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Why Are So Many Survivors Supporting Johnny Depp?

238 replies

CaptSkippy · 26/05/2022 21:51

Why Are So Many Survivors Supporting Johnny Depp?

OP posts:
BeyondPurpleTulips · 27/05/2022 10:00

That said, I do understand that some people with different experiences of abuse could potentially empathise more with the version they hear from JD. Because there is no one way to be a victim, and of course female abusers exist and not all men abuse.

I would be happy for anyone to say that. What affects me, is people who belittle and make fun of AHs recounting. I haven't seen the other "side" do the same thing for JDs version of events. So imo there is definitely a misogynistic undertone in the publics abuse of AH that people seem to want to deny is there. Those on the JD side are so convinced that they are right that they do not seem to realise that their words are affecting abuse survivors who identify more with the version put forward by AH, thinking only that she is the Bad Guy so anyone who identifies with her version must be a Bad Guy too. And they need to understand that a lot of us have had our abuser insist we are the ones in the wrong - that we are the abusive party, we need to be publicly shamed and humiliated, and probably sued for defamation if they could afford it too - and that this entire trial but especially the based reactions on SM to simplified versions of our visceral trauma are highly triggering

Dillydollydingdong · 27/05/2022 10:11

Because none of his other exes claims to have been abused. Vanessa Paradise was with him for 14 years but she doesn't have anything bad to say, and Kate Moss is obviously still in love with him, and is fully supportive. Surely if this is an abusive man, his exes would confirm what AH says?

ludocris · 27/05/2022 10:13

@CaptSkippy

What question did I ask?

You wrote the thread title as a question, which suggests it's a question you were pondering (and had found an article discussing the topic).

mummyrocks1 · 27/05/2022 10:14

Polyanne · 26/05/2022 23:08

I believe him. Especially since Kate Moss gave evidence that proved Amber was lying under oath. I mean they’ve both been horrible to each other, but she’s nuts and is lying through her teeth.

Please explain to me how KMs testimony proves she's not telling the truth? KM said JD didn't push her down the stairs 20 odd years ago. I don't understand the link people have made that this means he didn't push AH. There is no way of knowing if she really thought about the KM rumour in that incident or not. But in no way did KMs testimony confirm anything to do with AH.

mummyrocks1 · 27/05/2022 10:24

JemimaPuddlegoose · 27/05/2022 03:00

Because Amber isn't the perfect victim, and patriarchy has brainwashed women into thinking they can protect themselves from abuse by being perfect, and that women who aren't perfect victims are to blame for their own abuse.

The fact Depp is violent and abusive really is not in dispute at all. Look at the history and evidence:

He had to give his first wife a huge payoff after leaving her a verbally and racially abusive (use of the N word) voicemail.

Has a long history of beating people up, including photographers, security guards, hotel staff, and movie crew members.

Once set fire to his own costume to protest against something he was upset about on set.

Bragged to a magazine interviewer that it was worth going to jail "to see the look of fear on the little maggot's face" (referring to beating up a photographer).

During a TV interview, Letterman asked if it was true he beat people up, and he laughed and said "yeah sometimes people have it coming" and also laughed about trashing hotel rooms.

In a different Letterman interview many years later, laughed about being arrested for assault after he walked down the street swinging a 4x4 plank of wood.

In a third Letterman interview yet more years later, made a comment about flying to Australia to beat the shit out of someone.

Ex-girlfriend Jennifer Grey wrote in her memoir that he was constantly getting into physical fights during the time she dated him.

Ex-girlfriend Ellen Barkin testified in court that he'd thrown a wine bottle at her head, and described him as very controlling and jealous.

Has made dozens of alarming and violent comments in various interviews over the decade, including telling Playboy magazine that he suffers from what he calls "hillbilly rages" where the red mist descends and he doesn't know what he's doing, a different interview in GQ where he discussed the fact his favourite thing to do during physical fights is to bite people, and various interviews where he discussed his serious substance abuse which started as a minor.

