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Description: In this episode, Kelli is talking with independent influencer journalist, Casi Densmore, who has been inside the courtroom and keeping up with everything related to the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial.  Casi’s journey to the courtroom started many years ago as a lifestyle blogger. She got a big break interviewing Kourtney Kardashian back in 2013 and since then she’s interviewed hundreds of celebrities. 

Her perspective on the trial has earned her tens of thousands of daily views and today is a fun interivew on what it’s like to sit in on a high profile celebrity case. 

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN

2:27 Casi’s Background and What Led Her to Celebrity Coverage
10:46 Getting into the Courthouse
18:41 Who’s in the Courtroom
22:35 Rules for Spectators
24:27 Jury Reactions and Courtroom Vibes
34:29 Amber’s PR Team
41:26 Johnny’s Biggest Reaction

Casi’s Background and What Led Her to Celebrity Coverage

Casi started Cupcake Mag as a blog on blogger.com almost 10 years ago in 2013. It started out as fashion centric magazine for the stylish mom and featured some celebrity gossip. Her first celebrity interview was with Kourtney Kardashian and she says she’ll never ever forget it. Kourtney’s PR rep reached out to her and within hours she was on a call. Since then she’s interviewed hundreds of celebrities. But things really took a turn for her and covering high profile court cases when she began covering the disappearance of Gabby Petito in 2021.

Getting into the Courthouse

Getting into the courthouse is not easy and it’s gotten harder as the trial has progressed as only 100 spectators are allowed into the courtroom. At the beginning of the trial a line was forming only a few hours before they were allowed to enter. Now it’s an overnight ordeal with many people camping out. Casi wouldn’t call it camping, since she isn’t getting any sleep. You really have to be ready to pull an all nighter. As of right now the line begins the day before in a parking garage, then moves to the courthouse where you get a number. As long as you are one of the first 100 and you get a number, then you are in. They let 10 people in at a time to choose their seats.

Who’s in the Courtroom

The courtroom is a mix of mainstream media, independent journalists (like Casi), but mostly it is filled with fans of Johnny Depp or people who just want to be a part of history. Casi says that it seems that no one is there for Amber. It is completely filled with Johnny supporters or neutral parties.

Rules for Spectators

Absolutely no phones are allowed in. You have a lot of people like me just taking notes like crazy to be able to update our audiences when we have breaks or after the trial is done for the day. You also can’t clap or cheer or have any type of outward reaction. You can have a water bottle, but absolutely no snacks or anything. One great way to drop kick your inner mean girl is by being open and vulnerable with other people. Your inner mean girl wants you to feel alone, she wants you to think you are the only one who messes up like this and to not want anyone else to know how awful you are. But when we share our experiences it releases that shame, and it actually helps to create more support and community with others who can relate and you’ll find out that you are actually not alone. Being open about our struggles and mis-steps and owning them is one of the quickest ways to kick that mean voice out of your head.

Jury Reactions and Courtroom Vibes

The jury seems bored and over it. At the beginning of the trial the jury was very hard to read but as the trial drags on the vibe there has definitely shifted to a more annoyed kind of vibe. Many jurors were wearing masks at the beginning, mainly to protect their identities, but some have stopped doing that. Casi says that they seemed much more attentive during Johnny’s testimony than with Amber’s. One thing to note is that Elaine’s ( Amber’s attorney) seems much more bubbly in person. She still a jumbled mess and keeps forgetting to turn her mic on, but in real life she much more bubbly and personable than what you see when you’re not in the courtroom.

The vibe Casi gets from Amber’s team feels unprepared. Her speculation is that it could be because her client isn’t telling the full truth, but that’s just Casi’s speculation. The vibe for Johnny’s side on the other hand is much different. More put together, good communication, good connection with the whole team. Both sides are just very opposite.

Amber’s PR Team

So many interesting takeaways about her PR team and strategy. We talk about her wardrobe choices and the thought behind her seemingly copycat tactics where she will wear a similar or identical outfit to Johnny (or his team) the following day. It’s also been interesting to watch the changes when she transitioned to a new PR team. They definitely are trying to control the narrative that the mainstream media is putting out. Her team is working hard to spin anything and everything they can.

Johnny’s Biggest Reaction

The biggest major reaction from Johnny was when Amber’s sister was on the stand. Casi says she and I actually could see it a little bit of his reaction and it felt like “wow, she really stabbing me in the back. Like this is this really happening.” So much hurt because I think that he was so close to her. At one point her sister Whitney was scared to even be around Amber and for her to come up there, twist her story. Other than that, he’s been pretty even. He’s usually drawing and seems to be in good spirits.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Find Cupcake Mag on Instagram
• Follow Kelli on Instagram
• Find out more about Kelli Here
• Join the Fear-LESS Girl Book Club Here

Thank you so much for listening to this episode! I’m honored and excited to be on this journey toward personal growth and greater confidence with you. If you enjoyed the podcast, I’d love to ask you to take 2 minutes to leave me a 5-star review on your podcast app, that way we can help even more women to join us as we #dropkickyourinnermenagirl together.

P.S. If you’re looking for ways to increase your confidence and silence your inner mean-girl, download my free workbook, 6 Ways to Dropkick Your Inner Mean Girl.