By Sophia Bongiovanni

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard,

a short-lived, toxic tale of abuse between two lovers not meant for each other in the slightest.  True Depp fans can attest to the fact that his one true love was Winona Ryder, but, it can be said that people move on as Johnny did in fact do.  Depp and Heard met on the set of “The Rum Diary” in 2009.  They then married in Los Angeles, California in 2015 only to have Heard file both a divorce and a restraining order one year later against the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star.

In January 2020, the Daily Mail released an article that included audio recordings from 2015 of Amber Heard admitting to assaulting Depp.  In them, Depp states “[he] does not want to leave [her], [he does] not want a divorce, [he] just wants peace” and that “[they] have to separate [if] things get physical”.  Heard seems to be the most unreasonable in the context of the recording.  She replied in the most unsettling way to his request, “I cannot promise you I won’t get physical again.”  However, Heard does say she’ll “do everything to change” (Daily Mail).

Obviously, that did not work out too well.  Depp claimed “she hit, punched, and kicked [him] and frequently threw objects into [his] body and head.”  Heard countered this statement in an over 300 page file detailing fourteen instances that she was the victim of domestic violence.  Her ex-husband then dismissed the allegations in May 2019.  Yet, she admitted to hitting him.  He made it known his thoughts that the evidence against him was completely contrived as some kind of elaborate hoax.  He was firm in his denial and “will continue to deny [the evidence] for the rest of [his] life” (Daily Mail).

Back in 2018, The Sun called Johnny Depp a “wife beater”.  He sued them in July 2020 in a sixteen day libel trial in the British courts, which he ended up losing as of November 2, 2020.  Depp will

most likely appeal these results because of “the Judge’s reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point” (Pollard, Wells, Christodoulou).  According to the Economic Times, “The Sun’s defense relies on a total of 14 allegations by Heard of Depp’s violence between 2013 and 2016.”  Kat James, a close friend of Heard, expressed the view that her witness statement “misrepresented and exploited the incident” (Economic Times).  Heard allegedly twisted James’ rape story and used it for her own personal gain.

The judge had ruled that Amber was left with bruising “after being headbutted by her ex”.  Heard

stated that she was “fearing for her life”.  Depp quickly refuted that statement saying he “accidentally headbutted his ex-wife”.  Sasha Wass, The Sun’s QC, described the abuse in their household as “a state of complete carnage.”  One of the main factors contributing to this was drugs.  Depp admitted that “he consumed ‘humongous’ quantities of alcohol and drugs, including on the set of Disney’s blockbuster Pirates movie”.  His drunken rampag

es caused him to go blind to th

e damages he did to his own home and rental homes.  It even went so far as him writing the words “I love you” in with the blood of his severed finger after Heard smashed a vodka bottle on a countertop. (Pollard, Wells, Christodoulou)

This case is still doing tremendous damages to his reputation and career.  Firmly embattled in legal troubles and endless criticism, Depp was forced to resign from his role in “Fantastic Beasts” and lost his most prized role as Captain Jack Sparrow.  The Mercury News quoted him, “My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time” (Ross).  In the testimony, Depp discussed the $650 million he made off of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies being lost and his ventures with cocaine.

Hypocritical as it seems, Heard is a self proclaimed domestic violence advocate and ambassador for women’s rights.  Even though there is a mountain of evidence against her, the British court still ruled Depp a “wife beater”.  Men are shamed and usually a small percentage are believed when they present their case for abuse.  Although neither of the pair are innocent, the ruling of this case was unfair as the majority of the devastation is happening directly in Depp’s life, rather than Heard’s when it is clear that they are equally at fault.