion is equally — if not more — important,” says Vasquez.

Unfortunately, Heard’s attorney does not feel as positive about the outcome of the case. Her biggest regret is that cameras were allowed in the courtroom.

Bredehoft, though, sees allowing cameras in this courtroom as a “huge mistake” that led to social media users skewing public perception and taking moments “out of context.” She says she “fought hard” against having cameras present and now feels “social media completely hijacked that trial.”

While Vasquez agreed that pieces of the trial were “manipulated” in the press, she says that the jury ruled the way they did based on the “actual evidence” they were presented with. She also had no problem with cameras being inside the courtroom.

“We should have an ability to see justice at work” — and Vasquez doesn’t think social media shaped any notions that weren’t already prevalent: “Public opinion was swayed by the credibility of these two people and who … the public at large believed and who they didn’t believe.”

Ms. Vasquez also admitted that Johnny Depp pushed for cameras in the courtroom. She said that he wanted his fans to be able to see the evidence and know that he was not guilty of what he was being accused of.

However, Ms. Heard’s attorney felt that the cameras were a “setback” for women. She pointed out that it was one of the few times that a camera was allowed in the courtroom for a “sexual assault or domestic violence” case.

For her part, Ms. Vasquez pointed out that Ms. Heard was not the only victim of alleged domestic violence in the courtroom. During the trial, a tape was played where Ms. Heard was heard admitting to hitting Mr. Depp. Ms. Heard told him to go to the police and tell them what happened, but said that the police would not believe him.

After the trial, Amber Heard and her daughter, Oonagh Paige, left California and are now living in Spain full-time. Depp is working on getting back into film, both in front of and behind the camera. His most recent film, Jeanne Du Barry, recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and had a limited release in the US.