Note: to anyone with an inkling to comment that trashing property (especially items of sentimental value), forbidding someone from working, throwing unjustified fits of jealousy and degrading them sexually are not forms of abuse, save your energy. They are. If those are your morals, keep them to yourself. Thank you. PS, if you’re that keen on defending house smashers, go live with one; I bet you wouldn’t.
Later edit: Here’s a link to an article listing the 83 times Depp lied on the stand during cross-examination.
The verdict announced in the Depp-Heard case will doubtlessly have the rabid mob tugging at its crown jewels for days, to use “poetic language”. This jury, after seeing stacks of evidence of Depp’s unhinged and abusive behaviour, ruled in his favour, deciding that he had in fact been defamed and awarding him 15 million dollars in compensation.
Later edit: according to the stenographer, jurors kept dozing off and falling asleep while hearing evidence, depositions in particular.
While the crowd raises him to deity status, Depp awaits another court case altogether – he was sued in 2018 for punching a crew member named Greg Brooks twice, while drunk, for “telling him what to do”. This resulted in Brooks getting fired. Once again, bodyguards pulled Depp away. Just “another day at the office”. Unbeknownst to many, Depp confessed to having hit Brooks in the November 2018 printed edition of GQ magazine, of which 110.000 copies were circulated. The online version was later redacted, removing said paragraph, with a piss-poor excuse that a quote had been “inaccurately attributed” to Depp in the printed edition (there must have been pressure from his lawyers). No wonder he no longer gives interviews; he can’t help but run his mouth.
What were they thinking?
This verdict, I’m fairly confident, would not have been reached in Europe. Once again the US has proved itself to be the arsehole of the civilised world.
As Mr Rottenborn pointed out, if the jury found he had abused her in any way on any occasion, Depp’s claim could be dismissed. Their decision is therefore very difficult to stomach (or understand).
Through this verdict, the jury just dismissed every form of abuse apart from extreme violence that lands someone in the hospital. They just legitimised all males subjecting their partners/wives to torrents of verbal abuse, control, property destruction, threats, intimidation, sexually degrading language.
If every female victim of domestic abuse were scrutinised the way Amber Heard was, none would ever win a case, apart from those proven to have required urgent medical care for severe injuries. In other words, victims of attempted murder. “Milder” beatings don’t matter, I see! Not enough bruises. Most victims don’t have a third of the evidence she had. Most abuse happens behind closed doors. What chance would they ever have?
Mee Too was not real. It’s becoming more obvious by the day.
The witch hunt against Amber is not being exclusively run, as some would have you think, by proudly misogynistic right-wingers. The bulk of the hatred and “action” on internet platforms comes from the performative left, which only a couple of years ago was gaining popularity by spreading awareness of male abuse against women. They were, in particular, focusing on powerful men.
Men like Depp, who not only demonstrably tried to coerce Amber to stop working, but also demonstrably tried to have her fired. Men who thought a woman could be reduced to a vagina and nice “package” – as Depp himself would say to or about his wife. “There’s always stripping”, he can be heard saying in one recording.
The internet has been flooded with a bizarre trend: people, particularly women, claiming to be victims of DV and supporting Depp’s behaviour, which I find incredibly suspicious. They claim the following:
- That Amber is harming victims, when it is they who dismiss forms of abuse proven to have been enacted by Depp;
- That she somehow appropriated the stories of real victims, ie themselves;
- That Depp is the real and only victim of violence in this case, as if two people couldn’t be violent to each other;
- That the out-pour of support for an aggressive male addict is a win for victims, when so many women suffer at the hands and whims of such men all over the world.
I find it implausible for the simple reason that these women will have experienced various forms of domestic abuse carried out by Depp. They would instinctively react to his displays of aggression and degrading language.There is some evidence that the carefully orchestrated smear campaign/witch hunt has included the use of bots, and indeed, many comments one finds out there are very similar, as if rewritten with a text spinner.
