TRIGGER WARNING: I will be discussing where I stand on the Depp v Heard case. We are currently in a bye week and Amber Heard has just begun her testimony by describing acts of domestic abuse. If you do not feel comfortable with the discussion of violent acts of domestic abuse I do suggest viewing any of my other posts.
A Little Background
If you are watching the Depp v Heard case, how have you been productive? Because my productivity has been horrible these last two weeks. And now with the dark week, or bye week if you watch Emily D. Baker live stream, I’m just rewatching testimony.
This is a civil case meaning nobody is going to jail over this case. Depp has sued Heard for $50million after she published an article in the Washington Post claiming she was a victim and voice of domestic abuse. Amber has sued Depp for $100million based on public comments his lawyers have made in defense of Depp. Both are defamation lawsuits. In the United States, we can sue someone who has lied if that lie negatively impacted us. We do have to prove that the amount we’re suing are realistic loses. Our legal system is based on the English (yes, English not British) legal system. Both counties have a defamation legal code but the burden of proof is very different between the two. Depp fought hard for this case to be live-streamed and Amber fought to have it without cameras. Obviously Depp won and we get what is a rather rare glimpse at the civil side of the US court system.
I don’t want to make my decision yet since we haven’t heard all of the facts in the case. My mind is definitely leaning one direction, but there could be things we haven’t seen or heard yet that swing it the other direction. Heard can definitely still win if the jury believes Depp abused Heard. Based on the legal code in the US, Depp started with an uphill battle. Abuse can be either emotional or physical abuse. If I were a juror, I’m not entirely sure I can come to that conclusion though.
Where I Stand During the Bye Week
Newspix/REX Shutterstock
Their relationship was definitely toxic. They brought out the absolute worst in each other it seems. Depp has had some very public problems with substance abuse that started before Heard was even born. Heard’s argument has been that in these moments where he was high, he’d violently beat her. Based on her description on the stand, it sounded awful. The adjectives she used were words like bashing, throwing, pounding, etc. These are expressive words used to elicit a specific image in people’s minds. And it’s in that moment that she lost me. The acts she described and the photographic evidence doesn’t match.
The biggest description/evidence mismatch is the wine/liquor bottle incident. Heard described being violently raped with a wine/liquor bottle in March 2015, slipping on glass shards, feeling glass under her arms as she scrambled up from the floor naked. The next day she was seen running around an airport in leather loafers. Based on her adjective use and the assault she described I, being someone who enjoys rougher bed actions, don’t see how she didn’t end up in the Emergency Room. AT a minimum I’d expect her to be in the ER for the glass to be removed from her feet and arms. I’ve stepped on glass and it’s annoying. I couldn’t image having glass shards in my feet, bleeding on the floor, slipping around as Heard described and not having dozens of little shard in her feet or arms. The internal damage a wine bottle would’ve done after being forcibly inserted blows my mind. The photo of the wine bottle that was supposedly used was completely clean. Amber didn’t go to the ER.
The Lawyers
The other area where Heard is losing me as a possible supporter is her lawyers. I am not a lawyer but even I can see how unorganized her lawyers are. They can’t formulate a questions properly so it isn’t leading. Their questions are skirting close to coaching in my opinion. Heard was told multiple time how to testify on the stand so as to not be hearsay. Her lawyer has had to coached about hearsay. The number of times they’ve approached the bench and Heard’s lawyers have lost the objection is extreme. It appears that whatever plan that had drawn up was entirely based on hearsay and the judge is having none of that. Any hearsay is out for this judge, she doesn’t seem to care about exceptions very much. As the judge and moderator of that courtroom, that’s her purgative as long as she’s consistent. If you look at her lawyer’s record, they are rarely in court and that lack of experience seems to be showing. I’m sure there were other rulings on evidence that can be admitted that aren’t going Heard’s way either.
Interpretation of the Evidence So Far
Having heard Depp’s side and a small piece of Amber’s side is leaning towards believing Depp tbh. Based on what we see now, it looks like Amber may have instigated more of the fights. Here own Pysch Expert testified that Depp had been the victim of physical and emotional abuse. All of them? Probably not. But how many were Depp acting in defense? Amber recording herself gaslighting Johnny that he wasn’t hit is bad. That’s some textbook abuser type language. She was rationalizing hitting Johnny as being not that bad because it was a ‘proper punch’. Her bruised photos look more like filler/botox bruising instead of from her face being bashed into a countertop. Anyone who watches Huda Beauty after she’s had work done would be familiar with what that bruising looks like. Finally, it’s all the photos that Amber took of everything and secret recordings but you never hear Depp hurting Heard, never slapping. We don’t see images of bloody noses (her nose was absolutely not broken) or doctors notes from their private doctor of the injuries she’s sustained but we’ve seen them from Depp.
I’m waiting for the cross of Heard by Johnny’s lawyers. They’ve been very metered so far. I’m sure Dr. Curry (Depp’s Psychology Expert) will go back up on the stand and so will Dr. Hughes (Amber’s Psychology Expert). This is clearly not a clear cut case and I feel sorry for the jurors who are responsible for pursing this out.
If Amber does have significant mental health problems, I do hope she gets the correct diagnosis and treatment. Mental health isn’t something we should make fun of others for having. Depp and Heard led difficult childhoods with domestic abuse being present in both their homes. Its unfortunate that anyone should live like that and it does put them at a higher risk for future mental health conditions as an adult.
We’ll see what next week brings as we start to wrap everything up and the lingering questions hopefully get answered because I have a lot of questions the big one being some timelines that are confusing and a severe lack of mental evidence from Heard’s side.
XOXO
Andrea
