Defaming and DV: The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Saga

We have been engrossed in the recent civil court case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and we have found out a few things about this case. The concept of “believe all women” has shown that we have gotten to the point where toxic women will use it against their male partners. This is where that line of thinking needs to end. It is not healthy for anyone, but more importantly, the victims of domestic violence. The verdict ended up with Depp satisfactory proving that Heard defamed him. This is a win for victims. A win for those who could not face their monster, their abuser.

One thing that Heard and her supporters keep going back to is what this verdict would mean for women. The thing that they tend to have conveniently forgotten is that with Heard proving to have lied about the Op-Ed, the incidents and on the stand, itself is that SHE is the one that has made it harder to be believed. No, we should not believe all women because women are humans and humans do lie. In her case, it was not just for self-preservation but for malice and in effect revenge.

The timeline that the end of the relationship was as follows:

May 20, 2016 - Depp’s mother died.

May 20, 2016 - Depp expresses that he wants a divorce.

May 21, 2016 – Depp goes to his Penthouse to get belongings and they argue

May 23, 2016 - Heard files for divorce

May 24, 2016 - Heard’s lawyers requested for penthouses, car and money to keep what happened on May 21st quiet. Depp declines because he has nothing to hide.

May 27, 2016 - Heard take an TRO out on Depp when he leaves the country for the allege incident on May 21

May 31 – Depp’s lawyer releases statement that she is lying for financial gain.

Jully 2016 – Heard reaches out to Depp asks him to come to the hotel. He goes thinking she may drop the lie, so Depp asks her to retract it. Heard refuses Depp.

August 16, 2016 – they come to an agreement of $7 million after she started out with $4 million and kept asking for more.

2016 - Depp donates $100k on Heard’s behalf using the money from the settlement. Heard was not happy with that decision so she requests the rest of the settlement goes straight to her.

2017 - They divorce officially.

October 2018 - Heard goes on a Dutch TV show called RTL Late Night to state that the money she received from Depp was donated to two charities ACLU and LA Children’s Hospital.

Amber Heard claims she already donated $7 million from divorce settlement

December 18, 2018 - Heard writes the Op-Ed in the Washington Post.

Opinion | Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change. - The Washington Post

April 27 2018, - The Sun uses the Op-Ed article to write a piece on Depp accusing him as a “Wife Beater”.

June 1, 2018 - Depp sues The Sun for the article.

April 30, 2020 - Depp loses out on work like Pirates of the Caribbean.

November 6, 2020 – Depp loses out work on the Fantastic Beasts series.

November 2, 2020 - Depp loses out due to the legal aspect of the UK when it comes to the media. The believed that the piece was based on truth because Heard wrote it. The Sun brings Heard in as a witness.

April/May 2022 - Depp sues Heard for defamation for writing the Op-Ed.

With adequate evidence the Depp and his team provided of not only the abuse that Depp was under at the hands of Heard but also the proof that Heard wrote the Op-Ed about Depp. In Heard’s own words, she admitted that the Op-Ed was about Depp, which she had claimed earlier in the trial that she did not write it about him. In her own words she had admitted that she had used physical violence against Depp multiple times. She verbally abused Depp which we could heard in the recordings that was provided to the courtroom. Heard failed to provide adequate evidence to prove her story. Which has caused many to doubt her side of events.

Let us dive into why that is the case. Outside the fact that she had no hospital evidence to provide for her injuries like the broken nose, the apparent rape with a bottle. The bruises on her cheeks would not have been caused by a man who wears heavy rings every day. Her face would have been cut up and needing stitches. Her split lip would have noticeable swelling the following day, even though makeup. I would also like to point out that she would have had infection because no person would have put make up on an open wound like that, it is ill-advised to. She even describes how she created her bruises when she explained her makeup routine. The thing is you use the colour corrector on the skin before any other creams is put on, the fact that she put it on last which would have shown as a bruise. When you look at how she performed on the stand you can see that she fails to shed any tears during her most heartfelt testimony. Even if you were trying hard not to cry when reliving the horrendous incidents as she described, you would have had your eyes become glassy looking, red and your nose and eyes would start to feel sore. The way she would act when she knew that she had eyes on her, during the closing and on the stand in compared to the time when Depp was on the stand, when anyone who were called up on Depp’s behalf. Many times, her body would not line up with what she was saying. Even as far as the way she described being hit. She was holding her fist, yet when Depp described being hit, he used his hands in a defense. He was re-living the experience. Heard was telling a story.

This is not about the patriarchy or misogyny. It is about a perpetrator who tried to defame her target. In this case the perpetrator was a woman. Disliking what she has done and the fact she lied and used the MeToo movement for her own gain. That is something that we should be angry about. We don’t have to believe all women, but we do need to believe all victims regardless of gender. We should not give women who lie a pass just because they are women. This has not hurt women in general for coming forward, but I do hope that it will give a second thought to those who want to lie about domestic violence. I do hope that this means men will be believed as abuse victims at the hands of violent women I do hope that children of violent mothers get looked at with seriousness and not dismissed. I do hope for equal funding for victims and programs for perpetrators that doesn’t assume that males are only it.

Now the question is what is left for Heard and Depp. Time will tell what will happen. But for now Depp and his team can now rest for a job well done.