T-t-t-turd, turd, turd. Turd is the Heard.

One could say there is a ridiculous amount of commentary, analysis, opinion, and even just reaction content to the Depp v. Heard defamation trial. But to actually say this would be ironic in the context of the trial itself, which is nothing short of ridiculous. While I do consider myself a bit of a TV/movie buff, and I do occasionally read up on celebrities, I’m usually not one to closely follow celebrity drama. However this trial has managed to capture a bit of my attention recently, though in all honesty I can’t exactly say why. I don’t find trials interesting to watch (if it’s an issue I care about I’ll read the highlights), and I certainly don’t care about celebrity gossip. I suppose if I do figure it out I’ll update this post.

But earlier today while working in a Windows VM that didn’t have the annoying news alerts turned off an article from USA Today popped up that made me stop and facepalm.

Amber Heard says she’s a victim, but the public made her a villain. Experts say it’s a dangerous moment for domestic violence.

I’m not going to put everything written under a microscope and analyze the crap out of it, but several points were brought up by the author that made me ask the same question multiple times – has this person even watched the trial?

"The actress says she was physically, sexually and emotionally abused by her ex-husband Johnny Depp, and the internet is laughing."

Yep, we are laughing. We are laughing and mocking and ridiculing Heard who has taken it upon herself to try her absolute damndest to convince the world that her claims were true. We are scoffing that she is trying to act in court when that is the last place anyone should be doing this. And we are disgusted that she vehemently insists that she is a victim of multiple forms of abuse despite very strong evidence proving otherwise. Again, I have to ask did the author even watch the trial, let alone read up on it?

“The loudest voices on the internet may not believe Heard, but millions of women have had experiences like the ones she describes.”

Don’t forget men, too. And the same goes for anyone regardless of how they identify. Abuse and violence are indeed largely directed at women and I won’t dispute that, but they are not exclusive to women. But with that out of the way this author is neglecting to make one critical distinction clear – Amber Heard, according to the evidence presented, is not a victim of abuse or violence. The key difference is Heard is claiming abuse, toxicity, and violence without supporting evidence. The legitimate victims of abuse will always have some form of verifiable corroborating evidence on their side to validate their claim. As the trial has proven so many times in recent weeks, Heard has none.

So yes, the internet, myself included, does not believe what Amber Heard says on the stand, or in the op-ed she wrote a few years ago, or in any other medium. Why? Because she is not one of those “millions of women”. And she most certainly is not a “public figure representing domestic abuse”. Well, at least not in the sense such a statement would normally be taken.

“In the commentary, it’s almost as if people are forgetting that this is real life, that this is not a show that we’re all watching.” – Laura Palumbo, National Sexual Violence Resource Center

And finally we get to the part where my opinion starts playing with fire. I’m acutely aware of the detachment that exists between we the spectators and the participants in the trial. When you can’t relate to the person on the screen, or at least some aspect of their story, it’s easy to say “Whoa, that really sucks. I’m glad my life doesn’t have this kind of drama in it.” I will most certainly not try to discredit an expert on sexual violence. But to her statement about people forgetting that the trial is real life I have to retort “did someone forget to tell that to Heard?”

Behavioral experts that have commented on Heard’s testimonies largely indicate she is acting while on the stand. Shannon Curry, the forensic psychologist that diagnosed Amber Heard with Borderline Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder, stated on the stand that a person with those disorders will use “impressionistic speech [which] tends to be very flowery, it uses a lot of descriptive words like ‘magical, wonderful’ and it can go on for quite some time and yet it really lacks any substance. So at the end you’re left wondering what was just said.” Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTWeKL0wlLI

I have to go off on a slight tangent at this point. Curry says that after someone uses impressionist speech you’re left wondering what the person just said. Well, of the trial footage that I have watched, I can claim that I’ve been able to interpret most of what Heard says, I’m more often saying “why would you say that?” The only person who has legitimately made me wonder WTF he said after every time he spoke was Trump. But with that said, both Heard and Trump do seem to share some personality traits – being unable to tell the truth under oath is certainly one of them.

