Nothing Less Than Everything: Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard Case

Surprisingly, it wasn't a criminal trial but the world's foremost famous court trial. It didn't have an immediate impact on people's life. Still, all around the world were fascinated by the non-public lives of the previous celebrity couple. During this trial, fan bases were developed. I support "Johnny Depp." I support "Amber Heard." Some people say it's an injustice against women. There have been references to #MenToo, likewise how men are falsely accused in such cases.

Everyone must be accustomed to Johnny Depp, a well-liked Hollywood actor. He's known for the unique characters he has played in films. Captain Jack Sparrow is his most famous character in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. On the other hand, Amber heard is also a Hollywood actor but relatively less popular than Johnny Depp. a number of her notable films include Justice League, Aquaman, Never go into reverse, Drive Angry, and The Rum Diary. The previous couple met on The Rum Diary's sets in 2009. They had started dating in 2012, the same year Depp announced his divorcee with Singer Vanessa Paradis. At the same time, Amber split together with her previous partner, Tasya Van Ree. In 2014, the couple got engaged and got married 2015. But their marriage didn't last long.

In May 2016, Amber filed for divorce. A restraining order against Johnny Depp was granted. She had accused him of mental and physical abuse. Johnny denied all the accusations. His lawyers claimed that Amber was trying to barter divorce settlement by making false accusations so she could get more cash for the abuse. In 2016, Johnny and Amber reached an out-of-court settlement, providing Amber with $7million. The newspapers then reported that Amber had donated half the money to Children's Hospital in L.A. and his spouse to American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU). During this point, they released a joint statement saying that each one was well and that they mutually resolved their problems. Later in January 2017, their divorce was finalized, and a Non-Disparagement Cause was also inserted, preventing both of them from publicly saying anything derogatory against the other. It was a typical divorce between two celebrities, and a mutual settlement was reached.

In Dec 2018, this issue came back to the limelight when Amber heard a piece of writing within the Washington Post saying she had become a personage representing domestic abuse and faced the wrath of individuals for calling it out. Although no name was mentioned, it directly pointed to at least one person. Johnny Depp filed a $50 million deflation suit against Amber heard for that one article. He further claimed that she wasn't any victim of domestic abuse. Instead, she was the abuser in their relationship. This was in 2019. In response, Amber filed to own defamation case dismissed, citing samples of her abuse in-camera jets and her scars. In response, Johnny came out with photos of his own with bruises and fear on his face thanks to Amber's alleged attack on him.

For concrete proof, a UK-based newspaper Daily Mail publicly released some phone call recordings, supporting Johnny's side of the story. In 2018, another British newspaper, The Sun, published an article that referred to Johnny Depp as a wife beater. Johnny filed a case against the Publisher and Executive Editor for this, whose trial happened in July 2020. In this case, Johnny's ex-wives, Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, came forward to record their statements in the case in Johnny's defense. In London high court, Johnny's lawyers said that Amber had two extramarital affairs with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and actor James Franco, respectively, while she married Johnny. The lawyers of Sun justified their action by citing 14 instances of proof of Johnny being called a wife-beater. Based on these, UK Judge gave a ruling against Depp. Johnny's Lawyers were quite upset with the judgment of the court. So they planned on appealing the court's decision, claiming it wasn't a fair trial. They were even opening the lies of a donation of $7 million by Amber. But their appeal was rejected twice.

In Jan 2021, Amber Heard filed a counter case against Johnny for $100million, which was accepted, thanks to the #metoo wave. The trial began in April 2022. Amber's lawyers stated the article written by Amber in Washington Post was her freedom of speech. It was an article about the issue of domestic abuse, not about her relationship with Depp. On the other hand, Johnny's lawyer argued that she was coming up with false accusations for personal benefits she had damaged Depp's reputation. Those accusations have led to the downfall of Johnny's career. The film he would have gotten, he lost them. The good relations he had with producers took a hit due to these accusations. In court, Johnny said that he had never hit a woman in his life. Johnny then revealed what happened in her relationship in detail. Repeatedly, he would be told that he was wrong, and constant fights were often violent. She used to get infuriated all of a sudden. The continuous attacks drove him towards drugs and alcohol. Johnny claimed to have helped Amber's career a lot. Such as by reaching out to Warner Bros for a role in Aquaman. In response, Amber's lawyers called him an abuser in their relationship. In response to the allegations of an extramarital affair, Amber said that actor James Franco was her neighbor and a friend. They met Elon Musk at a Met Gala event, became friends, and started dating after her divorce from Johnny.

During this trial, there were many witnesses and testimonies from them. One of their marriage counselors testified in court that both were abusive towards each other. They were participating in mutual abuse with escalating violence. Johnny's former agent said that he had anger management issues. A clinical psychologist said Amber had Borderline Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder, which makes her violent, especially with her romantic partner, who started fabricating wired stories and saw themselves as the victim. She also described her as an attention seeker. ACLU and Children's hospital also testified in the court that Amber hadn't donated the amount and had pledged to donate $3.5 million over the next ten years. The trial of this case ran for six weeks. Since this was a public hearing, everyone could see what was said and by whom. The videos were circulated online. This led to online trends. During the trial, many memes were circulated.

The Jury of the US Court held both of them had defamed the other. The defamation brought to Johnny by Amber should be compensated by $15million. On the other hand, Amber was awarded$2 million for defamation of Amber by Johnny. Later due to Virginia State Law, $15million was reduced to $10.35 million. In response, Amber's lawyers said that she absolutely could not pay this amount because she didn't have so much money. After this judgment, two hashtags made it to the top #mentoo and #believeallwomen. There have been strong opinions from both perspectives—people believing in MenToo and those thinking in BelieveAllWomen. But there is no need for this polarization. It isn't a very complex philosophy. It is common sense that both perspectives are correct. Men can indeed be a victim, too, and there can be domestic abuse against men. And it is equally valid that it is tough for women to speak out against abuse. We shouldn't make any judgments right at the start. Saying all women are identical, file fake cases or all men are the same, or are abusive towards partners is a big no.

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