“Believe Survivors” Until the Survivor is Amber Heard… Right?

I originally uploaded this article to my Medium account on June 11, 2022, shortly after the trial concluded. I wanted to move it to Lauryn's Inner Monologue to have all my writing in one spot.

Over the past few months, many internet users have shown their true colors. In a world where the #MeToo movement spread like wildfire, encouraging women to stand up against the abuse and violence they have faced, it is shocking to see the complete turn many have taken. Since the beginning of the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial, there was already a clear winner. There was no need to watch the trial. There was no need to look at the evidence. There was no need to look into the earlier court case involving the same issue because the people had already chosen a side. The Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard case was tried in the court of public opinion and no matter what the jury decided, Johnny Depp would always be the one to end up on top.

The Trial

The trial was wrongfully publicized. The media attention this case received created an environment where Heard was mocked and belittled in person and on every social media platform possible. The Depp v. Heard trial was all over social media, and only one side was able to use that to their advantage. It seemed like everywhere I turned there was a Youtube compilation of Johnny Depp being “funny” and “sassy” during court, a Tiktok edit talking about how attractive Depp looked during the trial, or a tweet about how great his lawyers are at their jobs. On the other side, there were Youtube compilations of Amber Heard crying on the stand, Tiktoks making fun of her testimony where she described the sexual abuse she faced, or tweets about how awful her lawyers are and how she’s a bold-faced liar.

Droves of people stood outside the Fairfax courthouse everyday, lining up with signs and gifts for Depp. From an outside perspective, you would have that they were lining up for a Johnny Depp meet and greet at Comic-Con, not a defamation court case.

The same people who stood outside the Fairfax courthouse decided that uplifting Depp wasn’t enough; they also had to tear down Heard.

While Depp drove into the courthouse parking lot with cheers and applause, alarming screams and curses met Heard when she arrived.

From day one, the internet made it clear that Amber Heard was a liar. She lied about the abuse she faced and she lied about Depp. Meanwhile, everyone rallied behind Depp. They said that Heard defamed him, she ruined his career, and that Depp was the actual victim in their relationship.

The woman never stood a chance.

So, even though Heard brought evidence of text messages where Depp said that he’d “F*ck her burnt corpse to make sure she’s dead” along with many other vulgar and abusive messages, it wasn’t enough. Even though Heard had pictures of the injuries that Depp gave her, it wasn’t enough. Even though Heard had audio of Depp being drunk, belligerent, and abusive towards her, it wasn’t enough. Even though Heard had countless witnesses corroborate her story, it wasn’t enough. Even though there was a 2020 court case that found that Depp did abuse Heard, it wasn’t enough. Amber Heard lost.

With all the evidence that Heard had on her side, the (non-sequestered) jury found that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp through an op-ed that she wrote through the Washington Post that never explicitly mentioned Depp by name.

The day that verdict was released, the internet went insane — in favor of Johnny Depp of course. The ruling gave Johnny Depp supporters, misogynists, and misinformed internet users even more fuel to throw into the unstoppable fire that Amber Heard had already succumbed to. The internet attacked her for that entire day and many days to come.

You Hate Amber Heard Because She Does Not Fit Your Definition Of A Victim.

Many people’s problem with Heard is that she also physically assaulted Depp, which she has never denied. She stated that when she felt threatened or like her life was in danger, she did fight back. Amber Heard is not a model victim, she fought back just like many domestic violence victims do, and that’s why people have a hard time believing her.

The term “mutual abuse” was thrown around a lot when discussing the case. Mutual abuse is the idea that both Depp and Heard were abusive to one another, insinuating they held the same power in their relationship. This thought process is incredibly problematic. Mutual abuse does not exist. To quote Betsy Usher,

“Both people can’t have equal power and control; someone holds it and craves it. The person who has power and control manipulates the victim into 1), getting pushed to their limit so they react back, and 2), believing they are also an abuser (blame shifting).”

In the case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Depp was the one in power. He was more famous than Heard, much older, had more money, etc. Johnny Depp abused Heard. He abused Heard to the point where she began to fight back. She began reacting to the abuse. When writing about a victim deciding to fight back against their abuser, Usher states

“This is a perfect time for the abuser to claim that the survivor is the abuser or also abusive, we call this blame shifting and they are very good at doing this. Self-defense is not being abusive it is surviving.”

Self-defense is not being abusive it is surviving. This idea slipped many minds during the trial. Yes, Amber Heard did fight back. Yes, Amber Heard did use hurtful language when speaking to Johnny Depp. Yes, Amber Heard is not the perfect victim, but there aren’t many perfect victims.

While the explanation from Usher can easily be applied to this trial to show that Heard’s actions were in response to Depp’s abusive behavior, people have chosen to use the evidence against Heard to prove that she’s the actual abuser; ignoring the evidence against Depp.

People would rather rally against a woman who used self-defense than attack the man she defended herself from.

This Affects All Survivors Whether Or Not You Think It Does

People commonly forget that many things they see online or in celebrities’ lives also occur in real life. Well, I’d like to think they forget but maybe they just don’t care. Whenever cases like this come out, people immediately begin attacking the victim, but they don’t think about the people in their own lives that have gone through similar situations. So, while people think they’re just attacking some random celebrity like Amber Heard, they’re actually attacking the many domestic violence survivors who were also not believed by the courts. It’s sickening and causes people to lose faith in whatever humanity we have left.

To Amber Heard and the other survivors that had to endure this trial, I hope you know that many people do believe and will continue to support you as you move through this cruel world that cares very little about victims and survivors of abuse.

To the people attacking Amber Heard, I hope you know that you’re not just attacking her, but all survivors that have lived through abuse.