“Experts suspect the case will contribute to silencing victims who worry about being disbelieved”

I sincerely hope not. Abuse, violence, assault, etc, whether sexual or not, are all crimes and should be reported, investigated, and the perpetrators prosecuted in accordance with the law. And before anyone calls me out about the failures of the justice system in its present state, cool your jets, I wholeheartedly agree with you. There are many that are above the law. But that isn’t the issue here. The issue is whether this trial will cause further reluctance of legitimate victims of these crimes to come forward. Again, I sincerely hope it doesn’t. To those poor souls that have endured any kind of trauma I say this – don’t let this trial convince you to remain silent. If there is even a tiny chance of there being a single shred of incriminating evidence that would bring your abuser to justice, then you’ve got a much higher chance than Amber Heard does. The public decision to disbelieve Amber Heard isn’t because everyone loves Johnny Depp over her, it’s because the plethora of evidence that has been presented at trial not only doesn’t implicate Depp, it disproves her own testimony. Amber Heard is not a representative of abuse victims, she is a poster child for mental instability.

“Our feelings are filtered through our biases and assumptions, and the stereotypes and the attitudes that we hold.” – Christine Murray, expert in domestic violence

Well yeah there’s always going to be bias. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are celebrities so there are plenty of people that will make their judgments based on just their acting alone. But I’ve had the privilege of meeting several celebrities in my time. Two examples are Joe Pantoliano happened to sit down next to my table at Starbucks back in ’06 and Charles Grodin spoke at my middle school in ’98. If there is one thing I’ve learned about celebrities it’s that they’re still people. The person behind the persona is not defined by the persona. So when it comes to Depp and Heard, I’m doing the same thing the court itself is doing – judging based on the evidence presented. For the record, I really didn’t care much for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and yet I still strongly favor Johnny Depp for this trial.

“What we’re finding is that Amber Heard, now that we know she isn’t perfect, isn’t being taken seriously or, even worse, is being accused of lying from the beginning. I find it really disturbing,” Kjerstin Gruys, sociologist

Amber Heard never was nor is perfect. Johnny Depp never was nor is perfect. But being perfect or imperfect doesn’t even play into this, the question is whether Heard is committing perjury in court. The mountain of evidence presented by both Depp’s and Heard’s legal teams is what’s doing the real talking. And the evidence is lighting up a sign that says “lie” almost whenever Heard speaks. I don’t take Amber Heard any less seriously than I did when I first heard about the op-ed she wrote in 2018. The only difference now compared to then is that I seriously believe she needs professional help for the conditions she has. Depp is far from flawless, but like anyone else I don’t believe he should suffer from someone else’s delusions.

“My perception of the public dismissal of Amber Heard has not been that folks are saying that she didn’t experience those abuses, but that folks are no longer sure that she didn’t deserve to experience those abuses, which is a big problem,” – Laura Palumbo

No, Ms. Palumbo, I actually do dismiss Amber Heard solely because the mountain of evidence repeatedly discredits her claims. However, if the court of public opinion says that she deserves to experiences the abuses she has recounted on the stand, then yes, that is a BIG problem. Nobody deserves abuse. Period.

Wow, this actually wound up being a lot longer than I planned, but there are two things I’m taking away from this article:

1. When you’re dealing with the law, tell the truth. Those that don’t are the ones silencing true victims.
2. If you’re going to use someone high profile as a basis for your arguments, do your homework and verify that said person actually supports your argument.

And with that I promise to return to my unregularly unscheduled “programming” in the amount of time it takes me to come up with something worth sharing. Catch you next time.

If you are a victim of domestic violence or other abuse please reach out to one of the hotlines mentioned at the bottom of the article linked above. The people working for them are as legit as they get. The only advice I feel qualified to give is that if you are only able to reach a hotline via phone, and you suspect your abuser is recording or otherwise monitoring your calls, save any essential contacts or information on paper (if possible) and do a factory reset on your phone. It’s not a perfect solution, but it should remove any recording apps on the phone.