Smashed up hotel rooms with women he was dating locked inside them.

Beat people up in front of women he was dating.

Made the following joke in a Rolling Stone magazine: "Hunter Thompson zeroes in on faults and good points immediately. I was with Kate [Moss], and I think he went straight for the romance jugular, shit like whether I beat her enough. I probably told him, ‘Yeah, she gets a severe beating.'”

Told interviewers that Vanessa Paradis knew how to "talk him down from the ledge" when he experienced his rage episodes (meaning at the very least that she had to do emotional labour of managing his anger).

Vanessa Paradis said in interviews that he used to explode and throw plates at walls.

Paid his ex-girlfriend $150 million dollars despite them never having been married, then sent texts claiming she was "an extortionist." Hmm wonder what a man with a known history of paying off women he's subjected to violence could possibly be referring to by giving a woman $150 million then claiming she extorted him.

Paid a huge settlement to a respected middle aged disabled female university professor, after he had his bodyguards assault her, illegally handcuff her, and drag her across the floor so violently that part of her clothing was torn off leaving her nude from the waist down, and her shoulders became dislocated. Because he objected to a disabled person being in the VIP area of a concert.

Sent texts referring to the mother of his children as "a withering cunt".

Sent dozens of explicitly and extremely violent texts, including texts talking about raping and murdering his wife.

Admitted on video to having beaten his wife.

There's audio of him admitting to have headbutted his wife.

The London High Court listened to evidence relating to 15 separate incidences of domestic violence (some of that evidence was given privately and never shared with the press or public). Of those 14 incidents, the High Court found that the evidence proved that Depp had beaten up his wife on 12 separate occasions, that on three occasions she'd been made to fear for her life, and that for the other three alleged incidents the evidence was not sufficient to prove assault.

The London High Court ruled that as the evidence proved that Depp had beaten up his wife on at least 12 separate occasions it was factually true to describe him as "a wife beater."

Whatever Amber did or did not do, it's pretty clear that Depp is a violent, unstable, abusive man and has been for a very long time.

Please provide links to actual proof of all of these please. I have never heard some of these. Obviously that doesn't mean they aren't true but I grew up with JD since my teens.

AdamRyan · 27/05/2022 10:25

Vanessa Paradis says he had an explosive temper and would throw plates etc at walls.

I suspect, similar to Amber she was required to sign am NDA as part of her settlement, hence him calling her an "extortionist French cunt"

mummyrocks1 · 27/05/2022 10:38

Dillydollydingdong · 27/05/2022 10:11

Because none of his other exes claims to have been abused. Vanessa Paradise was with him for 14 years but she doesn't have anything bad to say, and Kate Moss is obviously still in love with him, and is fully supportive. Surely if this is an abusive man, his exes would confirm what AH says?

Do you know she wasn't asked to sign a NDA as part of the divorce? Maybe she was silenced. I would love to hear an interview with her on the matter.

MGMidget · 27/05/2022 10:39

I think a lot of people are star-struck if they are fans of Johnny Depp. This case should never have been allowed to play out on TV. I sincerely hope the US courts or legislators will reflect on allowing the TV broadcast of trials like this in future. I have so much sympathy for Amber Heard for what he has put her through with this trial. I was a fan of Johnny Depp. The important word is ‘was’. It has left a bad taste in my mouth and I wont be watching JD movies for a while if ever!

I have read the published article that this case was all about. I didnt see how it would have damaged JD. If I was a Hollywood producer I would be more concerned about the alleged unreliability in turning up on film sets on time. In any case, JD has always had a bit of a ‘bad boy’ reputation (smashing up hotel rooms etc) and that didnt seem to affect his career.

There have also been news reports of anyone speaking up for Amber Heard getting intimidating messages on social media so there may be a lot more DV/abuse victims supporting her than is known. I am one and I havent said anything until now. I’ll have to start blocking the vitriol now!

