The Depp-Heard Defamation Case Returns From Hiatus

“If there’s one thing that’s clear in the Depp-Heard case, it’s that not that much is clear. This story is overwhelmingly messy and complicated.

There is compelling evidence that Depp acted violently towards Heard. In the UK trial, Heard submitted witness testimony; contemporaneous text messages, emails, and diary entries; and photographs of her bruises. Taken together, they demonstrated a clear pattern of abuse, most often when Depp was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In order to fake them, Heard would have had to spend years plotting to besmirch Depp’s name. (He claims she did)...

The sheer volume of online support for Depp has become one of the biggest oddities of this case. On Reddit, Twitter, and TikTok, people are loudly declaring their support for Depp and their surety that Heard is a liar…

The culture has spent decades admiring Depp’s talent and beauty and charisma, and all of that admiration doesn’t just go away now. Depp’s fans have made a powerful emotional investment in him, and many of them are willing to leap on any little moment of ambiguity in this case as proof of Depp’s innocence. In a trial this messy, there are a lot of ambiguities.

In the end, perhaps that’s what’s most damning about the larger conversation around this trial: the inability to handle the ambiguities. Faced with a portrait of a relationship in which there’s compelling evidence of violence and toxic behavior on both sides, our culture seems unable to accept that we may simply be looking at a story without heroes. Instead, we demand a tidy narrative with a heroic redemption arc — and if the hero is a beloved, charismatic, and powerful white man, well, all the better.”

“The case should provide a sobering look at domestic violence and how it affects both men and women. Instead, the trial has turned into a circus of misogyny and delusion. I am an abuse survivor, and it’s particularly damaging to see social media pile-ons focused on a woman who didn’t even initially name her abuser. It reminds me that when women allege abuse, they’re often put through the wringer — famous or not.

Alongside the frightening level of sexism, there’s a jocular vibe surrounding this case that’s disturbing. These are two human beings talking about one of the darkest parts of their lives, and we’re treating it as entertainment…

We don’t know the truth in this situation. Both sides have made upsetting accusations. The problem is the reflexive assumption that Depp is being wronged, along with the gleeful way social media is harassing the woman who accused him of violence…

While it’s very possible that Depp and Heard both contributed to an abusive partnership, social media users don’t seem to want to consider this messiness. They seem to prefer the story about their pirate hero, the one who makes quips on the stand, the one who has entertained them for years and made their lives more enjoyable. Heard, a queer woman who spoke out about domestic violence, is a destroyer of their ideals: crazy and conniving. If Depp is Jack Sparrow, Heard is Amy Dunne from “Gone Girl” in the court of public opinion.”