Just Laying Out the Facts
My thoughts on the Depp-Heard trial, Kim Kardashian's new skincare line, and an influencer's mysterious divorce.
I was originally on the fence about dipping my toes into the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard discourse, and I’m still a bit hesitant to do so. The trial has been an absolutely depressing dumpster fire to observe, with levels of misogyny and misinformation I’ve yet to see in my 20 years on the internet so far.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how essential it is to speak out about this stuff.
And let’s be clear here: I have no dog in this fight. I’ve never particularly considered myself a fan of either actor, although I’ve seen a few of their respective films over the years. So, when the trial began, I didn’t know much about the case, and didn’t really care to. What I did know is that I saw more Johnny Depp stans on Twitter—and pro-Johnny propaganda—than I thought could possibly exist. Who are these stans, and where did they all come from? It genuinely seemed to rival the BTS “army,” aka, the most famously powerful fanbase on Al Gore’s internet.
And even I was swayed into buying into the anti-Amber rhetoric at first. For several years now, I’d seen tweets alluding to the fact that “Amber Heard is an abuser.” And then I found out why:
There literally was an army of bots set up in order to lay the foundation of organic-seeming support for Depp, and to paint Heard as an abuser before the trial even began. It was a coordinated cyber attack—and it worked.
When you factor in that the jury wasn’t sequestered from internet access during the trial—and even one juror was allowed to stay on after revealing a text from his wife that said, “Amber is psychotic”—it’s no surprise that Heard was ultimately found “liable” for defamation, even with bountiful evidence that Depp was, in fact, abusive to her for years. And for decades before that, had a well-documented reputation for having on-set temper tantrums and a raging substance-abuse problem, according to many Hollywood execs.
I realized everyone I spoke to IRL was firmly “Team Johnny”—which I think spoke to the fact that, well, not everyone is as perpetually online as me, or you, or a lot of people who’ve actually dug into the facts.
So, here are some of those facts laid out in an incredibly thorough and well-researched article by Michael Hobbes (who also happens to be a cohost of a great podcast called “Maintenance Phase”) that fully swayed me.
Johnny and Amber met while filming The Rum Diary when he was 46, and she was 23.
From the start of their relationship, Johnny had a well-documented drinking problem that would result in him punching walls, throwing glasses, and flipping tables. (Many of the fights would start because he accused Heard of “whoring herself” out in Hollywood and auditioning for roles that involved sex scenes.)
The first time he hit her, he slapped her multiple times until she fell off the couch she was sitting on. He then stormed off and returned, crying and apologizing. (This is a classic abuse tactic, BTW.)
This became a pattern. Depp’s drinking and temper would lead to slaps and punches (and, on at least one occasion, sexual assault), before he would calm down with promises to return sober. Heard described the post-abuse periods as “the warm glow,” but it would never last.
Depp’s blowups would often follow an “external stressor,” like the death of his mother or a meeting with financial advisors who informed him he’d lost millions. He would self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, take his anger and frustrations out on Heard, and surround himself with “yes” people who’d clean up the mess after he trashed hotel rooms or had a temper tantrum.
Heard was the only person in his life who would tell him the truth, try to fix him, get him into detox programs, or take photos of him passed out to show him that he had a problem. Nothing worked.
In their final argument before Heard finally filed for divorce and a retraining order, Depp threw a phone at her face.
In 2018, The Sun labeled Depp a “wife beater;” he sued, and the British tabloid asked Heard to provide evidence.
Heard had plenty of photos of her injuries—some of which showed up in red carpet photos, and were visible when she first appeared at the courthouse to file the retraining order against Depp.
Text messages—from both Depp and his employees—substantiate the claims of abuse. (Depp’s assistant texted Heard after one blowup that “when [he] told [Depp] he hit you, he cried.”)
Many witnesses—like friends and family members—recall seeing her with cuts, bruises, bloody lips, and missing chunks of hair.
There are audio recordings. Heard says in one, “I cry in my bedroom… after you beat the shit out of me,” to which Depp responds, “I made a huge mistake. I won’t do it again.” Another has Heard saying, “Put your cigarettes out on someone else,” to which Depp responds, “Shut up, fatass.”
Heard recorded one of Depp’s outbursts on video.
Depp has a long history of violent outbursts, drug abuse, and misogyny. (This includes well-documented on-set tantrums, paparazzi attacks, violence against crew members, trashed hotel rooms, and more.) One of his famous exes, Ellen Barkin, claims he threw a wine bottle at her once, and another one, Jennifer Grey, describes him as “crazy, jealous, and paranoid.” He reportedly repeatedly used the N-word in a phone message to his ex-wife, and paid her $1.25 million not to release it. He’s defended infamous abusers Marilyn Manson, Harvey Weinstein, and Roman Polanski in the past.
In texts, he’s referred to Heard as a “flappy fish market,” “cum-guzzling whore,” and “scumbag gold-digging cunt.”
About the gold-digging thing: The couple’s pre-nuptial agreement would’ve entitled Heard to millions, but she walked away with just a modest settlement, dropping her claim for ongoing spousal support so she would no longer be accused of being a gold-digger.
Although Depp claims Heard has been meticulously planning his takedown for years, her first claims of abuse were in 2013 text messages to her family and friends.
While Depp’s side focused on the fact that Heard was abusive as well, Heard herself admits she began fighting back and engaging in screaming matches with him. Depp claims that after he won a lifetime achievement award and brought out a bottle of champagne, Heard blew up at him. (Remember: His abusive outbursts would happen while drunk, after promises of staying sober.) He claims she hit him, but this was only after he threatened to push Heard’s sister down the stairs, Heard claims.
What about the time that she hit him on the stairs with her sister there? Her story has always been consistent here. This video made me tear up near the end… the fierceness of her desire to protect her sister is very palpable and relatable.On March 23, 2015; Depp allegedly hits Amber repeatedly. His security arrives but does not intervene. Heard’s sister is standing by a flight of stairs and Depp makes a pushing motion, resulting in Amber punching him with a closed fist. She says it was self defense. https://t.co/917WoTC1nOdakota moss @cocainecross
This is the article Heard was found liable for: “I spoke up about sexual violence—and faced our culture’s wrath.” The global response to this trial has simply proven her right.
Depp claims this article was detrimental to his career. Never mind the decades of bad behavior on set, the string of box-office bombs, and articles dubbing him the “most overpaid actor in Hollywood.” From Hobbes’ article: “In the U.S. trial, his former agent said studios were losing patience with his unprofessionalism as early as 2016. His former business manager said his out-of-control addictions were fueling increasingly impulsive and erratic behavior. A Disney executive testified that no one at the studio was even aware of Heard’s op-ed when they decided not to ask Depp back for the next Pirates movie.”
Oh, and there’s the poop thing 🙄:
The truth is, this ruling sets a dangerous precedent. If a famous actress with dozens of pieces of evidence documenting years of abuse gets sued for libel over an article that doesn’t even mention her abuser’s name, what hope do any other victims have in telling their stories going forward?
You can think what you want about the trial. You can hate Amber Heard and say things like, “They were both toxic! They were both horrible to each other! They were mutually abusive!” (Read below to see the issue with that term.) But the fact is, Depp is not someone we should be celebrating, and it’s… demoralizing, to say the least, to see the way an abusive man has been celebrated after this trial and the woman he’s battered has turned into a global punching bag.
Remember: Depp is the one who took her to trial. He promised “total global humiliation.” And it worked.
Linking more articles/Twitter threads here that helped me see the truth, and you can read the rest of Hobbes’ fantastic article here.
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