As a verdict is possibly hours away, a sense of dread has been building in my stomach for what it will mean for Amber’s future, as well as all victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly as women’s basic rights continue to be under attack in the United States. Like many people who are following the case, I have personal experiences with abuse. Much of my research focuses on IPV, specifically, the disparities in resources and services that are available for survivors to leave their abusers, such as economic, social, geographical barriers. It’s a topic which is deeply tied to my own personal experiences and academic career.

I initially was ambivalent to Amber Heard. Before I began to research the case, I was firmly in the "they both suck" camp, having only briefly glanced through articles. I started to pay more attention to the media coverage over the past six weeks and was really staggered by how Heard was being portrayed as a lying, crazy, gold-digging woman through narratives that were not only going unchallenged, but were heavily perpetuated in the public discourse. Even worse, that the abuse she experienced had been capitalized on by "true crime" junkies and mocked in TikTok videos and Youtube compilations. So I began watching the trial live and found that there was far more evidence and far more substantial evidence which shows that JD was the perpetrator of abuse within their relationship.

The evidence collected through JD's personal texts and emails show an early pattern of abuse. He exerted control over the clothes Amber wore and would become angry when she didn't dress "conservatively". He would consistently accuse her of having affairs with acquaintances, friends, and various co-stars, even with an openly gay director, Clive Barker. He didn't like that she was ambitious and would scorn her when she took opportunities to advance her career. He would constantly refer to her with misogynistic language. He also referred to Amber, an openly bisexual woman, as a “lesbian camp counsellor”. He messaged other men to discuss killing her through drowning and burning her, and then raping her burnt corpse to prove that she was truly dead. This all occurred while they were still dating. She was in her early 20s and he was in 50s. All of these coercive, paranoid, jealous, controlling behaviours are deeply and unequivocally abusive.

None of this includes the evidence which shows physical and sexual abuse. There are audio tapes in which he admits to headbutting her, so hard that she was concerned her nose was broken. In another recording, they discuss how her family and friends have seen her bruises, broken blood vessels, and bald spots from her hair being torn out of her scalp. Another shows him stating “I will smack the ugly c**t before I let her in.” A video shows him aggressively breaking and smashing furniture near her. One interaction reveals that Stephen Deuters, his assistant, begged her to come back to him after her assaulted her on a plane in front of his bodyguards, pleading to her that JD was remorseful for his actions. Heard also has stated he sexually assaulted her multiple times. Remember, he previously discussed violently raping her in those infamous messages to Paul Bettany.

As for witnesses, several testified to seeing bruises on her numerous times, including JD's witnesses, such as their marriage counsellor. A makeup artist, Melanie Inglessis, testified to covering swelling on her lip and two black eyes. Raquel Pennington saw several injuries, including bloodied bald spots on her head, a swollen nose, and cut lip. She expressed fear JD would eventually kill Amber if she didn't leave. Josh Drew also testified to seeing her with injuries, including black eyes, a swollen cheek, and a busted lip. iO Tillet Wright (who Depp misgenders throughout his testimony) recalled hearing JD assault Amber and scream “oh, you think I hit you? You think I fucking hit you? What if I peel your fucking hair back". iO then called 911. This was the incident which led Heard to file for a divorce and a restraining order, two days afterwards. It is worth noting that Pennington, Drew, and Wright all corroborated this incident in their depositions, as did iO’s 2016 essay.

Is she guilty of fighting back? Absolutely. She never lied about doing so, even dating back to her 2016 deposition. However, fighting back against a man who has beaten you, sexually assaulted you, controlled your career, finances, and who you can associate with does not equate to being an abuser. It’s simply surviving. And yes, I’ve heard those audio tapes, the in which she’s expresses her incredulity at him for stating their fights were fair when she feared he would kill her.

His case has relied upon deeply misogynistic narratives to discredit both her claims and her character. She was after his money all along, even though she refused the 30 million dollar fortune she was legally entitled to, as there was no prenup. She painted on bruises, even though a makeup artist testified to covering up her swollen lip and two black eyes. She cut off his finger, even though multiple texts and even an audio recording showcase him admitting to doing it in the midst of a bender. She didn't donate her money, even though she and the organization created a 10 year plan for her to make yearly payments (in my personal opinion, what she does with her money either way is nobody's fucking business). Also worth noting, an ACLU representative testified to her being ahead of schedule until Depp began suing her. She made up a hoax, because she documented her abuse - as we advise all people who are in abusive situations to do. She's a liar, because women are inherently deceitful liars.