A world of many Johnnys
Picture this: your average aggressive addict, barely holding down a job, living in a dilapidated small apartment, constantly decorated with the bottles he smashes when he gets angry. The broken doors, the holes in almost every wall. The shouts, slamming, kicking at 3 in the morning. The police van pulling up every few months. The unsuccessful interventions from friends and family trying to help him. Behind that door there will typically be a woman sweeping up said glass and cleaning the projectile vomit off the walls. Imagine this guy trying to sue anybody for defamation. Imagine how well that would go.
The court rolls, week in and week out, are full of Johnnys. Some for assault, some for destroying property, some for making serious threats, and many more for breach of the peace. Some, of course, for attempted murder or murder, committed under the influence.
Each one of those in support of Depp’s peaceful nature has met – or at least knows of – a whole bunch of them.
The difference? They don’t have large, isolated mansions to hide the noise. They don’t have jobs which regard them as indispensable and put up with their every transgression.They don’t have bodyguards to pull them back when they launch at people while wasted, with a drive to commit assault. And they don’t have the money to pay for an elaborate, worldwide smear campaign or a lawsuit against their ex-partners, so they resort to old-fashioned stalking and harassment instead, which is when they end up in court (as they should).
A Johnny with 14 houses to spare is different than a Johnny who smashes up his council flat. A rich wife who is ordered not to work again and become invisible, renouncing any ambition, is different than a poor one who lives in destitution and relies on her husband for survival. A Johnny who does tons of expensive drugs and drinks expensive liquor is different than a Johnny who uses meth, drinks cheap larger and beats his wife when his football team loses. That’s what this jury is saying: there is a different standard of behaviour for the rich.
“Johnny Depp is the real victim!”
In this case, written evidence and recordings proved very important. The Twitter and TikTok armies only used disjointed fragments incriminating Amber, completely ignoring the obvious: Depp’s own words.
The fragments below are copied from the UK judgement, handed down by Mr Justice Nicol, which spanned over 143 pages. The rest of the screenshots are from The Guardian, from an article summarising Depp’s first cross-examination, as well as The Independent. This is what came out of said evidence:
1.Recurring extreme intoxication which caused Depp to become aggressive, create havoc around him and black out. He would often apologise afterwards, admitting to the problems his state had caused:
Nowadays, far removed from those moments of shame (if not mortification) and regret, Depp claims there was nothing abusive or menacing about his past behaviour. It’s not uncommon for abusers to re-frame past events, over and over again, until their minds absolve them of all responsibility. It doesn’t matter if they confessed to something at the time. Apparently, what he himself describes above has now morphed into “Amber’s perception”.
Depp’s sobriety stints, as is typical, were described by him in glowing terms, highlighting how great his relationship had suddenly become. There is no mention of Amber abusing Depp out of nowhere during these honeymoon phases, though this is what he now claims, and it’s painfully obvious that it had been him all along causing problems by getting into a state.
There are many discrepancies in the evidence Depp gave on several occasions. He would often fail to recall things and admit them later, or admit them first and deny them later, forgetting his prior account. During the Virginia trial, his cross-examination was a disaster on both occasions.
One notable example was failing to remember that during the flight mentioned above, he was extremely intoxicated, as he describes in his text to Bettany. When asked on cross, Depp stated he had only drunk a couple of glasses of champagne; he was then presented with said text. Another memorable lie was his failure to remember a phone on the wall, that he had smashed to bits during an argument in Australia. In the UK, two years prior, he had admitted to breaking then phone.
It was also par for the course for Depp to be late to commitments; on film sets he would keep crews waiting around for hours at a time as he sobered up. His tardiness became legendary, which reeks of entitlement.
Regarding the incident Ellen Barkin witnessed, Depp’s present comments are notable – he now claims she remains resentful of his refusal to turn their sexual relationship into a romantic one. Apparently she’s been so resentful since 1998, with no known action on her part towards Depp, that in 2019 she decided to invent that story. It’s notable not only that he felt the need to degrade her and inflate his role in her life, but also to paint her as a crazy person who would engage in such conduct. Regarding his relationship with her, she described him as jealous and controlling – she is not the only one to have done so.
The entitlement should not be discounted. His fans eat it up, instead of stopping to think of what they are promoting. These people are well aware that they, or those around them, would never get away with such behaviour.
