Johnny Depp Libel Case

[Lea]

The hearing is all available on YouTube.. Law and Crime Channel have a playlist with it all on! I think you have to watch it, rather than read a transcript, to get a real sense of the performative nature of what was going on in courtroom. Tbf - I think this thread has been pretty reasonable given the emotive nature of the subject matter.. I thought this article in the Guardian pullled out some useful takings from it all.. Was it really asking too much for Amber Heard to be listened to without prejudice? | Gaby Hinsliff

There was prejudice against both parties. Him for being male and her for saying bad things vs. a popular actor.

 

[D'wards]

Like Will Smith, Depp is massively famous and well loved, but when you think about it hasn't done that many brilliant films.
He has done a few, more than smith, and he's a great actor, but it's been slim pickings this century.

The pirates films are massively and inexplicably popular mind, despite not being that great.
Even some of his Burton stuff is good but not great.
Rumour is he'll play beetlejuice in a sequel but seems unlikely whilst Michael Keaton draws breath

 

[Hollis]

There was prejudice against both parties. Him for being male and her for saying bad things vs. a popular actor.

Yes - the article, despite the headline, (which i understand the writers don't write..) does kind of touch on prejudice in both directions in general.

 

[Hollis]

Like Will Smith, Depp is massively famous and well loved, but when you think about it hasn't done that many brilliant films.
He has done a few, more than smith, and he's a great actor, but it's been slim pickings this century.

The pirates films are massively and inexplicably popular mind, despite not being that great.
Even some of his Burton stuff is good but not great.
Rumour is he'll play beetlejuice in a sequel but seems unlikely whilst Michael Keaton draws breath

I did watch 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape' yesterday - excellent movie.. great acting all round.

 

[Cloo]

Another disturbing feature of the case is it plays into 'If he didn't abuse one partner, he couldn't have abused another' idea. Kate Moss spoke up for him from her experience and I'm sure their relationship was OK for her - but then maybe he wasn't as deep in the drugs and drink then, plus there was much less of a mismatch of age (10 years rather than 20) and 'star power' between them (both very famous compared to one megastar and one relatively minor-league actor) and thus the stage was much less set for an abusive situation. Maybe Heard was a more 'difficult' person, but that doesn't mean she deserved the abuse I think it's fairly clear she got.

 

[Lea]

Another disturbing feature of the case is it plays into 'If he didn't abuse one partner, he couldn't have abused another' idea. Kate Moss spoke up for him from her experience and I'm sure their relationship was OK for her - but then maybe he wasn't as deep in the drugs and drink then, plus there was much less of a mismatch of age (10 years rather than 20) and 'star power' between them (both very famous compared to one megastar and one relatively minor-league actor) and thus the stage was much less set for an abusive situation. Maybe Heard was a more 'difficult' person, but that doesn't mean she deserved the abuse I think it's fairly clear she got.

True, but there does seem to be a trend where 3 of his previous partners including Vanessa Paradis, partner of 14 years, defend him.

We can only speculate what went on between JD and AH.

 

[Sweet FA]

Innocent. I recall it at the time the woman later admitted she made it up. Got paid £50k by the News of the World.

Can't find any details of it now though really

That whole case was dodgy as fuck and you're handily not recalling any of the details.

Spoiler: some details of the case

• Charles + 2 mates turn up at his ex girlfriend's flat at 6am 'for breakfast'
• Hoof down shitloads of coke
• Then either: nothing happened/it was consensual/they tied her up and raped her for hours
• "after the incident the woman had gone to her neighbours and was eventually taken to a special police examination suite in Wimbledon. However, a "suitably qualified" doctor could not be found and she was not medically examined until the following afternoon. By then, Mr Carter Manning said, the woman had washed herself with a flannel "because she felt dirty".
• Both Charles and the other guy refused to name the 3rd man
• Afaik, the woman didn't say she'd made it up; she was quoted as saying she wished she hadn't taken the case to court which isn't fucking surprising

 

[marshall]

I did watch 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape' yesterday - excellent movie.. great acting all round.

Donnie Brasco's a good one too, and Cry-Baby...c'mon he ain't bad.

 

[Aladdin]

I liked him in 21 Jump Street and Edward Scissorhands.
There's no doubt he can act really well.

 

[D'wards]

Edward Scissorhands is of course a classic.
Just looked up Heard's imbd. She hasn't done too much really- can't think of any starring roles.
Yeah Depp can act but can't think of many classics this century. The first pirates was good and he's definitely created an iconic character there.

