Following a widespread seven-week trial, a jury on Wednesday acquitted Aquaman actress Amber Heard of defamation against her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp, in a Washington Post opinion piece in which he talked about his experiences with domestic abuse. Depp received $ 15 million in damages ($ 10.35 million given the state’s punitive damages limit) and Heard received $ 2 million.
Depp had previously lost a defamation lawsuit in the UK against The Sun after the tabloid called him a “women’s hitter”, and the judge found that Depp had committed 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of violence against Heard. Although he did not name Depp in the Washington Post article, the Pirates of the Caribbean star and his defense team argued that Heard’s implicit accusations hindered his career. Simultaneously, the jury sided with Heard in one of his claims that Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, defamed her when he called her allegations of abuse a “deception.” baffling and sad to victims of domestic violence and setting a worrying precedent. for the cases of domestic abuse that will come. (Waldman was also expelled from the test team for leaking information to the press.)
Much of the online speech during the trial (and most likely in the days to come) has focused on Depp’s feverish army of online followers and the almost inescapable #JusticeForJohnnyDepp social media campaign that included propaganda funded by conservative medium The Daily Wire. Depp also had many vocal allies in Hollywood throughout the legal saga, including ex-partners Winona Ryder and Kate Moss, the latter testifying on his behalf during the trial, and his friend Paul Bettany. The Daily Beast also found that a handful of celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Florence Pugh, Bella Hadid, Taika Waititi and Emma Roberts, had liked Depp’s post-trial statement and other feelings in Depp’s favor. Instagram.
The amount of cruelty and ignorance shown by Depp’s followers throughout the proceedings said a lot about the status of #MeToo and our culture’s limited understanding of domestic abuse. But the silence surrounding Heard, specifically his own industry, teaches an equally valuable lesson about the volatility of celebrity-led social movements and class solidarity among the rich and famous.
Aside from Uncut Gems star Julia Fox, comedian Kathy Griffin and veteran (and former Depp) actress Ellen Barkin, who testified on behalf of Heard, it would be hard for you to find any high-profile celebrities. profile that currently speaks for itself. Comedian Amy Schumer, an open-minded feminist, alluded to the results of the Depp / Heard audience and the show around her, posting a quote from Gloria Steinem on Instagram. However, for whatever reason, Schumer did not feel comfortable calling Johnny Depp or referring to the case explicitly the way he called Will Smith, for example, earlier for his Oscars incident. Jason Momoa, co-star of Heard’s Aquaman, liked his statement on Instagram, but strangely, he also double-clicked Depp’s.
The lack of support from Heard’s industry colleagues in particular is revealing, as it was only five years ago that Hollywood gathered around survivors of sexual assault and harassment following explosive allegations against the producer. Harvey Weinstein. Top-notch actors, filmmakers, and animators (mostly women, but also some men) seemed comfortable and even eager to talk about the abuse they had suffered working in Hollywood and encouraged other survivors from different careers to share their stories. . Some even apologized for working with predatory men in the past, such as Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, and Weinstein. His most notable collective effort was the formation of Time’s Up, a non-profit organization that was originally founded as a legal fund for victims of workplace harassment, but has taken on a much more confusing mission in the following years.
“The lack of support from Heard’s industry colleagues, in particular, is revealing, given that it was only five years ago when Hollywood gathered around survivors of sexual assault and harassment following explosive allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein “.
From the beginning, celebrity participation in Time’s Up received harsh criticism, as most of the film and television stars representing the nonprofit were non-activists and had no documented organizational experience. . Celebrity board members included Schumer, Brie Larson, Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Chastain, Kerry Washington, Laura Dern, Alyssa Milano, America Ferrera, and Julianne Moore, among others. Over time, her efforts also seemed to be limited to increasing diversity and representation in Hollywood with little attention to women across economic lines.
Since its launch in 2018, Time’s Up has also been criticized for the amount of funds raised for employee salaries and the revelations that the group’s former CEO and co-founder, Tina Tchen, advised the then-governor’s administration. New York, Andrew Cuomo, after being charged. sexual harassment in 2020. It was also the same year that one of Time’s Up’s lawyers, Roberta Kaplan, who originally represented Heard in Depp’s defamation lawsuit, withdrew from her case due to “travel and logistics “caused by COVID. However, the organization has not yet commented on the viral defamation campaign that Heard has suffered and the implications it could have on the victims, as other organizations have done since the trial.
Amber Heard waits before the jury announces a split verdict in favor of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard over her lawsuit and conviction in the civil defamation lawsuit Depp v. Heard at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia, June 1. 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein / AFP / Getty
As for the famous women (and some men) who lined up with Time’s Up and their mission, it seems that their batteries of social justice have also been exhausted, even before the alleged abuse of Heart is over. become public feed. The last time we saw actors and directors like Ava DuVernay, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ellen Pompeo, Jennifer Aniston, Rashida Jones and Judd Apatow working publicly with the organization, they circulated the hashtag #TimesUpGlobes in response to the revelation that the Hollywood Foreign Press. The association had no black members at the time. All in all, it was a conservative and insignificant initiative amid protests of police brutality across the country with little or no effect on the majority of the black population. But it was a perfect encapsulation of the organization’s unfortunate — and Hollywood — contributions to pressing social issues.
Similarly, it is not surprising that the famous feminists who used Time’s Up and the #MeToo movement to develop a more socially conscious brand and give the green light to their “woman-centered” projects seem to have done the big eyes at the injustices Heard has had. facing the world, and will continue to suffer after Wednesday’s verdict. There was a lot of talk at the beginning of #MeToo about celebrity activism efforts that only extend to theirs. But they also seem to be unable to support their peers at the risk of reacting to the Internet. Heart’s social ranking as an actress who is not particularly well known outside of her contributions to the Aquaman franchise, and especially compared to her ex-husband a movie star, could also be a factor.
The media circus surrounding Heard would have been a great opportunity to revive some of Hollywood’s smartest and most politically active voices in its mission to combat violence against women and perhaps even offset some of Time’s negative press. Up has accumulated over the last three years. years. But unlike when gender equality and sexual abuse became a hot topic during the Trump years, there is nothing tangible to gain from supporting Heard. For now, at least, self-described Hollywood feminists seem as happy as the rest of the world watching #MeToo fall by the wayside.