Johnny Depp: Cool or Fool?

The thing is it’s not like you would be your actual self with your environment, balance, relatives, etc. (Unless we talk about lottery money...).
The money would come from somewhere which would imply work/business partners, hanger-ons, entourage, greedy friends/family/lovers, financial advisors, investments, etc.
I totally understand that someone would easily fuck up...

you only really hear about the ones that fuck it up maybe

^^^^

And of course someone like JD is certainly going to crash spectacularly in such a situation !

hoo boy :(

Johnny Depp has accused ex-wife Amber Heard of having “painted-on bruises”, as he denied being physically abusive in newly filed court documents.

Hollywood actors Depp and Heard married in 2015 before an acrimonious divorce two years later, with both sides accusing the other of violence. After Aquaman star Heard wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in December 2018, describing herself as a victim of domestic abuse, Depp launched a $50m (£39m) defamation lawsuit against her. Heard asked a judge in Virginia to dismiss the lawsuit, drawing a new response from Depp.

Depp, 55, wrote in a declaration: “I have denied Ms Heard’s allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016 when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week … I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life.”

Depp added: “I never abused Ms Heard or any other woman.” He then went on to allege Heard was the aggressor in the relationship. He said: “She was the perpetrator, and I was the victim. While mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol, Ms Heard committed innumerable acts of domestic violence against me, often in the presence of a third-party witness, which in some instances caused me serious bodily harm.”

lux aeterna

lost the libel case

Don’t care about this guy or these films but lol

This is going to be a news dump Friday for the record books https://t.co/qXGZPKr9Vl

— kateyrich (@kateyrich) November 6, 2020

Kinda shoot yourself in the foot when your characters are all covered in layers of makeup and wigs and shit. I mean, they pretty easily replaced Dumbledore.

I might be a dope, but I feel sorry for him. It seems like an awful lot of his problems stem from his drinking, and he certainly does not seem able or inclined to rein that in.

was that letter written on a typewriter?

still doing the hunter thompson larp thing I see

Was he a wife-beater too?

he was, yeah

If you read one article about this, make it this one.

How many people here now feel that if a man they respect, known for his gender equality advocacy, can dismiss claims of domestic violence based on enjoyable experiences with the accused, they can, too?

Very good article. I haven’t been able to follow this case in much detail, it’s such a depressingly disgusting spectacle. Disappointed in Vedder, though. Thought he was smarter than that.

I'm finding it a bit odd how many WOMEN that I know are lining up behind Depp and unilaterally dismissing Heard - women who consider themselves feminists, too. I know Depp is a popular guy but this same community has had no issue letting other former heroes go, and they sent J.K. Rowling to the curb even though she was way more beloved in these parts than Depp. in the last week I think I've only seen one or two that deigned to call this out (which was refreshing).

why is the received wisdom in this case so unchallenged? yes, I know some of the actions of Heard against Depp could also be considered abuse as well, but these are people that usually would have rushed to say "well but are we going to ignore the things Depp has done?"

Yes, good article, thanks.

Yes Neanderthal, it's all very bizarre.

Yeah, part of it is clearly a hugely successful PR campaign, and part of it os true crime media melting everyone's minds, but I still can't entirely account for it either, even having read several good articles onb it. It's so random the ppl who fall for it.

it seems to be clarifying the acceptable contexts and uses of misogyny in the public arena

It’s been very hard to follow. It’s like seeing your deepest fears about not believed dug up, mocked and broadcast to the world at large. My heart goes out to her. I’m absolutely 100% done listening to people go “but, but, but both sides” after the last two weeks. If you can somehow see:

- Depp losing a libel case in fucking England against the Sun, which won the right to call him a wife beater based on the evidence provided
- Depp & his then lawyer leaking edited recordings to the Daily Mail (does that seem like something reasonable to do?)
- the fact that this case has levels of evidence and witnesses far beyond what you get in most cases like this

and all the rest of this sordid little tale, and STILL focus on the fact that “idk she punched him too” or some shit? Honestly, go fuck your self, if there’s no proof that’s enough, don’t bother telling yourself you care about women ever again. I don’t care how harsh this seems, this case has dug up a lot of old stuff for me and others I care deeply about. Among those revelations? My very long habit of taking screenshots and keeping proof of things because I worry about not being believed. How nice if you don’t have to think about this or have anything like that surface for you!

Weirdly enough when I started seeing the lashing out on Amber I also thought about how women on fictional shows are also hated on. Skylar on Breaking Bad who left Walter or Betty in Mad Men who is really disliked (all via twitter).

I saw an absolutely devastating essay by Andrea Dworkin about Nicole Simpson linked, that I’d never read before, and it’s been very clarifying of stuff I felt or saw but didn’t have the words for.

You won’t ever know the worst that happened to Nicole Brown Simpson in her marriage, because she is dead and cannot tell you. And if she were alive, remember, you wouldn’t believe her.