 

[frogwoman]

True, but there does seem to be a trend where 3 of his previous partners including Vanessa Paradis, partner of 14 years, defend him.

We can only speculate what went on between JD and AH.

That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Coke and alcohol can seriously fuck someone up.

 

[Looby]

True, but there does seem to be a trend where 3 of his previous partners including Vanessa Paradis, partner of 14 years, defend him.

We can only speculate what went on between JD and AH.

Relationships are different, people change. There’s always a first time for anything and that can often be later in life. As others have said, drugs and booze can massively impact actions and behaviours.

 

[Looby]

Also, I’m not sure I’d want to put myself in the firing line after seeing the reaction to Heard.
I’m not saying that’s the case here, I’ve got no idea, but it’s a good way of silencing people isn’t it.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Did Heard initially break the story to the media or did the media discover and break the story without anyone's permission?

 

[IC3D]

Also, I’m not sure I’d want to put myself in the firing line after seeing the reaction to Heard.
I’m not saying that’s the case here, I’ve got no idea, but it’s a good way of silencing people isn’t it.

She's a bit like Emily Pankhurst sort of.

 

[cesare]

Did Heard initially break the story to the media or did the media discover and break the story without anyone's permission?

TMZ (paparazzi etc) tried to prevent their ex-employee from testifying about this. TMZ received an edited video together with info about where AH was going to be to get the restraining order. They were able to publish the video within 15 minutes as the copyright holder had provided it.

 

[Lea]

Another disturbing feature of the case is it plays into 'If he didn't abuse one partner, he couldn't have abused another' idea. Kate Moss spoke up for him from her experience and I'm sure their relationship was OK for her - but then maybe he wasn't as deep in the drugs and drink then, plus there was much less of a mismatch of age (10 years rather than 20) and 'star power' between them (both very famous compared to one megastar and one relatively minor-league actor) and thus the stage was much less set for an abusive situation. Maybe Heard was a more 'difficult' person, but that doesn't mean she deserved the abuse I think it's fairly clear she got.

Do you think that she could have abused him?

 

[IC3D]

The bonfire of Amber Heard on social media is much like the grim flames that burned the flesh of Joan of Arc.

 

[TopCat]

The bonfire of Amber Heard on social media is much like the grim flames that burned the flesh of Joan of Arc.

You have lunched well and are being ironic I hope and trust.

 

[story]

Another disturbing feature of the case is it plays into 'If he didn't abuse one partner, he couldn't have abused another' idea. Kate Moss spoke up for him from her experience and I'm sure their relationship was OK for her - but then maybe he wasn't as deep in the drugs and drink then, plus there was much less of a mismatch of age (10 years rather than 20) and 'star power' between them (both very famous compared to one megastar and one relatively minor-league actor) and thus the stage was much less set for an abusive situation. Maybe Heard was a more 'difficult' person, but that doesn't mean she deserved the abuse I think it's fairly clear she got.

I think the point of Kate Moss appearing was to correct the details about her falling down the staircase.

Amber Heard was saying that she’d attacked Depp because she thought he was going to throw her sister down the stairs (because she “knew” that he’d thrown KM down the stairs).

Depp’s team weren’t allowed to call KM because she wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the case, so they couldn’t demonstrate that Heard was dissembling around that claim. Then Heard mentioned KM on the stand, so then she could be called.

So Depp’s team called her to say that he had NOT thrown her down the stairs, she had slipped, and he’d been very solicitous.

The intention was to once again show AH as a liar, or at least as someone who manipulates the truth to her own ends.


I’m pretty sure that AH behaved appallingly. That one tape of her saying “I didn’t punch you, I hit you, you're such a baby, grow up” was the clincher for me. That exchange didn’t come out of a vacuum, that was based on the ongoing dynamic of their relationship.

I’m sure that Depp also behaved appallingly.

I think they must have had a really horrible toxic relationship that brought out the worst in both of them.

But on balance, I reckon that Heard was the worst of the two. Based on the Swoop documentaries and various other clips I’ve looked at I think that AH was the main instigator and also the one who wanted to maintain the dynamic. Abusers don’t want to give up the situation because it serves them in some way. I think JD retaliated and reacted rather than instigated.