None of the evidence that JD's attorneys presented has proven that she defamed him through her op-ed piece. That's likely because their goal was never to prove that her article - which never explicitly references him or their relationship - impacted his career. Those who watched the trial will know, Tracy Jacobs, his agent of 30 years stated that it was his drug and alcohol abuse, anger issues, chronic lateness (7 or 8 hours late to set each day), and unprofessionalism that led to his career decline. Film crews grew tired of working around these problems, and eventually, so did Hollywood. Tina Newman, a Disney Corporate Representative who worked on POTC stated no one knew of Amber’s op-ed until Depp sued her. 

The trial was always meant to humiliate, shame, and terrorize her. We are witnessing in a powerful man terrorize his ex-wife through the legal system, all while the world makes TikToks of her sexual assault testimony. JD has a documented history of violence and is due for another court date after assaulting a crew member of the set of City of Lies. To quote his own words, “If I’m angry and I’ve got to lash out or hit somebody, I’m going to do it and I don’t care what the repercussions are. Anger doesn’t pay rent, it’s gotta go. It’s gotta be evicted.”

I don't know whether Amber Heard will win her case. We’re witnessing a radical right-wing political swing to control and criminalize women’s bodies with Roe v. Wade under attack right now. To be blunt, I have very little faith in the justice system and that a jury - in Virginia of all places - will rule in favour of an abused woman over her charismatic, powerful ex-husband. However, I think it's important to remember that Amber did everything right, that is, everything we tell women to do. She documented her abuse, left her abusive partner, and was granted a restraining order - and she's continuing to be punished for doing so. If Amber, a privileged white woman with access to economic resources, is still struggling to escape her abuser, how can we expect women without those privileges to?

Amber Heard had more evidence supporting her claims than most abuse victims have and yet that jury decided she defamed that man. I'm truly angry and disgusted. This has been a major setback for women and abuse victims.

I love seeing viral jd hate tweets

Just a little PSA I stand with and will always stand with Amber Heard so if any of you Depp stans have an issue then you know what you can do 🙂

we are with you amber heard <3

In ten years time, when we look back on the Depp v Heard trial and see what a horrible monster he truly is and how horribly Amber was treated; so many people will say “We’re all to blame.” No bitch! Not all of us fell for his bullshit.

Depp Defender Logic

Amber’s admittance to hitting Johnny in an audio recording means she’s clearly guilty! Case closed! Oh, but Johnny’s admittance to headbutting Amber in an audio recording doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and neither do the texts he and his personal assistant sent to Amber apologizing for him kicking her. 

One of the worst things Amber did was cut off Johnny’s finger. This is definitely what happened despite the fact that Johnny said in multiple private conversations with close friends, doctors, and Amber herself that he cut his own finger off. His exact phrasing doesn’t matter because he clearly meant that she cut it off. Another piece of evidence that Amber’s lying is her accidentally admitting to using a bruise kit instead of a color correcting kit on the stand. There is absolutely no ambiguity in this phrasing and it’s completely unfeasible that she would have momentarily forgotten the exact name for a bruise covering kit and accidentally said ‘bruise kit’ before remembering that means something else already and immediately correcting herself.

She’s also called him cruel and horrible things like a fat old man and a baby. This is why she deserved to be called a ‘gold digging, low level, dime a dozen, mushy, pointless dangling overused flappy fish market’, a ‘waste of a cum guzzler’, a ‘50 cent stripper’ a ‘worthless hooker’, a ‘filthy whore’, and much more in verified texts sent by Johnny where he also said he would ‘smack the ugly cunt around’ ‘drown [and] burn her’ and ‘fuck her burnt corpse’.

All of Amber’s witnesses that testified to seeing bruises or witnessing Johnny hurting Amber must be getting paid by her. Johnny’s witnesses, on the other hand, are way more credible- the fact that they’re all on Johnny’s payroll doesn’t mean anything. Whitney Henriquez’s testimony doesn’t mean anything, because of course she’d defend her own sister!! Christie Dembrowski’s testimony, however, clearly shows what a good soul Johnny is. 

