Two days after a Virginia court awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million in a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, sales of the Dior (CHDRF) Sauvage cologne are through the roof.
Selling for $155 for a 6.8-ounce bottle, the French fashion house's Sauvage cologne has used Depp as its face since 2015.
As the Wall Street Journal first reported, sales of the perfume that Dior calls an "oriental fougere fragrance has a blend of bergamot, lavendar, sichuan pepper and star anise" is the best-selling men's perfume on both the Sephora and Ulta (ULTA) sites.
Top-Selling Product At Both Ulta And Sephora
While Dior did not immediately return either TheStreet's or the Journal's request for exact sales numbers, there have been multiple reports of the product selling out in the United Kingdom while some fans have been posting pictures of themselves with a bottle on social media.
"Just got ULTA beauty magazine in the mail. Page 39 is a 'Dior Sauvage' advertisement. "LITERALLY MIGHT BUY TO SHOW MY SUPPORT. HE COULDN'T BE MORE BEAUTIFUL."
"Not only does this smell amazing, but I love and will continue to support Johnny Depp!” reads a recent Ulta.com review.
On Wednesday, a Virginia jury found that Depp's ex-wife and fellow actor Amber Heard was liable to pay him $10.4 million over three counts of defamation in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed identifying herself as a domestic abuse survivor.
Heard's initial abuse allegations date back to 2016 and the jury also awarded her $2 million in compensatory damages over comments made by one of Depp's lawyers.
As the protracted legal battle got underway, a large network of fans and other supporters started gaining steam online and on social media in particular. Videos on the TikTok hashtag #JusticeforJohnny have been viewed over 19 billion times.
The core of Depp's arguments in court was that the Heard's op-ed led him to lose significant career opportunities. Warner Brothers (WBD) dropped him from the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise after a judge in a United Kingdom libel trial ruled that Heard's allegations were "substantially true" in a separate libel trial.
Disney (DIS) officially replaced Depp's role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series in May 2022.
Dior, however, was one brand that continued to promote a product with Depp as spokesperson throughout the legal battle both online and in high-profile advertisements in major cities.
Dior Has Stayed Steadfast. What Does This Change?
As the trial and the #JusticeForJohnny movement got underway, that ultimately caused Sauvage to become a product that some use to display their support for Depp.
"Getting this for all the males in my life #JusticeForJohnny," another review on Sephora’s website reads.
The #diorsauvage hashtag has been viewed more than 350 million times on TikTok and, with the trial now over, Dior's choice may ultimately prove to be a good business move even as some point to how such a ruling could lead to the silencing of domestic abuse victims.
"[Depp] knows that Dior, in particular, has been steadfast and unwavering in its support and he will always be grateful to them and to all those who have supported him through the sales on his behalf," the spokesperson told the Journal.
A similar phenomenon has been taking place with the NFTs of his artwork and image that Depp launched in January. OpenSea data found that the "Never Fear Truth" collection of over 10,000 pieces saw 212 sales on June 2 alone.
