Maybe it's a planned distraction from those other much more serious trials--and who knows what else we're not meant to be paying attention to. So the Illuminati are consolidating their power while we're not looking.
Or maybe it's just a bit of (comparatively) lighthearted drama. Something on a human scale we're capable of relating to. Because what Assange is going through, what Ghislaine did, and so much else that's going on right now, is just too grizzly and dark to bear thinking about all the time. Maybe we're getting this story because it fills a need.
Probably something along those lines, yes. I agree you can't think about those things all the time, but if you can sink intense viewing time in the whole Depp drama, maybe that says something about people, right?