Nicole Simpson, like every battered woman, knew she would not be believed. She may have been shrewd enough to anticipate the crowds along the Orange County freeways cheering on O.J. Every battered woman has to be careful, even with strangers. His friends won’t stop him. Neither will yours.

I have no trouble conceiving of or believing that Depp -- who turned himself into an absurd mash-up of his transgressive heroes years ago -- abused Heard. The one thing I will say about Heard being a champion of human rights, as that article attests, is that it's difficult to square that with her being close friends with Eve Barlow.

This conversation stems from a piece published earlier this week, which seems premature.

"But the extreme brutality of what Heard alleges—coupled with an utter lack of independent corroboration."

We haven't heard her witnesses yet!! We don't know yet if she has corroboration or not. This really isn't an appropriate thing to say when only one side has presented.

— Lucia Osborne-Crowley (@LuciaOC_) May 17, 2022

I have no trouble conceiving of or believing that Depp -- who turned himself into an absurd mash-up of his transgressive heroes years ago -- abused Heard. The one thing I will say about Heard being a champion of human rights, as that article attests, is that it's difficult to square that with her being close friends with Eve Barlow.

xp wow I had not seen that and it’s a lot to put out there when some of Depp’s own witnesses provided corroboration. I hope Natalie Shure goes to hell.

xp wow I had not seen that and it’s a lot to put out there when some of Depp’s own witnesses provided corroboration. I hope Natalie Shure goes to hell.

xp wow I had not seen that and it’s a lot to put out there when some of Depp’s own witnesses provided corroboration. I hope Natalie Shure goes to hell.

ty zing that was very helpful

it is galling to watch ostensibly liberal/feminist ppl on my tl participate in this ghoulish defense of depp, im so sorry gyac

part of me wonders if it's misguided reminders that men can be abused (which is true!). but...this is v much not the case to use as your Exhibit A.

Reporting from Vice shows that at least some of the misogynist disinformation campaign surrounding the Depp v. Heard trial has been funded by the right-wing Daily Wire. https://t.co/J5ZU6gEQ2i

— Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) May 20, 2022

I haven't seen or heard a word of this trial, and no one in my tl is defending Depp so apparently my media bubble is not representative, because I hear the internet is currently a swamp of Depp-stans spreading suspicious amounts of "proof" everywhere.

I def started out with the vague impression from years-old headlines that maybe he was the/a victim, men can be victims of dv too, and no knowledge of the libel case or anything in the UK news. But seeing gyac and plenty of others absolutely blazing over this, I realize that was lazy/dumb of me. I repent. The Rebecca Ruiz article (thanks, gyac) is really scary. I had no idea other celebrities were being propped up to weaponize their influence like that.

I have read more about it than I originally intended to, partly because I had thought that the purpose of this trial was to determine whether or not AH's op-ed about being a survivor of dv cost him his Jack Sparrow gig. If that is the case, then it almost doesn't matter who did what to whom during the marriage, only whether she can suggest that the Disney lawyers and the other business people would have dropped him anyway. But I guess it must encompass more than that or the judge is doing a terrible job of keeping everyone on topic.

It’s quite something. It’s not difficult for me to see how you might pal around with someone as odious as Fartlow if your industry and colleagues are either seemingly outright mocking you, silent, or openly or covertly supporting Depp.

I have read more about it than I originally intended to, partly because I had thought that the purpose of this trial was to determine whether or not AH's op-ed about being a survivor of dv cost him his Jack Sparrow gig. If that is the case, then it almost doesn't matter who did what to whom during the marriage, only whether she can suggest that the Disney lawyers and the other business people would have dropped him anyway. But I guess it must encompass more than that or the judge is doing a terrible job of keeping everyone on topic.

Earlier, Depp’s longtime agent told a court that the star was an exceedingly “difficult” client who had “fundamental anger issues” and drew multiple complaints from film crews on “virtually every movie” he worked on.

Tracey Jacobs, of United Talent Agency, represented Depp as his agent for three decades until he cut ties with her in October 2016.

Ms Jacobs’ prerecorded video deposition was played at Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard in Fairfax County Court, Virginia, on Thursday.

Ms Jacobs testified that Depp became “the biggest star in the world” during the time they worked together. At first, she did not consider him to be a “difficult client”, she said. But that changed dramatically during her last 10 years of representing him when his “unprofessional behaviour … became far more complicated”, Ms Jacobs added.

it almost doesn't matter who did what to whom during the marriage

What is this verdict

$2 million awarded back to Heard for this verdict — which in itself contradicts the jury’s prior finding that Heard’s statements in the op-ed about her experience of abuse were false. Messy messy jury. https://t.co/433W3ffAF5

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) June 1, 2022

pic.twitter.com/EejuOTt4wa

— Law Boy, Esq. (@The_Law_Boy) June 1, 2022

It’s been gut wrenching to follow this and watch the wholesale demonization of Heard on the one hand and the canonization of Depp on the other.

hope any comeback attempts by Depp following this flop hard and he ends in disgrace and obscurity

On my end the slutshaming has come from women.

