To label Johnny Depp a ‘wife beater’ is not libel.
That’s not my view, but that of a senior judge at London’s Royal Courts of Justice.
That same judge found that on the balance of probabilities, Depp assaulted his ex-wife, Amber Heard, on a dozen occasions and left her in fear for her life – so it shocks and appalls me that Hollywood is welcoming back Depp while Heard is languishing in the shadows.
Only this week, Depp made a cameo appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, which was both confusing and in poor taste. With his face projected inside the helmet of the iconic MTV moon man, he joked that he needed the work.
Even laughing about his court case made my stomach turn.
Meanwhile, Amber Heard remains the subject of cruel memes and abuse.
It’s another unacceptable sign of Heard continuing to struggle, while Depp has seen his career get almost seamlessly back on track.
The simple reason for this is an incredible double standard at play that is in favour of the male protagonist.
In 2018, Depp sued a leading British tabloid for libel after it published an article that claimed he was a ‘wife beater’ and had assaulted Heard.
That same year, Heard wrote an opinion piece stating that she had been a victim of domestic abuse.
Depp also sued his ex-wife, recently winning a judgement of defamation against the actress in a US court, despite losing his case against the tabloid in the UK.
Surely everything that came out about their relationship during the court battles would have written off many future career opportunities for him?
The fact it hasn’t makes me despair and worry for the message this sends to impressionable youths and domestic violence survivors.
Within days of the evidence ending in the US trial, Depp took to the stage in Sheffield supporting rockstar Jeff Beck on tour.
His animated series Puffins Impossible is getting rave reviews, and period drama La Favorite – which sees him star as Louis XV – is set for release soon.
Depp has seemingly got off ‘lightly’ in the aftermath, whereas Heard has been transformed into a figure of hate, and we’re yet to see her secure big new movie roles or awards show appearances.
A lot of this can probably be put down to how Depp and Heard have been received on social media. While the former has been seen as unfairly wronged, Heard has been called a liar, a fantasist and has been inundated with hundreds of death threats.
The misogyny didn’t take a day off as #AmberTurd trended on Twitter, meanwhile #JusticeForJohnny garnered billions of mentions.
Having worked in entertainment journalism for around 20 years, I’m well aware of the huge amount of goodwill that Johnny Depp has banked over the years, due to his charity work, among other things.
Amber Heard was a lot less famous than Depp at the time of their marriage, with a much smaller body of blockbuster titles on her resume, another power imbalance in their relationship.
That may partly explain the discrepancy in the roles they have been given since their public feud, but given that she is a member of the DC Universe, it’s not like she’s a little-known actor.
Since 2004, she has averaged a couple of films and TV shows a year – but according to IMDB, she only has one non-Aquaman related job coming out soon, and that’s already in post-production.
This has obviously not been helped by the US trial, which was a mess in many ways, inside and outside the courtroom.
However, the evidence provided from both parties at best showed a dysfunctional couple in a toxic relationship – nothing to suggest that the portrayal of Heard on the wilder corners of social media was accurate.
And as Heard continued to be mocked, Depp continued to enjoy success, with demand for aftershave brand Dior Sauvage, which he is the face of, soaring by 50% during the trial.
Meanwhile, a petition calling on Warner Bros to axe her from the big budget Aquaman sequel garnered over 4.6million people.
Depp’s case was clearly helped by his ex-wife and former girlfriend testifying in defense of his ‘good’ character.
Depp’s legal team cleverly pitted women against women in a move that shielded their client from scrutiny, and put the emphasis on Heard to make the world believe her instead of making Depp prove his innocence.
Of course, Depp not abusing former partners does not mean that he did not hurt Amber Heard. It’s also worth noting that even though I can offer my opinion that Depp is a wife-beater on the back of the London court’s decision, it is something he still strongly denies.
In the US trial, Depp was awarded $15million dollars in damages – she won 2million, in a countersuit suggesting that neither party is entirely blameless.
And yet less than two months after its conclusion, Depp seems to have easily returned to normal life, with his ex-wife clearly facing a longer road to redemption.
This tasteless and callous act from MTV in featuring Depp adds to the gross spectacle that defined the ugly trial, while simultaneously reducing the serious themes of domestic violence and misogyny to little more than entertainment.
The target audience of MTV is 13 to 24 year olds. Impressionable teens of the TikTok generation are now pulled further into the narrative that suggests, although both parties were at fault, it is Amber Heard who is the pantomime villain, and Johnny Depp is the fallen angel worthy of our forgiveness.
I do not write this column in order to uncritically lavish praise on Amber Heard, nor to justify all her behaviour.
But it cannot be ignored how Depp, a powerful man, is able to pick up where he left off, performing at concerts and making light of his allegations, while Amber is still being trolled viciously.
It is patently unfair that Hollywood champions his comeback while it seems content to keep Heard at the back of the line.
The unfavourable outcome of Depp’s return is that some victims of domestic violence will conclude that, if they share their experiences, they will not only be questioned, but ridiculed, disbelieved and punished like Amber Heard.
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