MarlaSinger1408 · 27/05/2022 10:40

Because they can relate to JD's experience. Listening to Amber exaggerate and then word salad her way out of trouble once exposed was actually the triggering part. Anyone who has actually dealt with being gaslit by a narc can relate to that and AH was literally trying to gaslight people in court in real time.

She is clearly not a very well woman and I'm glad she has been exposed.

cottagegardenflower · 27/05/2022 10:43

It can't possibly be because women, be they domestic violence survivors or just ordinary women, can't possibly make up their own minds based on the evidence? No, we all have to be lumped into an homogeneous mass who are shaped by our oppression by the patriarchy? Piss off. What century are you living in? Women today are as capable as they always were of making their own decisions.

We actually have good instincts and good bullshit detectors.

cottagegardenflower · 27/05/2022 10:49

And AH is doing a fabulous job of manipulating and using the self righteous indignation and indulgence of the media's hideous woke agenda. As seen here. Victim blaming? A great sound bite. Maybe people using it here need to step back and stop being manipulated by the media? Metoo? Always believe the woman? Can also be read as park your critical thinking here and believe everything you're told without question.

Look at the evidence and then make up your mind. Neither person is an innocent victim, but AH is a liar who perjured herself.

cottagegardenflower · 27/05/2022 10:50

And I did read the article!

NannyOggsWhiskyStash · 27/05/2022 10:57

JemimaPuddlegoose · 27/05/2022 03:00

Because Amber isn't the perfect victim, and patriarchy has brainwashed women into thinking they can protect themselves from abuse by being perfect, and that women who aren't perfect victims are to blame for their own abuse.

The fact Depp is violent and abusive really is not in dispute at all. Look at the history and evidence:

He had to give his first wife a huge payoff after leaving her a verbally and racially abusive (use of the N word) voicemail.

Has a long history of beating people up, including photographers, security guards, hotel staff, and movie crew members.

Once set fire to his own costume to protest against something he was upset about on set.

Bragged to a magazine interviewer that it was worth going to jail "to see the look of fear on the little maggot's face" (referring to beating up a photographer).

During a TV interview, Letterman asked if it was true he beat people up, and he laughed and said "yeah sometimes people have it coming" and also laughed about trashing hotel rooms.

In a different Letterman interview many years later, laughed about being arrested for assault after he walked down the street swinging a 4x4 plank of wood.

In a third Letterman interview yet more years later, made a comment about flying to Australia to beat the shit out of someone.

Ex-girlfriend Jennifer Grey wrote in her memoir that he was constantly getting into physical fights during the time she dated him.

Ex-girlfriend Ellen Barkin testified in court that he'd thrown a wine bottle at her head, and described him as very controlling and jealous.

Has made dozens of alarming and violent comments in various interviews over the decade, including telling Playboy magazine that he suffers from what he calls "hillbilly rages" where the red mist descends and he doesn't know what he's doing, a different interview in GQ where he discussed the fact his favourite thing to do during physical fights is to bite people, and various interviews where he discussed his serious substance abuse which started as a minor.

Smashed up hotel rooms with women he was dating locked inside them.

Beat people up in front of women he was dating.

Made the following joke in a Rolling Stone magazine: "Hunter Thompson zeroes in on faults and good points immediately. I was with Kate [Moss], and I think he went straight for the romance jugular, shit like whether I beat her enough. I probably told him, ‘Yeah, she gets a severe beating.'”

Told interviewers that Vanessa Paradis knew how to "talk him down from the ledge" when he experienced his rage episodes (meaning at the very least that she had to do emotional labour of managing his anger).

Vanessa Paradis said in interviews that he used to explode and throw plates at walls.

Paid his ex-girlfriend $150 million dollars despite them never having been married, then sent texts claiming she was "an extortionist." Hmm wonder what a man with a known history of paying off women he's subjected to violence could possibly be referring to by giving a woman $150 million then claiming she extorted him.

