This Is a Devastating and Dangerous Day for Survivors of Domestic Abuse
At the end of a six-week-long trial, Johnny Depp won his civil defamation case against Amber Heard. Amber Heard also won her countersuit against Depp, in which she claimed he defamed her for calling her allegations of domestic abuse a hoax, but unsurprisingly, it’s Depp’s win that is making up the vast majority of headlines.
So they decided she defamed him by talking about the abuse, the abuse which they said was not a hoax. Somehow this feels even worse? https://t.co/DAxY92gFtI
— Josh Raby (@JoshRaby) June 1, 2022
In 2018, two years after Depp and Heard divorced, Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in which she wrote about having “been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age,” as many women have. The essay was about systems of power designed to protect powerful men, including Donald Trump, who was then president. The essay discussed the importance of the Violence Against Women Act and called out the devastating policy changes then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made, weakening Title IX protections for victims of sexual assault.
The essay also included this sentence: “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.” That is what Depp sued Heard over, despite her never mentioning him by name.
There is currently much celebration happening online among Depp stans claiming the actor has been “proven innocent.” That is not what happened. This civil verdict did not undo the decision of a UK lawsuit that found 12 of 14 instances of alleged domestic violence had occurred. What this verdict did say is that Heard was not allowed to talk about it. And that—no matter what you think about any of the rest of this case—makes this a devastating, terrifying day for other survivors of abuse, past and present.
I don’t care how you feel about Johnny Depp or Amber Heard – this is a very bad day for women who are victims.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) June 1, 2022
The silence so many fought against for so many years will once again descend over survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence.
A jury has sanctioned Johnny Depp’s abuse of his ex wife, punishing her for speaking about her experiences of abuse. This will silence women, and it is meant to. https://t.co/bynKwrdPqa
— Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) June 1, 2022
You can believe that Heard was not 100% honest and that the Depp-Heard relationship was incredibly dysfunctional and you can buy the whole “mutual abuse” theory AND ALSO recognize that defamation cases have a very high bar and Depp only won this case because of profound misogyny. https://t.co/XbEhIUrqSu
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) June 1, 2022
As for those looking for “justice for Johnny,” what the trial revealed about his behavior was repugnant and the verdicts can hardly be called a “vindication.” Beware those who use such language. Their motives or judgment may well be suspect.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) June 1, 2022
In closing arguments, Heard’s attorney said: “Think of the article’s purpose. The purpose of the article was to promote legislative measures designed to protect victims of domestic abuse. Designed to protect people who did exactly what Ms. Heard did—to speak out.”
depp verdict reminds me of something amber heard wrote in 2018 pic.twitter.com/fHW6c0wGeC
— andy™ (@andylevy) June 1, 2022
This is a heartbreaking day for anyone who is or who has ever experienced domestic abuse. If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact the National Domestic Abuse Hotline online or by calling 1-800-799-7233.
five years from now, a multi-part podcast will win a peabody for examining the myriad ways that people who lacked key information and should have known better acted like total fucking assholes about this whole thing
— Erin Ryan (@morninggloria) June 1, 2022
(image: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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