Of all the things Jensen Ackles could have woken up thinking about, a moment from an explosive Hollywood case is what made the cut.
The Hollywood heartthrob was seemingly taking acting notes during Johnny Depp’s bitter courtroom battle with his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
Viewers were outraged by his comments, saying he was “disgusting” for thinking “domestic violence is a joke.”
Jensen Ackles praised Johnny Depp’s tense courtroom moment as an acting lesson
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Jensen Ackles was part of the final panel at Comic Con Scotland, held at the Royal Highland Center near Edinburgh on October 24 and 25.
The Supernatural star appeared alongside his longtime co-star Misha Collins, with Rob Benedict, Mark Sheppard, Jim Beaver, Ruth Connell, and others also part of the lineup.
As their panel closed out the event, Ackles chose a moment from a high-profile domestic violence case to make a point about acting.
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“I woke up yesterday morning, and the first thing that came to my mind for some reason was the clip of Johnny Depp saying ‘a mega pint,’” Ackles said.
He went on to explain how he mentally replayed the courtroom exchange between Depp and Amber Heard’s attorney, who questioned the actor about his wine consumption.
“In my brain, I broke down the entire thing of the lawyer saying, ‘Apparently you drank a mega pint of wine,’” he said.
It was Depp’s response that apparently stuck with him.
“He just goes ‘a mega pint,’” recalled the actor.
The Supernatural star faced backlash over his comments at Comic Con Scotland
Ackles took Depp’s response as a way of saying so much with so little.
“In that little brief thing, he said, ‘I believe a pint is a pint’… It’s a unit of measurement… There’s no such thing as a ‘mega pint,’” he went on to say.
A pint is a unit used to measure liquid volume, especially drinks like beer, milk, or wine. One US pint would be about 473 mL, and one UK pint would be about 568 mL.
“This is what my brain was giving me when I first woke up. It was rattling in my head so much that I had to start saying it out loud,” he continued.
Jensen Ackles says he was woken up by a dream he had the other day of Johnny Depp’s viral “mega pint” moment
“How could he say so much… with so little? I appreciated that, about what he did in that moment, because that’s a gift”
(via @comconscotland) pic.twitter.com/MOQbppv4jm
— CoveredGeekly (@CoveredGeekly) October 27, 2026
Ackles then proceeded to say “mega pint” out loud, over and over again.
He continued to explain why the tense courtroom moment was an acting lesson for him.
“How could he say so much with so little… and I appreciated that,” Ackles said.
“That’s a gift that certain people have, and I think he certainly has it as a very established actor… It’s something I’m still trying to learn,” he added.
Critics accused Ackles of making light of a case involving domestic violence allegations
While Ackles treated the moment as a masterclass in acting, netizens wondered why he would choose a case, loaded with domestic violence allegations, to make a point.
“What even possessed him to say this?” one asked.
One critic said, “Disgusting [expletive] who thinks domestic violence is a joke.”
“His PR team is simultaneously having a group heart attack while also billing crazy hours for OT while they try to fix this one,” wrote another.
“That does it for me!” one said. “He is canceled, and I don’t want him in DCU ever!!!”
Others tried to defend him, saying it was “one of the most memorable moments during the trial – it’s iconic now.”
“Come on he isn’t joking about the [Depp] situation; he is laughing about the fact that he randomly woke up with a quote on his mind….” another said.
The “mega pint” exchange became a viral meme during Depp and Heard’s 2022 defamation trial
Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images
The “mega pint” exchange became one of the most widely recognized moments from Depp and Heard’s 2022 defamation trial, spawning countless memes and jokes across social media.
The Finding Neverland star sued his ex-wife for defamation, while Heard countersued for $100 million, also accusing Depp of defamation.
During the proceedings, Heard’s attorney questioned Depp about a video that Heard secretly recorded, showing the former couple arguing and the actor smashing their kitchen cabinet.
In the footage, Depp was seen pouring wine while angrily telling Heard, “Want to see crazy, I’ll give you [expletive] crazy. I got your crazy. All your crazy.”
The attorney subsequently asked Depp whether he had been drunk when the video was recorded, adding, “You poured yourself a mega pint of red wine, correct?”
“A mega pint?” Depp replied, failing to stifle a small laugh.
“I poured myself a large glass of wine. I thought it necessary,” he added.
“Can we all agree that making edits about a domestic ab*se court case is very weird?” one asked
The Pirates of the Caribbean star was actually the first to use the “mega pint” phrase in a previous libel suit he lost in the U.K.
The phrase quickly became fuel for memes, with some netizens using the clip’s audio for their TikToks.
“If ‘mega pint of wine’ isn’t on a brunch menu by this Sunday, we have failed as a society,” read one tweet at the time.
Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images
“Hi, who wants a mega pint of wine? I just woke up, and it’s my happy hour now,” another wrote.
Others felt the trial’s allegations of domestic violence were not something to make light of.
“Can we all agree that making edits about a domestic ab*se court case is very weird?” one asked.
“The people outraged at this are the ones who probably didn’t watch a second of the trial,” one said
