AIBU to wonder why so many people assume Johnny Depp is the good guy and Amber Heard is the villain? ..

[Cowslip4567]

People (from what I am reading in a variety of places on the internet) seem to have decided this even before the trial has been concluded. Presumably, we won't know all of the evidence until the trial ends.

The previous trial in the UK concluded that there was indeed evidence that JD was indeed a wife beater. How come everyone feels that they are sure previous trial had the wrong verdict?

Years ago, there was this guy Bob Forrest who wrote a book called something like Running With Monsters - a kind of autobiography, I suppose. Anyway, one thing he mentioned in it was about Johnny Depp and River Phoenix and their relationship with drugs. He claimed that they had to be more conservative than many of their peers because of the pressure to maintain their appearances.

Which is, of course, all too clear now. JD might have fans, many people love his movies but I expect there isn't much market for the addled, pasty look he's been serving in court. Which will harm his career more than any allegation.

Am I being overly jaded in that I think that most celebrities drink, take drugs, and waste money? And that there's certainly been more than a few public cases of celebrities behaving really badly towards staff/co-workers.

I'm feeling quite surprised that its being mentioned in the context of being as equally unusual and unacceptable as being an abusive partner.

I don't think most celebrities waste $2 million dollars a month. That's right at the top of excessive. I also don't think most celebrities do drugs or are very severe alcoholics. I'm sure that some do, perhaps many, but most? No.

"I'm feeling quite surprised that its being mentioned in the context of being as equally unusual and unacceptable as being an abusive partner." - I was responding to a post about the court cases being about restoring Depp's reputation. I can't see how that works, given that it is now not libellous to say he is a wife beater, nor given the deeply unpleasant revelations that have come out throughout the UK court case and the ongoing US one.

Yes it is all very hypocritical.

I think that Amber and Johnny are projecting their shadow selves onto each other. (I'm not a real psychiatrist but I'm not being paid by Johnny Depp's team either!)

I feel bad for the ‘little people’ who had to deal with a trashed house.

Yes. He honestly could have made a statement strenuously denying the whole thing and moved on. There are plenty of celebrities with unsavoury rumours about them and even people like Chris Brown who beat Rhianna to the point she was hospitalised, who continue to have successful careers. There was a lot of public goodwill towards Depp (I think there still is actually, which I find astonishing!) This wouldn't have ended his career. I think his substance abuse problems have been the key factor in any loss of work, which has obviously been compounded by these court cases and everything that has come out because of them.

I do think they both were violent at times. But I feel more sympathy for Amber because she's been vilified as this evil witch, and yet Johnny Depp's disgusting text messages are far more hateful and disturbing than anything I've seen from her. But he gets a free pass for 'letting off steam'.

Sorry, I quoted the wrong post. It was meant be the one about the spectacular own goal.

You can drink and take drugs all you want, that isn't going to prevent a movie star getting work. What will is being cancelled, and what Depp is doing here is undoing his cancellation. He isn't going to come out of this clean, but he has made himself employable again, and that's the main thing he wanted.

"not at all, but god love you, you aren't exactly into nuance"

Coming right back at ya.

There's a small difference between calling yourself part of a team and not but it still boils down to who you believe if you're coming down for one rather than the other as many have done here for various reasons. Also, they're not condoning appalling behaviour if you don't believe the appalling behaviour happened.

"and yet Johnny Depp's disgusting text messages are far more hateful and disturbing than anything I've seen from her. But he gets a free pass for 'letting off steam'."

Do you honestly think making a sick joke with a friend (and not actually saying it to her face to hurt her) is worse than what we know Heard has done in terms of abuse (the stuff she admitted to on tape, such as repeatedly hitting him and throwing things at him) as well as the stuff she has been accused of but hasn't admitted, such as cutting off the tip of his finger with a vodka bottle?

You have a strange set of priorities if you really believe that.

If ur a big a list movie star and u get a lot of money in ur jobs , its hardly surprising he is 'wasting' or as mist people would say spending money! I mean what's the standard of money spending allowance before it becomes wasting ?! What a weird thing to try and attempt to pull him up on

I've changed my mind I originally said that they r both toxic and both in wrong. But if after reading last few days , I belive she lied , he didn't abuse her and she said it to to ruin him. The relationship was clearly toxic with her abusing him and him abusing drink and drugs , however I don't belive they are on equal footing. Her defence is not doing a good job at all.

And the feminist angle is weird to me , I don't belive the fact she is a woman makes a difference, women can abuse men as well as men can abuse women. I just think society finds women being abusive harder to accept which could possibly be a factor here

The case is about whether or not AH’s piece for the Washington Post defamed Depp

yes, the case is. But this thread is more about whether people think one/both are abusers and it’s interesting to analyse based on the points. Possibly a bit macabre, but interesting all the same.

I agree that I don’t really understand what he is doing pushing this agenda and stringing it through the courts. I started off thinking she was just some misc gold digger and now I’m pretty convinced he’s an abusive drug addict. He should have just done a simple denial and moved on - this is extremely damaging for him (good).

i would say I think his willingness to keep trying makes him look innocent, but at this point I think he attended the Prince Andrew school of “damage limitation for the guilty”. It’s not a good school!

I don't think that's exactly true. I think it doesn't really matter what you do as long as you look the way they want, turn up on time, do your job. If you can't do any one of those things, they're ruthless.

I have read all your posts in this chat, and you seem to be singularly unaware of what Depp has actually said. In multiple texts and in the UK court he admitted to cutting his own fingertip off.

I must have missed Mariel's pearls of wisdom. Let me go look for my magnifying glass.

He said he cut his own finger off at the hospital (saying that was to protect her) but in the UK court he said Amber cut it off by throwing a vodka bottle at him.

He said he did it himself several times, including in private texts/ emails to friends. Unless you think "I cut my finger off" means something different?

I imagine it was accidental since he must have been on a lot of substances to be able to then use the stump to write messages (while trashing the house to the tune of $75000 worth of damage - something he has form for, before you suggest that was Amber too).

I was going to respond to this with direct quotes but they're honestly just too much for a thread on mumsnet. I'm sure you can find them though. Non-abusive, non-misogynistic men do not say things like that. Not just the texts with Bettany, there are plenty more examples.

One thing I will quote is "She is begging for humiliation on a global scale and she's going to get it" because I think that illustrates his abusive mindset quite well. Added to that, there are well documented instances of his physically abusing her. So yes I do think it's worse.

@misssatan

MN users looking at all the evidence showing AH being abusive:

Ignore all that stuff, JD wrote some mean things In a txt about a female . ABUSER!!!!

Can anyone explain where all the audio recordings have come from? Did they just record each other constantly to make themselves sound good and the other bad?

They have dogs. Surely more likely the dogs shat than amber heard

It would appear so...

It's just bizzare but then I think when one found out the other was doing it, they retaliated by doing the same. Not sure who did it first (chicken and the egg) but I think it just further proves how toxic this relationship really was.