text: Maria Bogdan
illustration: Adriana Tomeci
I think we've all heard lately about the famous defamation lawsuit between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp began the process of suing Heard for defamation in response to an article he wrote for the Washington Post detailing her experience with domestic violence. Depp's name is not mentioned, but the article was widely interpreted as being about him. In January 2021, Heard sued Depp for $100 million after her proposal to move the case to California was rejected.
The actual trial began on April 11, 2022 and officially ended on Wednesday, June 1. The verdict was in Depp's favor, with Amber having to pay him $15 million for defamation. Clearly, they unanimously believed that Amber Heard, 36, made false statements describing herself as a victim of domestic violence and that she acted with "malicious intent."
The seven jurors – five men and two women – also decided that Johnny Depp, 58, defamed Amber Heard, and he had to pay her $2 million in financial compensation.
Throughout the entire trial, Amber outright lied to the judge and the witnesses, portraying the image of a woman abused by a cold, drug-addled man. However, all of Depp's past romantic relationships have gone public online, affirming the actor's truth and reinforcing that he has not been verbally or physically abusive in the past.
Earlier this month, a recording was played in court. In it, Heard says, “Tell people it was a fair fight and see what the jury and the judge think. Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them, “I, Johnny Depp, am a victim of domestic violence; between us it was a fair fight' and see if people believe you or are on your side."
Depp was asked on the stand how he responded when Heard told him to "tell the world" that he survived domestic violence. He said in court: “Yes. I am."
Thus, the confession of one of the few male actors who had the courage to admit that they were subjected to domestic abuse, not only psychological but also physical, appeared live in real time.
Limited resources to combat domestic abuse create a harmful competition between supporting female and male victims. Women's advocacy groups have the advantage of an argument that has emotional power: the gruesome images of battered wives are all too familiar, but a guy cowering in a corner while his wife approaches him with a burning iron is not equally common.
Unfortunately, there is not enough help for abused individuals as well as for those who become violent from their own unresolved traumas. A faulty behavior can later spread to children, aggravating the problem. In this, a recent survey by the For Baby's Sake Trust found that parents who experienced domestic abuse as children were more likely to experience domestic abuse as adults, with shame being the biggest barrier to seeking help.
Unfortunately, male victims are still not something accepted by society, although the numbers are worrying. One in 3 women have experienced some form of violence from a partner, compared to 1 in 4 men, according to National Coalition Against Domestic Violence from the USA. The number rises to 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men when it comes to severe violence, such as burns, beatings or strangulation by an intimate partner. One in 2 women who are killed is killed by their intimate partners, and 1 in 13 men are killed by their partners. In addition, a fact sheet from NCADV acknowledged that the organization knew that women were the primary abuser of men, but had no data "quantifying how often women were identified as the primary abuser in the relationship."
When the verdict was announced, Johnny Depp, who was not present in the courtroom, said: "False, very serious and criminal allegations were made against me through the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were brought against me. It has already circled the world twice in a nanosecond and had a seismic effect on my life and career. Six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly grateful."
With the conclusion of this criminal trial, the media should highlight one point: men can also be domestically abused, lose everything and lack the confidence to speak about the violence they have endured. In the future, we must fight for a world where we look rationally at both sides and not analyze events according to how the situation looks "at first glance" or gender-related prejudices. The aggressor can cause violence regardless of gender, moment and relationship, but from that moment, the victim will be changed forever, having a narrative thread woven with the red of the aggression of a wounded person in turn.
Sources:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/johnny-depp-and-the-truth-about-male-domestic-abuse-victims/
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