It's def a pursuit that transcends gender lines

I guess it must be nice to not see the huge outpouring of male glee at this verdict. Yes, there’s tons of women shaming us all with their behaviour - a lot of people have drawn comparisons to the Bundy fans - but this verdict is being celebrated by men. A Twitter mutual of mine had to lock her account because of the amount of abusive messages out there gloating at her. So no, I have very little time for this atm.

Of course structural misogyny expresses itself thru women as well as men, but the awkward conversation I had with a couple of women friends last night who were on Depp's side was at least a bit more nuanced than the garbage that I've heard from male DV deniers

my gf has been watching this playout and had become somewhat sympathetic towards Depp as it went on. did the jury get it wrong? or is the issue more about people's reactions – that maybe the decision is correct but it doesn't absolve Depp of other problematic things?
would appreciate some clarity, as I've only gotten superficial updates on what's been going on and I'm weary of any summaries i might read in the media – or even from friends.

You can scroll up and read what I wrote about it on the 20th, post should still be there.

cheers

Actually I’m on a train for the next hour, let’s nail these theses to the door. Fair warning this is going to be all over the place, I know too much about this case.

- Depp filed a defamation case over this article, where only this part refers to him, arguing that it defamed him and affected his earnings.
- if you haven’t read the 2018 Rolling Stone article, you should. He invited the publication to give his side, thinking it would make him look good.
- Heard countersued him over the defamation claim, iirc this is standard. Her claim was about a Daily Mail article where Depp’s lawyer accused her and her friends of faking a crime scene.

If you have been on the internet the past few years, you’ve almost certainly seen the various trending topics about him trending. It has been alleged - and iirc in this case just gone evidenced- that a large part of this activity is bots boosting an unusually large and aggressive fanbase.

A large part of why Depp has so much sympathy going in is in part due to him being the more famous party and having appeared in more films people have seen and loved *;another is due to his then lawyer leaking selectively edited evidence to the Daily Mail, which he admitted to in court and was subsequently thrown off the case for; and finally, mens’ rights activists have been rallying around this case for years and pushing disinfo about it. The edited clip most people have heard is part of a large and not pleasant argument but the context is extremely different from what has been portrayed.

Then there’s the trial itself. Depp wanted it to be held in Virginia, for the possibility of it being televised. Tons of content creators pivoted to following the trial and made lots of money of doing so, covering it like it was entertainment.

Here things are slightly hazy as I’m not that knowledgeable about the legal parts but as I understand it: the judge on this case prevented certain evidence of Heard’s being submitted to the court. Accounts of her talking about being abused by Depp in doctor’s notes were considered hearsay and not included; neither were the texts from Depp’s assistant where he is apologising to Heard for Depp kicking her and trying to get her to stay. I had read the UK judgement and seeing Depp’s witnesses, the majority of whom still work for him, and the picture coming through was of someone who was surrounded by staff that went to great lengths to protect him from the consequences of his own actions.

I read a piece on the BBC saying that certain tactics that are used in certain cases are more effective with juries than judges:

Mark Stephens, an international media lawyer, told the BBC that it's "very rare" that essentially the same case is tried on two sides of the pond and gets different results.

He believes the main factor that influenced Mr Depp's victory in America was the fact that his US trial was before a jury while his UK trial, over an article in the British tabloid that called him a "wife-beater", was before a judge only.

"Amber Heard has comprehensively lost in the court of public opinion, and in front of the jury," he said.
Three questions from the Depp-Heard trial answered
Depp wins defamation case against Heard
In both the UK and the US trial, Mr Depp's lawyers argued that Ms Heard was lying - to make their case, they attacked her character and claimed that she was in fact the abusive partner.

This is a common defence tactic in sexual assault and domestic violence trials called "deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender" or "Darvo", said Mr Stephens.

The strategy turns the tables on the alleged victim, shifting the conversation away from "did the accused commit abuse" to "is the alleged victim believable".
"They deny that they did anything, they deny they're the real perpetrator, and they attack the credibility of the individual calling out the abuse, and then reverse the roles of the victim and the offender," Mr Stephens said.

In the UK trial, Mr Stephens said the judge recognised that strategy, and dismissed a lot of the evidence that did not directly address whether Mr Depp committed assault or not.

"Lawyers and judges tend not to fall for it, but it's very, very effective against juries," he said. Men are more likely to believe Darvo arguments, but female jurors are also susceptible.

"People have a paradigm in their mind of how a victim of abuse might be like and how they might behave, and of course we all know that's often false."

“His star had dimmed due to it getting harder to get him jobs given the reputation he had acquired due to his lateness and other things,” Jacobs said, adding that “people were talking” about his substance abuse.

A Disney executive, Tina Newman, testified in another tape played on Thursday that the Rolling Stone article circulated among executives at the studio that would decide whether or not to greenlight another Pirates sequel, the sixth, and whether Depp would have a role in the movie. In an internal Disney email, Newman called the story “depressing.”