Domestic Violence with Men: Johnny Depp
By: Naja Johnson
Tags: Domestic Violence, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard

November 2nd, 2020 Johnny Depp lost his libel case to Britain’s the Sun newspaper, the publication company made claims in an article written that alleged he was a “wife beater” and abusive to ex-wife, Amber Heard during their 15 month marriage and over the course of their entire relationship.. Depp also sued Daniel Wooton, the sun’s executive editor for the article written that described him as “violent” and “aggressive.” Depp said during the trial that the claims were “completely untrue” and “defamation.” Depp also claimed that his reputation and career was significantly damaged directly by the article that was published, he was fired back in 2018 from the Pirates of the carribean franchise. The Brittan sun’s lawyer responded to these allegations of defamation and libel by citing recordings and screenshots of text messages between Depp and Heard.

British Judge Andrew Nicole defended his ruling in the civil case by expressing that he closely evaluated the evidence presented to him in the case and the incidents in question. He said, “I have reached these conclusions, having examined in detail the 14 incidents in which the defendants rely, as well as the overarching considerations which the claimants submitted into account.” After the verdict was released to the public, the sun released a statement, “ the sun has stood up and campaigned for the victims of domestic abuse for over 20 years.These victims must never be silenced and we thank the judge for his careful consideration and Amber Heard for her courage.”Jenny Apnea, is a legal representative for Depp and expressed concerns that Depp didn’t receive a fair trial because of his gender. “This judgement is so flawed and it would be ridiculous for Depp not to appeal this decision. Most troubling is the judge’s reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard. The judge disregarded mounting evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, former assistants and other witnesses who have verified that these claims are false.”

There has been an outcry of public outrage from fans and associates of Depp, who have voiced their support and shock for how Depp was treated by the media and the court system. Stephen Dueters is president of Johnny Depp’s production company ‘Infinitum Nihil’,and has worked professionally with Depp for since 2004. Dueters was considered an important witness because he was working with Depp and around during most of the incidents in question. Dueters testified during the trial that Amber’s claims were false and during the time he spent with her and Johnny he never got an impression that she was being mistreated. “At no point did Ms.Heard ever mention any physical abuse and I never saw evidence of any injury to Ms. Heard.” In his testimony he accused Amber Heard of being the abuser and described a swift disdain from Amber to Johnny. “I knew that Ms. Heard was the abuser in the relationship and I was appalled that she would behave in this way.” Dueters then described multiple physical and verbal altercations between the couple, and in all of them he named Heard as the primary aggressor and that attacks from Heard were “common” especially in the presence of others.Dueters attested about a particular incident that occured back in March of 2015, during the couples trip to Australia. During this trip, Heard threw a glass bottle at Depp’s hand, that had smashed and severely cut Depps fingers. Dueters said in his testimony that Johnny would have to usually “isolate” himself from Amber Heard while the abusive attacks occurred. “He would take himself away from these situations,often to a bathroom and lock himself out of harm’s way.”

November 16, 2020 Depp was asked to resign from the Fantastic Beast by Warner Bros productions, making that the second film project Depp has been asked to resign from as a result of his libel lawsuit cases. Change.org had started several petitions for Warner to recast Depp in his roles in the Fantastic Beast and the Pirates of the Caribbean. The Pirates of the Caribbean petition has over 300,000 signatures and the Fantastic Beast petition has over 170,000 signatures. There have been several call to actions about holding women who lie about domestic violence accountable. Change.org has a petition to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2 on their website, the petition has over 1 million signatures.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic violence, 1 in 4 women and 1 and 7 men will experience physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate or romantic partner. Every 20 minutes in America somebody experiences abuse from their partner, this equates to 10 million men and women experiencing domestic violence every year in the United States. While intimate partner specific violence accounts for 15% of violent crimes in America, only 34% of domestic violence victims receive medical care for their injuries. Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher risk of depression and suicidal behavior.