Also, Amber and her witnesses were clearly lying because there were minor discrepancies in the details between their testimonies. The 80+ times Johnny lied on the stand, backtracked from previous testimonies, and tried to deny having said documented incriminating phrases doesn’t mean anything because he was probably just confused because he’s a poor traumatized little boy.

Dr. Dawn Hughes, the board certified psychologist who’s been treating Amber for years, is lying on the stand about everything because she looks mean and ugly. Instead, we should listen to Shannon Curry, the young and beautiful psychologist who diagnosed Amber with two personality disorders within a day of meeting her and claimed that real PTSD victims are unable to function in day-to-day life.

Camille Vasquez is such an icon for ripping Amber Heard to shreds, mocking her SA story, claiming that Johnny was the reason she got her role on Aquaman, trying to argue that Amber posted a video at Coachella with friends to send a message to Johnny, and using medical records that describe Heard as a ‘well nourished male’. Ben Rottenborn and Elaine Bredehoft, on the other hand, are terrible and unprepared lawyers who made mean spirited reaches in their cross-examinations.

Amber smiling a few times in court proves that she’s guilty and that she’s revelling in all of this. It’s honestly disgusting. Also, she’s way too emotional in her testimony. Also, she’s not emotional enough, which makes her look ingenuine. Anyway, isn’t it so funny and cute how Johnny kept smiling and smirking and making little quips during his testimony?

Clearly Amber’s guilty here since she was arrested for domestic violence in the past, even though her charges were dropped immediately after and the ex in question has come out saying it was a misunderstanding based in homophobia and misogyny. Meanwhile, all of Johnny’s exes have supported him, proving his innocence- except for Ellen Barkin, who is old, jealous, bitter, irrelevant, and clinging to the past. Oh, did you say something about Johnny Depp’s public image as the ‘bad boy of Hollywood’ who repeatedly abused drugs, trashed hotel rooms, and got in trouble with the police for being aggressive all the way back in the 90’s? I conveniently don’t recall any of that. All I know is that he visits kids in hospitals sometimes.

Also, he’s the good guy in the assault case he’ll go to court for next month, because he was just defending a homeless black woman from being called racial slurs. This behavior is very in character for Johnny, who has defended racism, dressed up in racist costumes multiple times, used plenty of racial slurs (or at the very least, offensive and derogatory terms) himself and once joked that he ‘shot a few ne****s in a club on Sunset Boulevard’.

Amber is a terrible actress and she’s putting on the performance of a lifetime to convince everyone of her innocence. Johnny Depp is an amazingly talented actor and you can just tell that he’s innocent and genuine by the way he’s behaving.

Amber is dragging this out when Johnny just wants to move on with his life. It’s her fault that he sued her repeatedly for an article that never directly mentioned him, thrusting them both into the public eye with overwhelmingly negative attention surrounding her and overwhelmingly positive attention surrounding him.

Seven un-sequestered jurors found Amber guilty of defaming Johnny Depp in her statement ‘I spoke up about sexual violence and faced our culture’s wrath’. This is a more accurate conclusion than the three other judges who found her allegations of Depp’s abuse to be substantially true.

Update on the Depp Vs Gregg "Rocky" Brooks assault lawsuit: Depp has settled with Brooks for an "undisclosed amount". I wonder why he didn't want this one to go to trial?

Reminder.

daily reminder that johnny debt said he wanted to burn and then rape amber’s body 18 months before he claims amber started abusing him

daily reminder that johnny is literally back in court for punching a man on a movie set NEXT MONTH.

daily reminder that johnny has a long history of abuse. (but even if he didn’t, that doesn’t mean he’s not an abuser.)

daily reminder this man is downright disgusting. he’s a misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, abuse-apologist (roman polanski, marilyn manson) liar.

daily reminder that he was romantically linked with a 22 year old when he was 54 years old.

oh also quick psa. if you support johnny depp this account is not for you. stay away. do not look at what i post. do not like what i post. do not reblog what i post. i do not want anything to do with you people. amber heard is the only victim here. not that half baked rotting saggy half talented piece of shit you call an actor. k byeee!!!!!