Hollywood Vampires

Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and the Celebrity Exploitation Machine

De: Kelly Loudenberg, Makiko Wholey

Narrado por: Hillary Huber

An explosive new book on the infamous trial Depp v. Heard, Hollywood Vampires paints an intimate picture of what was really going on behind the viral headlines between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, with never-before-told stories from their inner circle.

Celebrity romances have always captured the public’s imagination, playing out like soap operas seized upon by fans and tabloids alike. By the same token, high-profile trials can take over the mainstream media cycle, with both news pundits and the public picking over every detail to predict outcomes and cast their own judgements. Enter the union, dissolution, and hostile legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard—where these dual obsessions collided, creating a chaotic moment of true cultural fixation.

Hollywood Vampires offers an inside account of one of the most controversial and consequential celebrity scandals of the internet era. Fueled by viral clips, reaction videos, and endless online debates, the trial became more than a legal battle. It became a public spectacle, dividing audiences worldwide.

Kelly Loudenberg and Makiko Wholey were journalists on the ground for the Depp v Heard trial. Having closely followed Johnny, Amber, and their camps, they spent the years leading up to and following the trial interviewing the couple’s closest allies as well as their managers, lawyers, agents, business associates, publicists, assistants, and personal staff. The result is a thrilling Hollywood epic full of revealing details that tell a wider tale about the celebrity-industrial complex, modern fandom, inflammatory culture wars, and contemporary feminism.

Turning the lens around, Hollywood Vampires questions how the celebrity exploitation machine, strengthened by the forces of social media and legacy media alike, blurs the lines between fact and fiction, comedy and horror. It forces us to ask ourselves why we take celebrity culture so seriously in the first place—and who wins and who loses when Hollywood becomes the vehicle for our own personal and political causes.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Kelly Loudenberg and Makiko Wholey (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

Really good listen-insightful.

I loosely followed the trial because I couldn't stand to listen to AH (and I'm an avid trial watcher). I didn't know who she was before then. I'm convinced the jury got it 100% right, especially after the insightful backstory provided in this book. AH is a narcissist and thrives on chaos with money as a motivator and from my perspective was very vindictive. Being brought up in A DV household may have contributed to that, but she had a platform to help DV survivors and couldn't get past her own vengence and greed. JD is not perfect and definitely contributed in the DV but not at the same level as AH (IMO). Great book and narration.