Abuse victims can and do lash out, retaliate, stand up for themselves, try to fight back, kick off, lose their shit etc. Not all abuse victims cower and cringe all the time. That’s a cliche we see in soap operas. It’s much more complicated than that.

One of the things I’ve found really interesting is that amongst the people I know, everyone who has experienced intimate partner abuse believes JD while those who have not had this experience tend to give more credence to AH. All of them are women, and none of them are JD stans. This is entirely anecdotal of course. But I do find it interesting.



Here‘s the first Swoop doc. If you want to see the others just go to her channel





I also looked at body-language channels like Observe. Yes, I know it’s not a hard science.

 

[D'wards]

I think that unfortunately for Heard some of the details are so odd that the Depp Stan memelords had a field day - the poo in bed and "my dog stepped on a bee" face were a flipping gift for them.

 

[Red Cat]

Another disturbing feature of the case is it plays into 'If he didn't abuse one partner, he couldn't have abused another' idea. Kate Moss spoke up for him from her experience and I'm sure their relationship was OK for her - but then maybe he wasn't as deep in the drugs and drink then, plus there was much less of a mismatch of age (10 years rather than 20) and 'star power' between them (both very famous compared to one megastar and one relatively minor-league actor) and thus the stage was much less set for an abusive situation. Maybe Heard was a more 'difficult' person, but that doesn't mean she deserved the abuse I think it's fairly clear she got.

No, Kate Moss was called because Heard said that she knew that Depp had thrown her down the stairs. She didn't 'speak up for him', she was called to answer the question about whether that incident had happened. She comes over as a credible witness.

Did you hear the recordings? Heard wasn't 'difficult' she was extremely abusive. I'm quite shocked actually watching the court proceedings, it's not what I expected.

 

[cesare]

story I have now watched that Swoop post you linked to. Previously I had watched some of the same channels as you but mainly the legal analysis and also a breakdown from a professor of psychology. I found watching Swoop very difficult and ended up very upset a couple of times - not the fault of Swoop at all, but I found her reaction so similar to mine. I had very much started to doubt myself after yesterday and started to think that my own DV experiences were in some way mistaken/invalid. Also whilst I tried to laugh it off, my own abuse on this thread I felt was very unfair and had contributed to how I was feeling.

Red Cat It's probably superfluous and you really don't need any "likes" from me but I very much appreciated that you'd taken the time to watch and listen.

 

[story]

My experience mirrors yours cesare

If you feel that you can, look at the other videos too. Similarly thoughtful and considered, albeit coloured by the context of her experience and opinion. She digs into some interesting detail.


eta
frogwoman I think you might find them interesting too,

 

[cesare]

My experience mirrors yours cesare

If you feel that you can, look at the other videos too. Similarly thoughtful and considered, albeit coloured by the context of her experience and opinion. She digs into some interesting detail.

I will do, thank you.

 

[spring-peeper]

.

 

[frogwoman]

I hadn't actually watched any of the trial. I'm watching some of the Swoop doc now. Depp does seem convincing in those clips although I know they're speeded up. The bit about the boots is quite chilling. He's a good actor of course though.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Like Will Smith, Depp is massively famous and well loved, but when you think about it hasn't done that many brilliant films.
He has done a few, more than smith, and he's a great actor, but it's been slim pickings this century.

The pirates films are massively and inexplicably popular mind, despite not being that great.
Even some of his Burton stuff is good but not great.
Rumour is he'll play beetlejuice in a sequel but seems unlikely whilst Michael Keaton draws breath

Like Tim Burton, he's now phoned in far more half-arsed rip offs of his good films than he's done actual good films.

 

[Rob Ray]

--- Removed ---

Don't do that. There's more than enough pantomime partisan meme-cringe everywhere else without gumming up this thread as well.

Edit: Ta

 

[Cid]

If AH can’t pay the £8.5m, can she still appeal? Or does she have to pay the fine in full before she can begin the process of appealing?

No, being unable to pay something won't affect rights to appeal.

I've got myself confused over the actual process of payment, i.e whether an award of damages is immediately 'payable' (in reality it would probably be a negotiated set of payments over a period of time, depending on ability to pay) or whether it waits until after appeals process*... But certainly being unable to pay wouldn't affect your right to appeal; rights to appeal are integral to rule of law type stuff.

*I think it's probably placed on hold until appeals process is complete, or you'd get weird payment-repayment shenanigans going on.

May have been wrong about this incidentally, because of a quirk of Virginia law... Although it seems to be complicated. We shall see.