You cannot go to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or TikTok without being bombarded by news about the ongoing John C. Depp, II v. Amber Laura Heard defamation trial held in Fairfax County, Virginia; Johnny Depp is currently suing ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million over a Washington Post op-ed where Heard discusses the wrath of the public after speaking out the sexual violence she suffered when she was with Depp, though the op-ed does not mention Depp by name.
I write this as a woman who had to change my phone number weekly because I was getting death threats. For months, I rarely left my apartment, and when I did, I was pursued by camera drones and photographers on foot, on motorcycles and in cars. Tabloid outlets that posted pictures of me spun them in a negative light. I felt as though I was on trial in the court of public opinion — and my life and livelihood depended on myriad judgments far beyond my control.
I want to ensure that women who come forward to talk about violence receive more support. We are electing representatives who know how deeply we care about these issues. We can work together to demand changes to laws and rules and social norms — and to right the imbalances that have shaped our lives.
Although the #MeToo movement has all but ended the careers of Harvey Weinstein and many other powerful men as a result of their sexual abuse, sentiment has been heavily weighed against Amber Heard. Certainly, it is the case online. In spite of Johnny Depp losing his libel case against The Sun in England after a judge ruled that the claim of Depp being a wife beater is “substantially true”, in a jurisdiction where courts are easier towards plaintiffs when it comes to defamation cases, sentiment in support of Johnny Depp easily overwhelms any support for Amber Heard.
When it comes to Heard and Depp, there is a massive difference in how viral the posts go depending on which person it is supporting — on TikTok, videos under the #JusticeForAmberHeard hashtag have over 21 million views, but ones under #JusticeForJohnnyDepp have over 5 billion. On Facebook, there have been 1,667 posts this week using the hashtag supporting Depp, with a total of over 7 million interactions (likes and shares), and the one for Heard has just 16 posts with 10,415 interactions.
To make matters worse, the pro-Depp sentiment isn’t simply driven by people’s affinity for the Pirates of the Caribbean series or Depp’s looks in the 90s. In fact, Amber Heard has faced unadulterated hostility, online or otherwise, not the least of which include disproven claims of Amber defecating on Johnny’s bed, support among “men’s rights activists” / “incels”, and the typical misogynistic claims of Amber being a “liar” and a “gold digger”. And if that isn’t sordid enough, many women, some of whom consider themselves as feminists, have lended support towards Depp, if only to prove that the #MeToo movement isn’t biased against male victims of sexual assault. Some have taken it to the point where Etsy sellers have sold pro-Depp merchandise.
Never mind the fact that Depp has shown abusive behaviour in front of Heard, when he is not sexually assaulting her. Never mind the fact that Johnny Depp told Amber Heard that “you don’t exist”, after he told Heard not to “fucking pretend to be authoritative with [Depp]” like a mother or a schoolteacher. Never mind the fact that Depp has fantasies of raping Amber Heard’s burnt corpse until she’s dead. Never mind the notion that it was Depp’s on-set behaviour that caused Hollywood studios to be reluctant to hire him, not solely because of Amber Heard herself. Never mind the fact that Depp’s exes have discussed Johnny Depp’s rage and jealousy.
If you are disturbed by the ubiquitous presence of memes and TikTok videos mocking Amber Heard’s testimonies, in which one of the videos happens to be Lance Bass being in-sync to mocking Amber Heard, then it won’t be a far-fetched claim that Russian bots have amplified negative sentiment towards Amber Heard. Adam Waldman, Johnny Depp’s star lawyer, is known to provide services to Putin-aligned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who received private briefings from Paul Manafort on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Waldman recently was kicked out of court for leaking confidential information to the public.
Coming off the latest disappointment on that front, Judge Bruce White threw Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman off the case on Friday after finding that the lawyer had given the press confidential information covered under a protective order.
Waldman was admitted pro hac vice — for this case only — to Fairfax County Circuit Court in September 2019. That same month, Judge White signed a protective order governing the treatment of Depp and Heard’s personal information — passport numbers, phone numbers and the like, as well as medical records, including psychological conditions, diagnoses or treatment.
Heard had moved from sanctions against the Washington attorney last month, contending that the press leaks happened “on at least two occasions.”
She said Waldman was responsible for disseminating audio recordings, surveillance pictures and declarations from third-party witnesses to websites and Twitter users, “leading readers and potential jurors to believe that these declarations are somehow official case documents, which they are not.”
In addition, it has been revealed that far-right publication The Daily Wire pushed anti-Heard sentiment on social media. The Daily Wire spent somewhere between $35,000 and $47,000 on advertisements within Facebook and Instagram; the advertisements, which promoted news articles with a decisive anti-Heard slant, have racked up at least four million impressions. One particular ad that promoted an article about the “character assassination” of Depp was promoted by right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who wrote, “I hope Johnny Depp bankrupts Amber Heard with his lawsuit. It has been absolutely ridiculous to see what that woman has been allowed to do because she flew under the radar of the MeToo movement. Amber Heard is the perfect example of what I refer to as ‘toxic femininity’.” Also, Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles has derisively described a tearful Amber Heard as an “[obvious] complete lunatic”.
With the rise of anti-female sentiment in the US and around the world, this lawsuit has more implications beyond the professional careers of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. There is a looming potential that abusers can use the court system to exert power over their victims through pricey lawsuits. Johnny Depp, who was allowed to hold the trial in Fairfax County, Virginia due to The Washington Post having its printing press and online server there, has taken advantage of Virginia’s loose anti-SLAPP law, which lacks a mechanism for frivolous cases to be dismissed before a trial and a provision that requires plaintiffs to pay legal fees to the defendant if they lose the case. It doesn’t hurt Depp that the trial is publicised in order for him to charm the public with his persona, whether he loses or not. Furthermore, one of Johnny Depp’s close friends, the disgraced musician Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Hugh Warner), is suing ex-fiancée Rachel Evan Wood over “malicious falsehood” of abuse claims; last year, Wood revealed that Manson was the one who groomed her as a teenager.
The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.
And perhaps not surprisingly, a subset of Johnny Depp fans have also gave their sympathy towards Marilyn Manson.
False claims of rape are rare, given that about 2 to 10 per cent of reported sexual assaults in the US are proven to be false. In fact, it is not uncommon for sexual assault survivors to never report to authorities. Furthermore, bisexual women have a very high risk of being a victim of domestic violence, moreso than straight women and lesbians.
Whether or not you believe that Amber Heard is not a “perfect victim”, it’s very difficult to say that Johnny Depp is a wronged innocent man given the myriad of evidence against him. Forget all the memes and the support of Depp from many celebrities, when the “Justice For Johnny Depp” movement hasn’t persuaded controversial figures such as Howard Stern or Perez Hilton (though the previous guy has given his head-scratching, if not controversial, opinion). It’s very important that one has an opinion of a trial through legitimate evidence and documentation, rather than viral doctored videos. Idolatry and bigotry should not get in the way of truth. (Ironically, Johnny Depp has co-opted the “Never Fear Truth” phrase.)