Regarding the term “monster”, this, as well, is attributed by Depp to Amber. Never mind he had used the term in conversations with other people, which had nothing to do with placating her.
According to his physician, Dr Kipper, Depp had no accountability for his behaviours, which has also been painfully obvious during the Virginia trial. “I assaulted some cabinets”, “I assaulted a sofa or two” were statements considered hilarious by his supporters, though they paint a picture of an unhinged, intimidating person. The crowd also turned “mega pint” into a meme – though it referred to wine consumption during the infamous video in which he is seen smashing up the kitchen, replete with sounds of broken glass. These people are absolutely insane, to enjoy anything related to that scene.
Depp’s sister, Christi Dembrowski, is another witness who lied on the stand. When shown a series of texts from her to Depp, in which she was telling him to stop coke and a few other substances, she tried denying that’s what those texts meant. “Stop coke” doesn’t leave much room for interpretation. The whole denial was ridiculous.
2.Two confirmed incidents of assault. There is one recording of him saying he had head-butted her, and one text from Deuters to Amber after the plane incident, claiming Depp had started crying when Deuters had informed him of having kicked Amber (used in the UK trial). There are also a couple of recordings in which she calls him out for beating her up and he doesn’t deny it.
You can also notice the defensive attitude, as instead of apologising for head-butting her, his main concern was to point out her nose wasn’t broken. Always minimising his actions.
In the following instance, according to the account Depp and Deuters later gave, we are supposed to believe that Deuters, who had witnessed the incident, would specifically refer to kicking out of thin air, to “placate Amber”. Placating someone might involve saying I’m sorry I/someone hurt your feelings, or some other vague statement. Not I told him he kicked you. It is absurd to think anyone would apologise for a physical act that hadn’t taken place. It’s insane, actually. Moreover, it’s obvious that Depp didn’t even remember the gesture, as he had blacked out soon after, after being recorded howling like an animal in the bathroom.
That’s just what she wanted to hear, his fans say. Sure. People make up kicks that never happened. They make up stories about their boss crying over things he hadn’t done.
The other narrative being spread by his team is that Depp playfully tapped her with his foot, as a joke, she took offence and these apologies were just an exaggeration to placate her. By his own admission in his text to Bettany, Depp was not only wasted but also raging – “screaming obscenities” at anyone who went near him. It’s not difficult to determine whether someone in that state was more likely to kick a person than “playfully tap them with his foot”.
You see, Depp now claims he was always apologising despite having done absolutely nothing. He must’ve thought not only the judge, but everyone exposed to this narrative was extremely stupid. When it came to the jury in Virginia, he was correct, with the mention that Deuters’ text was not allowed into evidence; whether that would’ve made a difference with this amoral jury is anyone’s guess.
There was also strong evidence of the incident when Depp had thrown a phone at her face – you can literally see the imprint of a mobile in the photo. It was also confirmed by two witnesses.
3. Depp’s language, displaying arrogance, misogyny, contempt, rage and violent fantasies. Depp can be heard in a few recordings calling Amber a “cunt” and responding to her accusation of him hitting her with “shut up, fat ass”.
The written evidence included a promise of “global humiliation” of Amber, which indicates this trial was an elaborate act of revenge revenge, not an attempt to clear his name (if he had cared about his reputation at all he wouldn’t have behaved like an entitled chimpanzee for decades). Please note the same individual penned down the pathos-laden apologies listed above, after mistreating her repeatedly.
The following exchange, often misconstrued by stans as something Depp had written after years of abuse from Amber, actually took place quite early in the relationship.
This was apparently a reaction to him not liking a script, which he then took it upon himself to rewrite. It displays his sense of self-importance and rage in its full glory.
The lectures in question were about him destroying his body and mind with substance binges, something he would at times admit to with shame and regret. Regardless, his contempt is palpable, especially in placing himself as a paternal figure, as opposed to an equal partner.
4.Drunken rampages trashing entire properties, at times caused by jealousy, such as the trailer incident. Please note he would rush towards her property, especially items of sentimental value, such as paintings, one of which he set on fire.This is a common tactic used by abusers.