Paid a huge settlement to a respected middle aged disabled female university professor, after he had his bodyguards assault her, illegally handcuff her, and drag her across the floor so violently that part of her clothing was torn off leaving her nude from the waist down, and her shoulders became dislocated. Because he objected to a disabled person being in the VIP area of a concert.

Sent texts referring to the mother of his children as "a withering cunt".

Sent dozens of explicitly and extremely violent texts, including texts talking about raping and murdering his wife.

Admitted on video to having beaten his wife.

There's audio of him admitting to have headbutted his wife.

The London High Court listened to evidence relating to 15 separate incidences of domestic violence (some of that evidence was given privately and never shared with the press or public). Of those 14 incidents, the High Court found that the evidence proved that Depp had beaten up his wife on 12 separate occasions, that on three occasions she'd been made to fear for her life, and that for the other three alleged incidents the evidence was not sufficient to prove assault.

The London High Court ruled that as the evidence proved that Depp had beaten up his wife on at least 12 separate occasions it was factually true to describe him as "a wife beater."

Whatever Amber did or did not do, it's pretty clear that Depp is a violent, unstable, abusive man and has been for a very long time.

This. The article did give an explanation on why women are defending Depp. He has a long history of violence, which seems to be overlooked. Amber Heard may not be particularly likeable,but she does not deserve the awful treatment that she is currently getting. It's fucking embarrassing

WeAreTheHeroes · 27/05/2022 11:05

I've read that Harper's Bazaar article and find it disturbing. It talks about the "just world hypothesis" being invoked by women jurors in rape trials. I've been a juror in a case of rape and sexual abuse. I can't speak for how anyone was thinking that they didn't articulate, but this bollocks never came up in any discussions, which were around the facts. Supposition about either party was dismissed as not relevant as it wasn't our job. The fact this article states women jurors are more likely to do this without citing any evidence of this is damaging and undermines women.

SoupDragon · 27/05/2022 11:11

I don't think most people are supporting JD as such, most think they are as bad as each other.

JemimaPuddlegoose · 27/05/2022 11:19

Because none of his other exes claims to have been abused.

Not quite true though is it?

Ellen Barkin testified in court that he threw a wine bottle at her.

He had to pay off his first wife after abuse (only verbal as far as we know, but who knows?).

He had to pay off Vanessa Paradis to the tune of $150 million, who knows what kind of NDA that involved. He called her a cunt and an extortionist and both admitted in interviews given during their relationship that he was violent in front of her and that she had to manage his anger.

Kate Moss has barely said a word except to clarify that the rumour he pushed her down the stairs is false.

It's dangerous to suggest that abusers abuse every single person. It's pretty clear that Vanessa Paradis knew how to manage his violence and calm him down while Amber responded in a way that got him riled up. Does that mean she deserves to be beaten up.

Maybe you should ask why a 50 something extremely powerful and wealthy man decided to pursue a mentally ill woman half his age from an abusive childhood?

RamblingEclectic · 27/05/2022 11:21

This isn't Depp's first defamation lawsuit about domestic violence as a pp said and it's pretty much open that this is being done in Virginia because of how their laws on defamation works. It's set up in his favour so much that it's moved away from whether an article by Heard discussing abuse that doesn't name Depp has had any impact on him to sides and who was worse. Even if Heard was the worst partner ever, that wouldn't change whether this article impacted Depp in the way he claimed and had knowingly false claims that would be attached to him, even unnamed.

Whatever Heard's role is, I do worry how this will impact others who try to speak out about abuse who are connected to high profile people - there is already a lot out there on the potential affects of this - and how much this keeps embedding this idea about 'innocent'/'true'/'real' survivors of abuse & trauma act.

