I’ll say like Amanda Hess, from New York Times : « I did not follow the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard — it followed me ».
We have been waiting for this verdict for weeks. Unsurprisingly, the jury found Amber Heard guilty of defamation. I say no big surprise since this whole legal bloodbath was mostly a public relations war between two celebrities. Johnny’s star was much brighter and the machine around him better oiled.
The perfect victim
What made the water in the gas, too, is that the actress was not a “perfect victim”. Not particularly sympathetic, she also exhibited violent behavior. It was enough for the whole world to think that it was her, the bitch Of the history.
I don’t want to take sides. I will only say the following thing: it is not because one is capable of having violent or toxic behaviors that one cannot be a victim of conjugal violence.
Have you ever heard of reactive violence? It can happen when a victim of violence is pushed to their limits and in turn uses violent behavior (shouting, insulting, hitting) to stop it. I’m not saying that’s correct. I say it exists.
Also, and it is appalling to say, it is not because one is the victim of conjugal violence that one cannot be made guilty of defamation.
The real winner
Who is the real winner following all this? Certainly not Amber Heard, who saw herself dragged through the mud. Nor are they the victims of domestic violence, who may be thinking “here’s what will happen if I talk”. For me, those who won were the platforms and content creators who made a big splash out of this human drama that was unfolding before our eyes.
Is this a failure of #metoo? I do not think so. But it is one more stone on the edifice of ambient cynicism in the face of institutions.
