top of page
Search
Sophia Mohan
May 18, 20226 min read

Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard Defamation Case Sparks Conversation about Domestic Violence


Image created by Sophia Mohan via Canva

TW: mention of domestic violence and sexual assault


The world has been taken by storm by the recent trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The trial has sparked intense public conversation and a renewed interest in the former couple.


Depp and Heard met on the set of the 2009 movie The Rum Diary, on which they starred opposite each other. The former couple married in 2015 and ultimately divorced in 2017.


In 2018, Amber Heard released an opinion piece through the Washington post advocating on behalf of domestic violence survivors. In her article, Heard expressed how she felt survivors who spoke out were ostracized and ignored while abusers were protected. She recalls the “cultural wrath” she had experienced after revealing she was a domestic violence survivor.

She writes, “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real-time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse. Imagine a powerful man as a ship, like the Titanic. That ship is a huge enterprise. When it strikes an iceberg, there are a lot of people on board desperate to patch up holes — not because they believe in or even care about the ship, but because their own fates depend on the enterprise.”


While Heard wrote a compelling article, there seemed to be a strong implication that Heard was indirectly citing Johnny Depp as her abuser. Given that Heard applied for a restraining order in 2016, the Depp connection was easily made by fans.


It was this implication that launched Johnny Depp to sue Heard for defamation to the tune of a whopping 50 million dollars, citing the article had led to irreparable career damage. At the time of the article’s publication, Depp was slated to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Fantastic Beasts franchise, both of which are high-paying roles. But unfortunately, following the article’s release, Depp was fired from both films.


While this trial is intended to be about defamation and the controversial article, it has morphed into a dramatic retelling of Depp and Heard's toxic and destructive marriage. Both sides have accused the other of domestic violence.


In their opening statements, Depp's lawyers paint Heard as a calculating, manipulative person self-identifying as a survivor to further her own goals. As Camille Vasquez, one of Depp's attorneys, says, "the evidence will show that Ms.Heard used allegations against Mr. Depp to raise her own profile and advance her career." On the other hand, Heard's legal team used their opening statement to paint Depp as a physically and sexually abusive partner with a severe substance use problem. Additionally, they asserted that the defamation lawsuit was Depp attempting to silence Heard and her first amendment.


In the opening statement, J. Ben Rottenborn, one of Heard's attorneys, said, "It's not even about whether you agree with the words that she [Heard] wrote. It's about her right to speak them."


Throughout the trial, Depp's legal team has flipped the script, asserting that Heard was the abuser in the relationship. In court, an audio recording was played where Heard admitted to striking Depp, saying, "I did not punch you. I was hitting you." Heard was additionally accused of "verbally berating" Depp. Her alleged aggression was further emphasized through an incident in which she threw a glass liquor bottle at Depp, severing his finger.


In rebuttal, Heard's legal team painted a picture of Depp's substance use problems leading to blackouts, where some severe physical abuse occurred. In one instance, Heard spoke of Depp sexually assaulting her with a liquor bottle after consuming ecstasy. They mentioned another instance where Depp allegedly slapped Heard and pushed her up against the wall during their honeymoon. Heard described feeling intense fear that Johnny could "accidentally kill her."


While so many things are in dispute, one thing is abundantly clear, Depp and Heard had an intensely toxic relationship. In her testimony, Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski recalls how she and her brother grew up in an abusive home. Dembrowski spoke of feeling genuine fear upon hearing about the couple's plans to wed.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the trial is its location. Despite both Heard and Depp living in Los Angeles, the trial is happening in Fairfax County, Virginia. A Virginia court was allowed to hear the case because the Washington Post's online servers are located in Fairfax.


According to Depp's wishes, the trial has also been completely televised. So not only is Depp trying to appeal to the jury in Virginia, but he is taking the case to the proverbial court of public opinion.


And people are watching.


YouTube Channel Law and Crime have broadcasted the court case to over 11 million viewers.


It does not take much effort to see that the public has seemingly decided whose side they are on. Hoards of #TeamJohnny fans have been pictured outside the courthouse, waiting to catch a glimpse of the actor as he walks in. Many fans have camped outside the courthouse, and some have even flown in from abroad.


Youtube, in particular, has been flooded with pro-Johnny/anti-Amber rhetoric, with some videos meticulously dissecting her testimony. People have deemed Amber's testimony to be decidedly fake, manipulative, and performative in the comments.


In other words, people do not believe Amber.


It must be acknowledged that the case has brought the topic of domestic violence into the public consciousness. People are talking about the case, about Amber and Johnny. Yet, what seems decidedly different about this conversation is the distinct embrace and acceptance of Johnny as a potential domestic violence survivor.


This indicates that the conversation surrounding domestic violence is changing, perhaps more so because of this case. The hegemonic narrative of men as aggressors and perpetrators is fading to the idea that men can also be survivors. In addition, the apparent demonization of Heard seems to indicate that society is coming to terms with the idea that women can also be perpetrators or abusers. This is huge.


Like many, I have been keeping tabs on the trial. I watched both parties' arguments and Heard's testimony. I watched those moments that other people deemed fake and performative. I cringed and, in some moments, passed judgements of my own.


It seems as though the assessment of Amber as "unlikeable" has affected the way the public has interpreted her testimony. Amber being unlikeable seems to mean that she is lying, deceptive, and manipulative. But, what if we suspended our biases to consider the question: what if Amber is telling the truth? Is it possible that Amber could be deceptive, manipulative and still a victim? Does our allyship stop when we don't like the survivor?


I called out my own impulses to feel skeptical about her testimony. I called out my instincts to take a side. My reaction made me question whether our society can deal with nuance? This situation is unbelievably complex. If we were to zoom out and look at the big picture, we could concur that this was a seriously toxic relationship. However, before teaming up and taking sides, we should (including myself) be able to entertain the idea that they were possibly both abusive and harmful to each other.


The ease with which we (myself included) were willing to take a side, dismiss, ridicule her testimony and ignore some alarming moments makes me wonder to what extent we, as a society, support survivors. The second we decide we do not like someone, does their story matter less? Are they less credible? Less deserving of support?


We must question our own allyship and remind ourselves that we must support survivors no matter how much they challenge us. We must support survivors even when they accuse people we love, admire and want to vouch for.


At the very least, we should be willing to wait and hear all the evidence and testimony before making our assessments and taking a side. I like Johnny and have always loved his work. He deserves support. But I fear that in our support for one survivor, we may be ignoring another.


The trial is expected to close at the end of May.


*If you or anyone you know is currently experiencing domestic violence, you deserve support. Please connect to any of these resources below.*



116 views0 comments

Comments

Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page