We somehow as a society both pathologize violent responses to abuse & act like those abused will become as bad as their abusers and at the same time act like abuse victims can only be actual victims if following a particular script of shivering meekness. People also often prefer having their hero and villain. We culturally don't have a good framework for the complexities of this - which some of this may be a backlash against.

TheAverageUser · 27/05/2022 11:26

JemimaPuddlegoose · 27/05/2022 11:19

Because none of his other exes claims to have been abused.

Not quite true though is it?

Ellen Barkin testified in court that he threw a wine bottle at her.

He had to pay off his first wife after abuse (only verbal as far as we know, but who knows?).

He had to pay off Vanessa Paradis to the tune of $150 million, who knows what kind of NDA that involved. He called her a cunt and an extortionist and both admitted in interviews given during their relationship that he was violent in front of her and that she had to manage his anger.

Kate Moss has barely said a word except to clarify that the rumour he pushed her down the stairs is false.

It's dangerous to suggest that abusers abuse every single person. It's pretty clear that Vanessa Paradis knew how to manage his violence and calm him down while Amber responded in a way that got him riled up. Does that mean she deserves to be beaten up.

Maybe you should ask why a 50 something extremely powerful and wealthy man decided to pursue a mentally ill woman half his age from an abusive childhood?

I sometimes get the feeling that well intentioned feminism makes women weak.

Depp is from an extremely abusive childhood too and we can frame Amber Heard as a very successful and powerful woman with her fame, money and dominant personality. Why do we need to frame women as weak all the time to make a point about abusive men?

JetTail · 27/05/2022 11:28

Because, having survived domestic abuse and sexual assault, her story does not ring true. As simple as that.

ehb102 · 27/05/2022 11:29

Rathmobhaile · 26/05/2022 23:01

Because she badly acts a victim of trauma. Trauma victims don't keep reoeating their trauma. They may be able to repeat it once. They can't keep repeating it as psychologically it may re traumatise them. So seeing Amber Herd getting emotional and revisiting trauma in such an emotionally emersed way repeatedly doesn't ring true. The way Johhny Depp describes his trauma of abuse both in childhood and as an adult is much more typical of abused people. Theres a detachment and matter of fact quietness to it that reflects the only way most trauma victims can talk of their trauma without revisiting and retraumatising. Its not an immersive experience for johnny depp as he can't let himself go there. Its not psychologically safe. Amber goes there because her trauma isn't real.

Just because shes female and hes male doesn't mean he has to be the abuser.

Speaking as a professional working with traumatised women - what utter rot.

JetTail · 27/05/2022 11:30

ehb102 · 27/05/2022 11:29

Speaking as a professional working with traumatised women - what utter rot.

I actually agree entirely with Rathmobhaile

JetTail · 27/05/2022 11:37

AdamRyan · 27/05/2022 10:25

Vanessa Paradis says he had an explosive temper and would throw plates etc at walls.

I suspect, similar to Amber she was required to sign am NDA as part of her settlement, hence him calling her an "extortionist French cunt"

Do you have any exes? If so, how do you describe them? How did you describe them?

CaptSkippy · 27/05/2022 11:40

ludocris · 27/05/2022 10:13

@CaptSkippy

What question did I ask?

You wrote the thread title as a question, which suggests it's a question you were pondering (and had found an article discussing the topic).

Sweetheart, the title is the also the title of the article. Once again, it's not my question. I was quoting the article.

Does this case affect so so much that you are seeing red whenever someone (not me in this case but the author of the article) asks a question that is critical of your idol?

OP posts:
JetTail · 27/05/2022 11:44

It's her demeanour to me. I've been bollocked on here for simply describing the way that she permanently juts her chin out, like some sort of fucking 'this questioning is beneath me'. I believe that is the only natural body language she portrays. The acting giving testimony? Does not ring true - neither in her words or her body language. Sobbing?

Have any of you seen this? A 20 second clip, which says it all for me. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bIJXAQ37SRA

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