Savannah Guthrie, 51, and NBC News are facing criticism for hiring Johnny Depp’s controversial attorney Camille Vasquez, 38, as a legal analyst months after the Today co-anchor revealed that her husband Michael Feldman, 54, consulted in the actor’s defamation trial.
Camille Vasquez, the attorney who gained nationwide attention after representing Johnny Depp in his lawsuit against Amber Heard, has a new gig.
NBC News confirmed Monday it has hired Vasquez as a legal analyst. She joined the Today show to discuss the University of Idaho student pic.twitter.com/2c6NVh4KSo— いぶき (@ibuki53010508) January 9, 2023
Savannah Guthrie Is Called Out For Hiring Johnny Depp’s Attorney As A Legal Analyst
Vasquez accepted her new role with NBC after her efforts in court helped secure a $15 million win for Depp, 59. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star sued his ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, for defamation after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post where she reference the sexual abuse and domestic abuse she suffered in her marriage with Depp. After Depp won his defamation trial, Vasquez was promoted to partner at the law firm, Brown Rudnick. Later, Heard countersued and was awarded $2 million by the jury, which determined that Depp’s former attorney, Adam Waldman, had made defamatory comments about her.
Insiders told The Hollywood Reporter that NBC saw Vasquez as a high-value, popular asset because “at least three national news divisions had inquired about her reception to an analyst or contributor role.”
The fact that people are surprised that Savannah Guthrie pulled a Camille Vasquez, has me shaking my head.
OF COURSE. NBC protects abusers, and her husband is on Depps legal consulting team… So OF COURSE. Not shocked. Totally expected… https://t.co/MYp1JarwgP
— ᏗᎷᏰᏋᏒ ᏒᎧᏕᏋ (@AmberRose_Bruh) June 14, 2022
Savannah Guthrie Reveals Her Husband Consulted For Johnny Depp’s Legal Team
The NBC News co-anchor came under fire for failing to disclose the relationship between her husband and Depp’s legal team when she covered the trial–including an interview Guthrie had with Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft. Guthrie’s husband, Michael Feldman, consulted for Vasquez and other members of Depp’s legal team. Bredehoft said she felt Depp’s legal team attempted to “demonize” her client.
Savannah Guthrie: “His lawyers argued at trial none of his prior relationships, not one woman has come forward and said he physically hit them. You were the only one.
Amber Heard: Look what happened to me when I came forward. Would you?” #AmberIsFree #AmberHeardGotHerVoiceBack pic.twitter.com/ExoqHXOQxH
— CoraMel (@cora_melodie_) January 8, 2023
Guthrie later disclosed the relationship with a casual mention during an interview with Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, who also worked on Depp’s legal team, “A quick disclosure, my husband has done consulting work for the Depp legal team, but not in connection with this interview,” she said before NBC aired the interview. Guthrie also interviewed Heard for NBC and was criticized for how tough she was. According to an article published by The Independent, Today co-host Guthrie interviewed Heard “about being ‘caught in a lie’ over her pledge to donate her $7 million divorce settlement to charity.”
