The aftermath of the Heard-Depp Verdict
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, And Amber Heard Is From Hell
Hell, hath no fury like a woman scorned
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The verdict is out. Team Johnny Depp won, and the jury awarded him with $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
While the jury awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages and no money for punitive damages.
In the state of Virginia, punitive damages have a cap of $350,000 leaving Depp $10.35 million richer with the verdict, and since he has to pay Heard $2 million, that leaves him $8.5 million.
But we all know it isn’t about the money.
A celebrity marriage sours
This isn’t the first time that a high-profile celebrity couple is embroiled in controversy. But definitely, it is one of the worst we have seen in years. Divorce wasn’t enough for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, they have to destroy each other in public.
Last year, when Bill Gates and Melinda Gates divorced it rocked the tech world. The once world’s wealthiest man, Gates can’t keep his 27 years of marriage from falling apart. After Melinda found his association with sex offender Jeff Epstein whom she calls ’evil personified’ as the final straw to their bizarre marriage which included Bill Gates spending summers with an old flame.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorced in 2016. And when you think the couple separated amicably, with Depp reportedly to have settled or paid Heard $7 million, in 2018 Amber published an Op-ed for the Washington Post, a post that Depp used in filing his case of defamation against Heard.
What is defamation?
From the Middle Tennessee State University website.
Defamation is a tort that encompasses false statements of fact that harm another’s reputation.
There are two basic categories of defamation: (1) libel and (2) slander. Libel generally refers to written defamation, while slander refers to oral defamation, though much spoken speech that has a written transcript also falls under the rubric of libel.
The First Amendment rights of free speech and free press often clash with the interests served by defamation law. The press exists in large part to report on issues of public concern. However, individuals possess a right not to be subjected to falsehoods that impugn their character. The clash between the two rights can lead to expensive litigation, million-dollar jury verdicts and negative public views of the press.
Right to protect one’s good name is heart of defamation law
Defamatory comments might include false comments that a person committed a particular crime or engaged in certain sexual activities.
The hallmark of a defamation claim is reputational harm. — Source: The John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, MTSU website.
Heard-Depp verdict
The jury found Heard liable on three accounts —
(1) “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” (2) “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.” (3) “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.” — Washington Post
In the Washington Post published Op-ed not once did Amber name Johnny Depp and yet it was clear at least to the 7-man jury that it was him. By this time, People Magazine had published an article about the couple’s toxic marriage and a photo of Heard showing injuries allegedly inflicted by Depp in one of their fights.
“Johnny and Amber’s relationship was always toxic.” a source tells PEOPLE.
Amber Heard didn’t write the Washington Post Op-ed
There is a lot to be said about the Depp-Heard real-life drama, from the legal standpoint as Amber Heard's defense was that ‘everything she said’ was protected under the law with her First Amendment Rights, apparently not.
To her being the face of domestic abuse, which surprisingly a lot of women don’t agree with, there is no doubt that Heard is the most hated female celebrity today.
If you watched the trial, Heard testified it wasn’t only domestic abuse but sexual assault. Johnny Depp allegedly penetrated her with a liquor bottle to which her vagina bled.
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. — Amber Heard
Personally, my problem with her story is that apparently, she didn’t write it at all. It was the ACLU, an organization that has lost its way, that had ghostwritten the Washington Post Op-ed.
An organization that has Helen Keller as one of its founding members has become too politicized that it is far from the organization that it used to be when it was all about protecting rights to free speech regardless of who you are.
Helen Keller would be rolling over her grave.
And this latest episode shows that the organization would get involved if you are to donate millions of dollars to its coffers as shown in the ACLU testimony that Amber promised to donate $3.5 million.
After which she became an ambassador for women’s rights at the American Civil Liberties Union.
With this revelation, the Washington Post Op-ed started to look like a hit job against Johnny Depp.
With the jury verdict, it’s a setback to women’s rights and the #MeToo movement. It will make abused women think twice before filing any case or speaking about their truths.
Men always win. The feminist movement takes a beating from this verdict.
Final words
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard aren't the only couples living in an unhealthy relationship as my cousin reminded me when I asked about his opinion on this trial of the century, the only difference is that they are celebrities.
And while I’m a fan of Johnny Depp, or suspicious of Amber Heard, I don’t know what happens when they are in the privacy of their bedroom.
It is easy to cast a woman as evil, as cunning — haven't you seen Gone Girl? And Amber Heard fits the bill of a woman scorned out to get more money from a well-beloved movie actor.
After her divorce from Johnny Depp, she dated Elon Musk.
Was it love? I don’t know but I’m sure a lot of people take that as a sign she hops from one rich guy to another.
By the way, in the testimony, Elon Musk helped pay ACLU with $500,000, money that came from organizations related to Tesla.
Elon Musk, when he feels attacked for his very public feud with Bill Gates, he uses Twitter as his weapon. The mystery here is why did he get himself involved in a plot to defame Johnny Depp?
Amber Heard tweeted today which I hope she wrote herself —
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband.
I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock at a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.
“I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive in the UK. I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.” — Twitter
While Johnny Depp on his Instagram post is just glad that —
“the jury gave me my life back.”
The saga continues, and Amber Heard is said to file an appeal.
Thank you for reading.
Sources:
Legal victory for Johnny Depp after he and Amber Heard found liable for defamation
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