By Despoina Herouvim,
Johnny Depp, after six years of lies and speculations, finally got his life back. His name and reputation are restored as he won the U.S. defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The jury decided in favor of Johnny, as he presented undeniable evidence that Heard defamed him intentionally with her op-ed, where she talked about her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse, and the jury awarded him 10 million dollars for compensatory damages and 5 million dollars for punitive damages. I cannot ignore the fact that the jury reached a decision and found Amber Heard guilty on Narcissist Abuse Awareness Day. It fits perfectly.
“See what the jury and Judge think. Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them, I, Johnny Depp, a man, I am a victim too of domestic violence, and see how many people believe or side with you”. That was what Amber Heard said in 2016 in one of the recordings presented in the courtroom. That is what Johnny did. He told the world, the jury, the judge, and we heard him loud and clear — and we believe him. He proved that he is a victim of domestic abuse. All the evidence that was presented proved without any doubt that he was physically and emotionally abused by his ex-wife. She sliced his finger off, punched him, put out a cigarette on his face, defecated on his bed, withheld his detox medication, and so on. All of these incidents were supported by photographic evidence and witnesses, while her so-called abuse was only supported by her words and some pictures that are easily questioned.
Despite all the evidence, the world was not ready to accept that a man was abused by a woman. He was lied about by his wife, who managed to turn all of this around and come off as if she were the one that was abused, and Johnny was nothing more than an alcoholic and drug addict that abused and raped her. The “monster”, however, as she referred to him, came forward and told his story securing enough undeniable evidence that he was the victim of this case. He opened his heart and shared with the world everything that he has been through and, honestly, watching and reliving all the horrible things that she did to him was heartbreaking. Especially when he exclaimed that her allegations against him had affected his children.
“I did not deserve that, nor did my children, nor did the people who have believed in me all these years. I pride myself on honesty… on truth. Truth is the only thing I am interested in. Lies will get you nowhere, and lies build upon lies… I am obsessed with the truth so today is the first opportunity that I have been able to speak about this case in full”.
Heard had even accused Johnny of pushing Kate Moss — his girlfriend back in the 90s — down the stairs, based on some rumors she supposedly heard. The well-known model had to testify about what really happened and she was quick to deny these allegations saying that she slipped, and Johnny rushed to help her and get her medical attention. The fact that Kate Moss is an extremely private person and has never testified in a court before pinpointed her credibility. Moreover, the audio clips that were presented in court should have been enough on their own. She plainly admits to hitting him as she mocks him about not acting more aggressively. Is that a victim talking? Of course not. Amber Heard is a narcissist abuser with abandonment issues that could not handle that Johnny would leave her. So, she took revenge by accusing him of abusing her because she thought that she had nothing to worry about as no one would believe that Johnny was the real victim here.
If all of these were not enough proof that she is a liar, it was proven in court that she lied about donating 7 million dollars from her divorce to the ACLU and to the Children’s Hospital of L.A. She had previously stated that she gave the money to these charities because she did not want anything from him. But it was proven that she never gave this sum of money to any of these charities, which shows once again that she is a liar.
I know that it is difficult to believe that a woman abused a man. I know that the cases where a woman physically hurts a man are not that many, but they exist. There are many men that have been abused by their girlfriends or their wives, and this case has given them a voice, a chance to tell their story without fearing what the world will think of them. I hope that this case will open our eyes a bit and see victims of abuse based on the truth and not on their gender. It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, yet male survivors are still not accepted.
Unfortunately, even after the jury’s decision, there are still people who doubt Johnny’s story and still side with Heard as they think that by not siding with her, you go against the #MeToo movement. They even argue that we need to believe and stand by an imperfect victim like Amber Heard. I honestly cannot see how the #MeToo movement will be held back by not siding with a woman who has a prior history of domestic violence. How can we see her as a victim when she bought a knife for Johnny, the man who was supposedly beating her up? How can we believe a woman whose only evidence was pictures of Johnny sleeping or banging some cabinets in the kitchen? Yet, she did not provide any evidence that showcased her broken nose or the multiple injuries that she supposedly sustained from him.
There is clear evidence that shows who was the abusive one in the relationship. Because let me tell you something. A woman can in fact abuse a man and it is not anti-feminist to acknowledge this. I do not believe Johnny just because he is a powerful man or a famous actor, but because I watched the trial and I saw who was telling the truth and who was not. Amber Heard is not a victim. She is neither a heroine nor a martyr and believing her and siding with her is what will damage the #MeToo movement. Believing the real victim, the real survivor of domestic abuse is what will move this forward, and the real victim here is Johnny Depp.
I could not be happier that after years of deceit and lies the truth is finally out and someone who endured severe physical and emotional abuse has finally been heard out and believed. The truth is out, and everything will fall right into place, as justice for Johnny Depp is finally served. He won in the court of public opinion. He won in the court of law and now a new chapter begins in his life. He is finally free.
References
- Christine Flowers: Why Johnny Depp is a victim of domestic abuse, delcotimes.com, Available here
- Male domestic violence survivors say they feel the Depp-Heard trial is a turning point, nbcnews.com, Available here
