Sales of Jack Sparrow costumes have risen following Johnny Depp trial

Sales for Jack Sparrow Halloween costumes have reportedly spiked following the highly publicised trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Depp starred as the iconic pirate across five films in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with the last being 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales.

According to TMZ, the world’s largest costume retailer, Haloweencostumes.com, has seen sales rise by 90% for Jack Sparrow get-ups this year. The retailer sells two different costumes of the character – a basic one for $85 to $95 (£75 to £84), and a premium one for $245 to $299 (£216 to £264). According to the outlet, stocks have already been depleted by more than 85%.

The sales boost comes after Depp’s trial against ex-wife Heard earlier this year, where the actor sued Heard for defamation following a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post.

Despite Heard’s allegations of abuse throughout the six-week trial, which concluded in July, the jury found that a column she wrote about domestic violence was defamatory and awarded $10.35m (£8.2m) in damages to Depp, even though the article did not name him.