I disagree with Depp here – the most interesting part is how, after behaving like a bonobo without any provocation, all he can worry about is that she caught and filmed him doing it. No one made him get wasted; no one made him start smashing furniture. Dr Spiegel made very good points with regards to narcissistic traits – this man has persecutory delusions. Everything proving his bad behaviour is a conspiracy, a set-up. You will see this below with the closet incident as well. The fact that he didn’t even remember why he was smashing his kitchen points to one thing – it was a common occurrence.
It’s very interesting that in the UK he denied having wrecked her closet, and during the Virginia trial, one of his bodyguards said Depp had “rearranged her closet”, with a smirk. It shows not only these people’s mentality and lies, but also that his enablers agreed with his behaviour; it was amusing to them.
Again you can see the persecutory delusion: he accused her of “keeping a dossier”, when no one was forcing him to hit her or vandalise her property. Again the onus falls on her for taking pictures, not on the raging baboon causing the damage. If this doesn’t show the man’s character, I don’t know what will.
He went on to lie about the phone in Virginia, claiming he couldn’t recall seeing one. Yet another lie he was caught in during cross-examination, that no one cared about.
Graffiti was his specialty. He would leave in in various places – after all, he wasn’t the one cleaning. Not to mention how disturbing it is to find something like that, reminiscent of crazy stalker films. Smashing is very common to male abusers. Graffiti all over the house and setting things on fire takes it to a whole new level.
5.Trying to control, then end her career. Over the course of their relationship and marriage, as well as afterwards, Depp attempted to stop her from working. There is a text he sent her while she was at a meeting, asserting she had broken their agreement of “no more meetings and movies“. This behaviour is correlated with his misogyny and degradation of her, telling her and others that her only asset was her body, and when she got old, she would have nothing left. “You’re nothing. You don’t exist”, he can be heard saying in one recording. He certainly wanted her to be in a position of dependency and become invisible.
His answer was flabbergasting, as if the text didn’t clearly mention “no goddamn meetings” and “no movies”. Plural. The agreement clearly referred to that.
It should’ve been absolutely obvious to anyone, as it was to Mr Rottenborn, that he was lying through his teeth and he wanted to put an end to his wife’s career. At a later date he reached out to third parties, trying to get her fired.
Abusers love dehumanising their partners. You’re nothing is common verbiage. It is however more difficult if that person has the self-confidence given by having achieved and continuing to achieve things in life.
Remember this individual claimed she was causing him loss of work opportunities, when he had been trying to sabotage her the entire time and continued to do so after the divorce.
6.Extreme jealousy towards men and women around Amber (again, the trailer incident, Depp vandalizing a painting by her ex and notes from his therapist that he had suspected her of multiple affairs). For anyone who doesn’t know, drug use can result in paranoia. Of course abusers don’t need drugs to display excessive jealousy and possessiveness; it allows them to control what their partner does.
This is what happened when at a party, a woman gave Amber a hug:
It’s more than clear what kind of relationship this was, and the level of control Depp sought over Amber, often by acting out physically. Since he is fond of the word species, someone should ask him what species of ape he was trying to emulate with that behaviour.
The omnipresent army of remoras
According to IO Tillett Wright, a mutual friend of the couple whose deposition was used by Amber’s team, Depp not only referred to Amber in degrading ways, as having no skills and no asset but her body; he also referred to his fans as remoras (suckerfish)*, which is so ironic considering their present sycophancy.
*Correction: I had initially written Chupacabras, not remoras.Not that it changes the implications.
Some didn’t take very kindly to Tillett Wright’s account of Depp’s contempt, going as far as saying his deposition should be discounted altogether because “Johnny would never say that about his fans”. The same Johnny who texted Paul Bettany about burning Amber and “fucking her burnt corpse to make sure she’s dead”. You have to wonder why women aren’t put off not only by his aggressiveness, but also by his language.
The level of delusion in these people’s heads is unbelievable.They have no reaction to any violent language used towards his wife, but they do react to the mere possibility of him having said something negative about them.
This is, after all, about them: their delusion, their virtue signalling, their hashtags, growing their own following and nothing else.
The Artistry Of Glorified Bullshit 